Mystery Case Files: 13th Skull (Windows)

Mystery Case Files: 13th Skull
Developer: Big Fish Games Studios Publishers: Big Fish Games (US), Focus Multimedia (EU, AU) Platform: Windows Released in US: November 25, 2010 Released in EU: February 25, 2011 Released in AU: March 24, 2011 This game has unused graphics. This game has unused text.

Mystery Case Files: 13th Skull is the seventh game in the Mystery Case Files series. This time around, the Master Detective is summoned to find Sara Lawson's husband Marcus after he was "kidnapped" by (according to his daughter) a pirate ghost protecting his long-lost treasure. The kidnapping part isn't true, but the part about the pirates and hidden treasure is.
Since this is a MCF game, this isn't extremely surprising.

Unused Graphics

Early Interface

userinterface.swf	dialogs.swf

The files userinterface.swf and dialogs.swf contain an earlier version of the interface with plenty of differences from the final's:

• There is a "Stamps" list, of which there is none in the normal game. "Stamps" are presumably an earlier name for the map pieces.
  • The Stamps menu is also collapsible, according to the file dialogs.swf.
• The Hint button has a designated cooldown timer, located above it; in the final, the cooldown uses the button's background instead.
  • This design is in the "Help" section of the Options menu, where the bar has a orange color.
• The Objective tab is different:
  • Objectives are called Quests, and the tab for it is locked. What that would've done is unknown. Objectives are still called Quests internally.
  • The Objective text is in a much fancier font than the game normally uses.
    • The objective, "Find some rain gear to go outside" is similar to the "find Lewis Lee some raingear" objective.
      • The objective's required items appear to be map pieces instead of, you know, rain gear.
• The inventory items are different:
  • The trenchcoat was probably turned into the rain coat in the final.
  • The hammer has an different icon.
• The map is labeled "Map"; it isn't labeled at all in the final game.
• The Case Report is reusing the version from Return to Ravenhearst.

Unused Text

Test Lines

There are six lines for testing different types of messages.

<Test>This is a simple test callout.</Test>
	<TieredTest>
		<Normal>This is a tiered callout with a normal response.</Normal>
		<Normal>This is another normal response.</Normal>
		<Normal>This is a third normal response.</Normal>
		<Southern>This is a southern tiered response.</Southern>
		<Snarky>And this is a snarky tiered response.</Snarky>
	</TieredTest>