40 Winks (PlayStation)

This page details one or more prototype versions of 40 Winks (PlayStation).

A prototype demo included on the German "PlayStation Zone CD Vol. 16" demo disc released in March 2000. File modification dates on the CD place the prototype in the realm of June-July 1999 at the latest, about four months before release. Only includes the level Creepy Crawly Cemetery played as Ruff.

This page or section needs more audio. There's a whole lotta words here, but not enough audio. Please fix this. Specifically: Rip cog sound effects for comparison.

Title Screen#

The title screen is completely inanimate, but is at a much higher resolution than the final game.

Prototype	Final

Gameplay Differences#

General#

• Dreamkeys are not present.
• Extra life tokens are not present.
• Wakey Wakey tutorial prompts are not present.
• L3 can be used to make Ruff jump, a function not present in the final game.
• The swirling "loading" animations are not implemented, instead either (upon death) instantly warping the player back to a checkpoint or (upon teleporting) cutting to black.
• The camera is relatively harder to move compared to the final, lacking the ability to dynamically zoom in when circling around the player near a wall.
• You start the level with 50 Moons instead of 10. However, each special attack takes 5 moons in the prototype as opposed to 1 in the final, making the Moons placed throughout the stage and dropped by enemies much less useful.
• Lifts are not automatic, and require the player to go up with Attack or down with Jump.
• Ruff's end-of-combo kick comes out slightly slower.
• Collecting a Wink requires the player to "hit" it, as opposed to simply moving into it in the final game.
• The cog collection sound was changed to something much more metallic in the final game.
• The zombie enemies are almost unfairly hitboxed in the prototype, damaging the player not by an attack animation but simply by proximity. This is enough to make Ruff get damaged by attempting to hit or even bounce on the head of the enemies.

Visual#

• The HUD is notably different.

Prototype	Final

• • The menu box in the center of the screen is not implemented in the prototype, which instead opts for a simpler setup with the generic HUD font.
  • The ability to quit the level is not present due to this being a single-level demo.
  • Counters for Dreamkeys, extra life tokens and Winks are not present.
  • The prototype HUD uses the in-game 3D models to represent Z's, Moons and Cogs. The final version uses unique textures instead.
  • The timer used for displaying how much time the player has on a costume is not visible.
  • "Not enough cogs" messages do not display the player's cog count, as seen below.
• Dialog boxes lack portraits or capitalization, and are much smaller, though they have a bit of extra stylization compared to the final game. This stylization change results in a completely different way of handling text that was later reworked, complete with script differences.

Prototype	Final

• The first-person camera (via holding Triangle) is not actually first-person in the prototype, instead floating just above Ruff's head. The "camera click" sound effect is missing as well.

Prototype	Final

• Z's are duller compared to the final.

Prototype	Final

• Cog-locked doors and lifts do not visibly display how many cogs are needed, and lack the lock model.

Prototype	Final

• Continue points use a model of Wakey Wakey instead of a balloon.

Prototype	Final

• Transforming back after a costume wears off lacks sound effects, and uses a darker "fountain" animation as opposed to the final game's bursts of light.

Prototype	Final

• Teleporters are much more basic in appearance, using a 2D sprite as opposed to a spinning model.

Prototype	Final

• When attacked by an enemy that makes the player drop a large number of Z's, Ruff will drop both regular gold Z's and a white/silver Z that gives 2 Z's of health back.

Level Differences#

• The gates at the start of the level are static and broken open, while the final game has the gates open as the player approaches.

Prototype	Final

• The first area contains two cogs placed at these graves, removed in the final version.

• A chest containing two cogs were changed to two extra life tokens in the final game.

Prototype	Final

• Multiple costume tokens were removed, likely due to the costume being found later in the level and backtracking being unnecessary.

Prototype	Final

• The jack-in-a-box section of the map, along with the climb to the map's "plaza", received a light overhaul between versions.
  • The Ninja costume was changed to a Caveman later on, along with a weak Frankenstein guarding the area being removed.
  • An alternate route to the next area, an interior hallway, was removed.

Prototype	Final
	N/A

• Alongside the cut alternate route, the next section of the level is stored as a separate map segment in the final game, resulting in a wall and teleporter being placed at the top of the hill.

Prototype	Final

• The Caveman costume instead being a Ninja also means the entire first Wink path involving breaking the floor after the ghost fight is absent. This is visible along with the whole section of map having a short wall instead of being at the bottom of a cliff.

Prototype	Final

• This chest that contains a couple cogs in the final game also contains a Wink in the prototype. Additionally, the Frankenstein guarding the chest does not have a "sleeping" state in the prototype, and the gold lighting was changed to red.

Prototype	Final

• Naturally, the costume change means the button texture changes as well.

Prototype	Final

• Minor, but the checkpoint before the ghost miniboss was moved further up in the final game.

Prototype	Final

• The ghost miniboss was made more opaque in the final game, given its projectile attack, and the ectoplasm texture was retouched. He also goes down with fewer hits in the prototype.

Prototype	Final

• The amount of explosive barrels in the circle was lowered from three to just one in the final game.

