Purble Place

Purble Place
Developer: Oberon Games Publisher: Microsoft Platform: Windows Released internationally: January 30, 2007 This game has unused graphics. This game has unused text. This game has debugging material. This game has hidden bonus content. This game has a prototype article This game has a notes page

Purble Place is one of the new games (or, rather, a collection of games) included with Windows Vista and 7. The collection is intended for very young children and it shows.

To do: See if more of the options work in the Vista version. This was tested with the Windows 7 version. There's much more to document. A good place to start would be to use Resource Hacker on the game executable and DLLs. Add sub-page for Media Center Purble Place, a full-screen version of the game embedded into the game's executable which although is technically used as it can be launched from Windows Media Center, it is not documented in any Help menus, and it also contains a whole bunch of unused content the normal game doesn't. Apparently, there are more unused dialogs leftover from earlier builds. Developer comments in DATA/AUDIO/Audio.xml. There is a large amount of unused strings in the MUI file. Unused "blah" menu at Menu Item 171 of the MUI. Any hidden stuff in the save files?

Sub-Pages

Prototype Info

Notes

Debug Menus

As with most other games shipped with Vista and 7, it has an internal g_debugEnabled variable. However, the debug menus aren't seen until entering one of the mini-games.

Purble Shop

The only part of the menu that appears to work is "Toggle Curtain", allowing the player to see behind the curtain. The rest appear to have been for the figure the player has to guess for, but they don't appear to be functional. The options consist of trying to pick the graphics currently available.

Comfy Cakes

The only option that appears to work is "Win Game", which does indeed let the player win. "Reload Variables" doesn't appear to do anything on the surface, while "Time Attack Mode" might be a scrapped game mode.

Purble Pairs

This menu is comparatively intact, with almost all of the options working. The options included in this menu are:

• Sneak Peak - Lets the player look at all the tiles, but only if none of them are flipped.
• Force Win - As you'd expect, the player automatically wins the game.
• Mixer - Mimics the sundae dessert "power-down"; the tiles are moved all across the playfield.
• Force Lose - Automatically makes the player lose in timed games. Does not work on untimed games.
• Time - Doesn't work. Probably intended for controlling the timer.

Revisional Differences

To do: Take screenshots of them. Are there more to find?

The Windows Vista version has the main menu's logo in Comic Sans MS. In Windows 7, it is now in Segoe UI.

Early Minigame Titles

Internally, Purble Pairs and Purble Shop are called "Concentration" and "BuildAPurble" respectively.

XInput Support

An interesting feature that isn't documented anywhere (Help Menu-wise) is XInput (gamepad) support - if the game detects an Xbox 360 controller plugged into a USB port, the P1 corner on the controller will light up, signifying the controller can be used. Possibly undocumented because Oberon Media thought people were too used to the traditional controls, and little kids wouldn't be using a controller.

It's a neat little feature, nonetheless.

Controls

Button	Effect
Left analog stick/D-Pad/Shoulder Buttons/Triggers	Moves the cursor. Oddly, they can also be used to navigate the menu bar.
B/Back	Varies.
A/X	Selects whatever the cursor is on.
Y/Start	Opens the Game Menu.

Unused Graphics

Early Red Eye textures strangely buried under UI/BuildAPurble/Features/Icons.

Unused Green Mouth and Yellow Nose graphics also exist, but inside /UI/BuildAPurble/Features. However, one of the green mouth graphics goes completely unused in all builds of the game.

An early version of the filling machine, seen in the Build 5219 prototype.

Green Hair, seen in the Pre-Build 5308 prototypes.

Media Center Purble Place

A full-screen version of the game that is embedded into the game's executable. While it is technically used since it can be launched from Windows Media Center, it is not documented in any Help menus. Notably, it also contains a whole bunch of unused content the normal game doesn't.

purbleplace.exe.mui contains dedicated dialogs, tips, scripts, etc., but there's also unused fullscreen dialog boxes of these.

