Slay the Princess

Slay the Princess
Developer: Black Tabby Games Publisher: Black Tabby Games Platforms: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux Released internationally: October 23, 2023 This game has unused graphics. This game has unused text.

This article is a work in progress. ...Well, all the articles here are, in a way. But this one moreso, and the article may contain incomplete information and editor's notes.

You're supposed to Slay the Princess, not lay the Princess.

Unused Route Ending

In Chapter III: The Eye of the Needle, the Player can have the Eye of the Needle chase them outside of the cabin, where they have a variety of options. However, none of them include running away.

In adversary_2_start.rpy, there is a block of commented code that if enabled would have allowed the Player to turn around and run into the woods, ending the chapter.

Interestingly, this block of code ends by jumping to the "caught_start" routine, which is used for when the Player makes a choice that denies the Shifting Mound a vessel, instead of "mirror_start", which makes the current Princess her vessel and takes you to the end of the route. In the final game, this is only possible at the start of Chapter II and Chapter III by turning away from the cabin. This implies that an option to abort a route would have been possible later in the route, supported by how the Narrator's line in this ending is similar to the line used when you properly leave this chapter.

Unused Graphics

Unused Beast Princess Perspective

In the endgame, the Shifting Mound summons the vessels you collected over the course of your playthrough and shows a moment of gameplay from that Princess' perspective. What is shown depends on the choices the player makes.

Two images are made for if one of the vessels is the Beast. One of these images, named "fight_beast_destroy_p" in the game's files and "reducedtoprey" in the Supporter's Pack, depict the player character after being gored in half by the Beast, as seen on the right. In one ending to Chapter II: The Beast, the Player can fight the Beast, only to end up being gored by her and left "in a nest of your own intestines". However, this ending always leads to Chapter III: The Den, which always has a different perspective, meaning that it is impossible to make the Beast a vessel this way. Indeed, the game never calls for "fight_beast_destroy" in the relevant felina_fight_1.rpy script files. There is also no lines or commentary from the Shifting Mound that alludes to this outcome.

Unused Razor Sprites

razor thenyours hehe	razor impaled hehe

If the Player chooses to approach or slay the Razor, she will impale them with her arm-sword or leg-sword respectively. These sprites are unused variations of those respective scenes that have her give a sharp, toothy grin, but the script never calls for them. Unlike the other variations of these sprites, these are not labeled "cg".

Unused Voice Clips & Text

The Narrator

adversary_2_start

Sound File	Transcript	Placement	Comment
	But you never strike. Instead, you bound off into the trees. You coward! There's no winning here. There's no survival when she still lives, there's no...	The voice line from the unused alternate ending to Chapter III: The Eye of the Needle.

script

Sound File	Transcript	Placement	Comment
	Fortunately, she's only a Princess, while you are a valiant and talented warrior. It'll be easy so long as you stay focused.	Right after warning you about the Princess, the Narrator is meant to follow up with this line.	A similar line and voice clip (script_n_40) plays if the Player turns away from the cabin once, then proceeds into the cabin.

basement_1_knife

Sound File	Transcript	Placement	Comment
	As the gap between you and the Princess closes, it's as though your body moves entirely of its own accord.	The Narrator narrating you lunging at the Princess without hesitation. In-game, he starts narrating after you already stab her.
	The Princess tries to outmaneuver you, but you're far too quick to be bested here.

nightmare_encounter

Sound File	Transcript	Placement	Comment
	The saccharine scent of the long-dead corpses you've left unburied. The marriages you've broken. The children you've orphaned.	Meant to be played during the Nightmare's horror sequence.

The Princess

basement_1_knife

Sound File	Transcript	Placement	Comment
	I guess your heart really wasn't in it. How cute.	Alternate takes on the Razor-Princess' taunt when she stabs you in the neck.	Named "stab_p_24old" in the files. The file isn't referenced, but the text is present, albeit commented out.
‎	Drowning in a pool of your own blood. How undignified.		Unlike most alternate voice clips, this one is entirely different from the used and unused clip.
	If you want to try killing me afterwards, you can go ahead and give it your best shot. But it'd be awfully boring if we just rushed to violence, wouldn't it?	Possibly a response to the Player saying they want to slay her. No code or text is in reference to this clip, however.	The only file not given a number, instead it's named "stab_p_bonus_shot".
	I don't know how to destroy the world, if that's what you're asking.	Said after "Ending the world seems like an awful lot for just one person to do. I wouldn't even know where to start."	No accompanying voice clip.
	You must have the wrong address.	Said after you choose "Hey, I think I'm here to kill you?"	The file is called "stab_p_4old", but the script references it as "stab_p_4", which is the alternate, used take.

prisoner_1_encounter

Sound File	Transcript	Placement	Comment
	Don't worry. I wouldn't do this if it weren't for a good reason. But I'll need your help when I'm done.	Presumably removed to preserve the twist of the Prisoner faking her death to elude the Narrator.

The Voices in Your Head

basement_1

Sound File	Character	Subtitle	Placement	Comment
	The Voice of the Hero	Do you hear the conviction in her voice? Do you see that razor sharpness in her gaze? I don't think she's bluffing.	When the Princess threatens the Player if he threatens her or refuses to let her out of the cabin.	This line and two very similar voice clips are consistently commented out of basement_1_empty.rpy and basement_1_knife.rpy.

nightmare_encounter

Sound File	Character	Subtitle	Placement	Comment
	The Voice of the Paranoid	Just. Heart. Endure. Lungs. It. Liver. This. Nerves. Has. Heart. To. Lungs. End. Nerves. Eventually. Heart...	Meant to be played during the Nightmare's horror sequence.

prisoner_1_encounter

Sound File	Character	Subtitle	Placement	Comment
	The Voice of the Skeptic	I knew it!	Related to the Prisoner's unused voice clip about her plan, likely removed for a similar reason.
	The Voice of the Hero	So she wasn't dead? And you knew? Why didn't you tell us?!
	The Voice of the Skeptic	She couldn't tip her hand to Him. He wouldn't have let us leave.

Oddities

Felina

All files related to the "awakened" Shifting Mound at the end of the game is named "felina", as opposed to "mound" or "shifting". "Felina" is an anagram for "finale."

Off-Screen Content

In-Game	Full Image

In-Game	Full Image

In Chapter II: The Prisoner, the full image of the Player inspecting the shackle is cropped, obscuring some of the Princess and her expression.