Prototype	Final

• Naturally, this plain wall was given a facelift to make room for the new Wink path in the final.

Prototype	Final

• A neat gimmick is used in the prototype that goes unused in the final level draft: a single cog, when collected, suddenly reveals a whole circle of cogs and moons to collect.

• The lift to the third section of the level is a lot glitchier in the prototype (with the ability to sink into it by rubbing against the wall while it ascends), and was given a more fitting look in the final.

Prototype	Final

• The teleporter at the end of the underground section leads the player even further back in the prototype, explaining those earlier costume tokens removed in the final.

Prototype	Final

• The lift to the final area stays accessible in the final game, but in the prototype it sinks below the floor.

Prototype	Final

Music Differences#

While the music in the level is the same across versions, the 5-minute loop in the final version is condensed to 1 minute in the prototype. This is assumedly to save space for the demo, but additionally the music file XA1.XA contains this track along with fifteen other copies of it side-by-side. Whether this is simply padding or a means of working with some technicality of the engine is unknown.

Unused Text / Script Differences#

Though the demo only spans a single level, WINKS.EXE contains a work-in-progress script for the entire game. This script does not include the monster dialogue at the start of levels or anything related to the racing mechanics, which could imply these were details added later in development.

Text at this stage of development has no capitalization and is formatted to fill a much smaller text box. The older text system took advantage of its limits by allowing for certain lines to be swapped for others (e.g. collectables messages), a function not used in the final product.

Messages that contain no differences other than formatting are excluded for brevity.

Collectables and Locks#

COLLECT
40 COGS
THEN SAVE
THE WINK.

COLLECTED

NOW SAVE

WINK SAVED
LEVEL
FINISHED

Unused lines in the final game, and an example of the prototype's form of text compression.

10 COGS
REQUIRED TO
OPEN THIS
DOOR

20 COGS 
30 COGS 
50 COGS 
60 COGS 
70 COGS 
80 COGS 

USE LIFT

Cog door/lift lines, including the possibility of needing anywhere from 50 to 80 gears in a level. Nothing in the final game requires more than 40 gears.

LEVEL FINISHED. 

FIRST WINK SAVED    
JUST ONE MORE   
LEFT TO RESCUE. 

SECOND WINK SAVED   
TWO MORE TO GO. 

JUST ONE TO GO. 

THIRD WINK SAVED    
THREE MORE TO GO.

FOURTH WINK SAVED

Wink collection texts, including reference to a fourth Wink. The final game has a maximum of three Winks per level.

YOU REQUIRE 12  
HUB KEYS TO ACCESS  
THIS DREAMLAND. 

YOU REQUIRE 24  
YOU REQUIRE 36  
YOU REQUIRE 48  
YOU REQUIRE 60

HUB KEY COLLECTED

Dreamkey / "Hub Key" requirement texts. The final game locks areas not based on collecting dreamkeys, but instead beating the boss of a previous zone.

YOU MUST COMPLETE   
THE FIRST LEVEL TO  
ACCESS THIS DREAM   

THE FIRST TWO LEVELS    
TO ACCESS THIS DREAM    

ALL THE LEVELS IN   
THIS DREAMLAND BEFORE   
YOU TACKLE THREADBEAR.

Locked dream level messages. The final game allows for all three levels in a world to be accessed from the start, meaning the idea of a much more linear world style was at least considered.

Tutorial#

MY NAME IS
WAKEY-WAKEY.
I AM HERE TO
HELP YOU.

USE THE
TELEPORTS
TO SELECT
HUB LEVELS.

HEY THERE   
I'M WAKEY WAKEY
THE ALARM CLOCK
I'M HERE TO
HELP YOU AND    
GIVE YOU HINTS  
AND TIPS TO HELP    
YOU THROUGH THE
GAME...

TRY PRESSING    
THE [ TO SCREAM 
AND SCARE THE   
BAD GUYS

HOW ABOUT PRESSING  
THE [ BUTTON    
WHEN JUMPING TO 
COME DOWN QUICKLY

HERE YOU GO,    
TRY PRESSING [  
WHILST RUNNING TO   
BASH INTO THINGS

EXCELLENT, WELL THAT'S  
A FEW OF YOUR MOVES,    
NOW HERE ARE A FEW  
HINTS THAT WILL 
HELP YOU ALONG..

Minor punctuation and vocabulary changes ("Hub Levels" to Dreamworlds, the addition of "butt-bounce").

Entering Dreamworlds#

NIGHTMARE DREAMS    
I FIND THIS ALL 
TOO SCARY.

BEST LEARN TO SWIM  
THE UNDERWATER  
DREAMS LIE AHEAD.

BEAM ME UP, 
LETS GOTO SPACE.

A TIME LONG AGO 
PREHISTORIC DREAMS.

LOWER THE DRAWBRIDGE    
IT'S THE CASTLE DREAMS.

PIRATES DREAMS. 
YOUR FINAL QUEST

DEFEAT THE EVIL 
NITEKAP.

The Dreamworld introductory lines are much rougher in the prototype script.

Winks#

HEY THERE YOU'RE    
THAT BRAVE  
DREAM WARRIOR   
WHO SAVED ME.