Leftover Texture Pack Dialog

The other Windows Vista games allow the player to choose a texture pack, but since Purble Place doesn't use texture packs, this dialog goes unused.

  CONTROL "OK", 1, BUTTON, BS_DEFPUSHBUTTON | WS_CHILD | WS_VISIBLE | WS_GROUP | WS_TABSTOP, 236, 278, 72, 14 
  CONTROL "Cancel", 2, BUTTON, BS_PUSHBUTTON | WS_CHILD | WS_VISIBLE | WS_TABSTOP, 310, 278, 72, 14 
  CONTROL "Select Card Deck", 5002, STATIC, SS_LEFT | WS_CHILD | WS_VISIBLE | WS_GROUP, 7, 7, 234, 8 
  CONTROL "", 5000, "SysListView32", LVS_ICON | LVS_SINGLESEL | LVS_SHOWSELALWAYS | LVS_SHAREIMAGELISTS | LVS_ALIGNLEFT | WS_CHILD | WS_VISIBLE | WS_BORDER | WS_GROUP | WS_TABSTOP, 7, 17, 380, 108 
  CONTROL "Select Background", 5003, STATIC, SS_LEFT | WS_CHILD | WS_VISIBLE | WS_GROUP, 7, 135, 234, 8 
  CONTROL "", 5001, "SysListView32", LVS_ICON | LVS_SINGLESEL | LVS_SHOWSELALWAYS | LVS_SHAREIMAGELISTS | LVS_ALIGNLEFT | WS_CHILD | WS_VISIBLE | WS_BORDER | WS_GROUP | WS_TABSTOP, 7, 145, 380, 101 
  CONTROL "&Randomly choose deck and background", 5004, BUTTON, BS_AUTOCHECKBOX | WS_CHILD | WS_VISIBLE | WS_GROUP | WS_TABSTOP, 7, 253, 233, 10

Unused Tips

Comfy cakes

<Message>|42768|CCTips|Oops, you can't correct batter. You're allowed some mistakes, work on the other cakes on your line. // When you try to put batter on a batter already there.</Message>

This tip is left unused since you can replace batter in the final game.

<Message>|57636|CCTips|There's already a decoration there! // When you put a decoration on top of another decoration.</Message>

Another tip that is left unused for similar reasons.

   <Tip>
       <Id>GameLoseLineClog</Id>
       <Title>|54450|CCTips|Lost Game//Tip title</Title>
       <MinWidth>350</MinWidth>
       <Message>|58004|CCTips|You've clogged the production line. Too bad! I'm sure you can do better next time. // When you clog the line and lose.</Message>
       <Type>Intro</Type>
       <Duration>10</Duration>
   </Tip>

A tip that would have appeared when you would clog the production line. The unused Build 5259 alarm sound could have played in conjunction with this.

   <Tip>
       <Id>ContextualPreDecorationTurn</Id>
       <Title>|65202|CCTips|Cake Incorrect//Tip title</Title>
       <MinWidth>350</MinWidth>
       <Message>|61750|CCTips|You may have to turn the cake before putting on a decoration in order to get it in the right spot. Use the turn arrows. // When you have a decoration of the wrong orientation.</Message>
       <Type>Intro</Type>
   </Tip>
   <Tip>
       <Id>ContextualPostDecorationTurn</Id>
       <Title>|65202|CCTips|Cake Incorrect//Tip title</Title>
       <MinWidth>350</MinWidth>
       <Message>|61700|CCTips|You may have to turn the cake after putting on a decoration in order to get it in the right spot. Use the turn arrows. // When you have a decoration of the wrong orientation.</Message>
       <Type>Intro</Type>
   </Tip>

Tips related to Build 5219's rotating cakes feature, something that was removed later on during development.

Purble Pairs

   <Tip>
       <Id>BlankCard</Id>
       <Title>|64710|TIPS|Matched Tile// Tip title</Title>
       <Message>|65388|CON_Tip_GamePlay|This tile has already been matched. Clear the entire board to win.</Message>
       <MinWidth>175</MinWidth>
       <Type>Error</Type>
       <NoTimeout>false</NoTimeout> 
       <Duration>10</Duration>
   </Tip>

A tip that would have displayed when trying to select an already-matched tile. You cannot do that in the final game, so this tip goes unseen.

Obscured Sprites

Full head of Professor's head, without any face.

A full faceless head of Chef Purble.

Unused Sounds

To do: There's more.

GAMESTART

Two sounds, named "GameStart" and "GameStart_Long". Could have probably be intended for starting the Purble Shop mini-game, due to the fact that the sounds are in its folder.

PURBLES_YELLOWMOUTH-4

An unused yellow mouth sound that is not used anywhere in the available Vista prototypes.

Undocumented Comfy Cakes Keyboard Binds

Interestingly, there are undocumented Comfy Cakes keyboard binds for moving the cake. W is for backwards movement, and E is for forwards movement.

Unused Purble Pairs Cards

UI/CONCENTRATION/CARDS/CARDS.XML contains a bunch of unused card entries. The entire file could be unused, since the files that are referenced by most of the entries do not exist.

<Card>
<id>1</id>
<type>0</type>
<chefitem>0</chefitem>
<path>UI\Concentration\Cards\EggPurbleHead.xml</path>
<internalName>EggPurbleHead</internalName>
</Card>

<Card>
<id>24</id>
<type>4</type>
<chefitem>0</chefitem>
<path>UI\Concentration\Cards\LumpyPurbleHead.xml</path>
<internalName>LumpyPurbleHead</internalName>
</Card>

<Card>
<id>25</id>
<type>4</type>
<chefitem>0</chefitem>
<path>UI\Concentration\Cards\RoundPurbleHead.xml</path>
<internalName>RoundPurbleHead</internalName>
</Card>

<Card>
<id>27</id>
<type>4</type>
<chefitem>0</chefitem>
<path>UI\Concentration\Cards\PearPurbleHead.xml</path>
<internalName>PearPurbleHead</internalName>
</Card>

<Card>
<id>14</id>
<type>0</type>
<chefitem>0</chefitem>
<path>UI\Concentration\Cards\PurpleHat.xml</path>
<internalName>PurpleHat</internalName>

<Card>
<id>16</id>
<type>0</type>
<chefitem>0</chefitem>
<path>UI\Concentration\Cards\RedBowTie.xml</path>
<internalName>RedBowTie</internalName>
</Card>

Cards from likely beta versions of Purble Shop.

<Card>
<id>19</id>
<type>0</type>
<chefitem>0</chefitem>
<path>UI\Concentration\Cards\Trash.xml</path>
<internalName>Trash</internalName>
</Card>

<Card>
<id>20</id>
<type>0</type>
<chefitem>0</chefitem>
<path>UI\Concentration\Cards\TV.xml</path>
<internalName>TV</internalName>
</Card>

<Card>
<id>36</id>
<type>2</type>
<chefitem>0</chefitem>
<path>UI\Concentration\Cards\SadChef.xml</path>
<internalName>SadChef</internalName>
</Card>

Unused Comfy Cakes entries. What the Sad Chef card does, is unknown.

Filling Internal Name Oddities

The files for the filling ingredients have several name oddities.

• The mint and raspberry filling files in the UI/ComfyCakes/Layers are named "raspberry" and "fudge" respectively.
• There are animation scripts in UI/ComfyCakes/Machines named FILLINGMACHINECHOCOLATEBASEANIM.xml, FILLINGMACHINELEMONBASEANIM.XML, and FILLINGMACHINESTRAWBERRYBASEANIM.XML.
  • There is a lemon filling found in Build 5219's Comfy Cakes background, seen in the reflection.

Unused Sad Chef Constant

To do: Are there functions of the Sad Chef card?

UI\Concentration\ConcentrationGame.xml has an entry named "MatchPointsSadChef" which is set to 10 like the other match points entries.