THANKYOU FOR    
SAVING ME.

Minor grammar and punctuation fixes.

Bosses#

OH-OH   
IT LOOKS LIKE   
THREADBEAR HAS  
FOUND A SPOOKY  
SPIDER TO HELP HIM.

IT LOOKS A BIT UNFIT.   
I BET IT COULDN'T   
CHASE YOU FOR VERY LONG!

CRIKEY! 
NITEKAP HAS CREATED 
A CRAZY MECHANICAL CRAB 
TO HELP THREADBEAR TO   
DEFEAT YOU. 
WATCH OUT FOR THOSE CLAWS.

NITEKAP AND THREADBEAR  
HAVE PLANNED AN ALIEN   
IT IS UP TO YOU TO DEFEAT   
THEM IF WE ARE EVER TO SLEEP    
AGAIN!

THREADBEAR HAS A NEW FRIEND -   
A DEMENTED DINOSAUR 
I COULD TELL YOU HOW TO 
DEFEAT IT - BUT THAT WOULD  
BE TELLING TAILS!

AHOY LAND LUBBER.   
AND HIS HOARD OF    
PIRATES ARE ONBOARD 
THE SS NITEKAP. 
USE THE CANNONS TO  
WIN THIS SEA BATTLE

THE NASTY KNIGHT    
SIR THREADBEAR AND  
HIS EVIL HORSE DEREK    
HAVE CHALLENGED YOU TO  
A DUEL. 
GOOD LUCK - THAT LANCE  
LOOKS SHARP

Boss intro lines. Light grammar fixes and cleanups, and the name "Derek" changed to Clip Clop to be more horselike.

THAT'S SURE TO  
MAKE HIM CRABBY.
I BET HE'LL BE  
LOOKING FOR REVENGE.

DINOSAUR IS EXTINCT.

HIP-HIP-HOORAY  
THREE CHEERS FOR    
THE VICTOR  
THOU HAST BESTED    
THE EVIL KNIGHT 
SIR THREADBEAR.

YOU HAVE DEFEATED THREADBEAR.   
BUT WATCH OUT HE'LL BE BACK!

Boss win quotes, including a generic boss win quote not present in the final.

Stage Intros#

THIS LEADS TO THE   
HORRID HAUNTED HOUSE    
WHERE NITEKAP HAS   
HIDDEN 2 WINKS. 
WATCH OUT FOR   
THINGS THAT GO  
BUMP IN THE NIGHT.

2 WINKS ARE IN  
GRAVE DANGER.   
YOU MUST RESCUE     
THEM FROM THE   
SCAREY CEMETERY 
WHERE NITEKAP'S NASTY   
MONSTERS ARE KEEPING THEM.

3 WINKS HAVE    
GOT LOST IN THE 
WEIRD WOODS.    
PLEASE FIND THEM    
BEFORE NITEKAP'S    
FRIEND THE WICKED   
WITCH DOES.

DEEP UNDER THE SEA  
IS NITEKAP'S SECRET 
BASE WHERE HE AND   
HIS SIDEKICK THREADBEAR 
HAVE HIDDEN 2 WINKS.

NITEKAP HAS HIDDEN 2    
WINKS IN AN ANCIENT 
CITY FLOODED MANY   
YEARS AGO.  
SWIM QUICKLY AND    
AVOID THE HUNGRY SHARKS!

THE WINKS HAVE THAT 
SINKING FEELING.    
DOWN ON THE SEA BED 
NITEKAP HAS 3 IMPRISONED    
IN A SHIPWRECK.

NITEKAP'S NAUGHTY   
ALIENS HAVE ABDUCTED 2 WINKS.   
RESCUE THEM FROM    
THE SPACE STATION.

DEEP UNDER THE MOON 
NITEKAP'S MOON MICE 
HAVE DUG TUNNELS WHERE  
THEY ARE KEEPING 2 WINKS.   
PREPARE FOR BLAST OFF   
THEY MUST BE SAVED!

ALIEN SMUGGLERS HAVE    
TAKEN TWO WINKS.    
THEY HOPE TO SELL THEM TO   
NITEKAP AT THE COSMIC   
SPACE PORT. 
GO GET THEM BEFORE  
NITEKAP DOES!

FROM THE DINOSAUR GRAVEYARD 
AND WATCH OUT BECAUSE   
NOT ALL OF THE DINOSAURS    
IN HERE ARE DEAD.

ONLY THE BEST ADVENTURERS   
COULD HOPE TO SAVE 2 WINKS  
FROM THE ANCIENT TEMPLE.

YUK! GOOEY MUD  
AND STINKY SWAMP GAS!   
TRY YOUR BEST TO STAY DRY   
WHILST SAVING 2 WINKS   
FROM THIS SMELLY SWAMP

NITEKAP HAS CAPTURED    
2 WINKS AND STOWED THEM 
AWAY SOMEWHERE ON HIS   
FLEET OF PIRATE SHIPS.  
BRRRRRR THAT WATER  
SURE LOOKS COLD.

RESCUE 2 WINKS  
FROM THE EVIL   
PIRATE'S DEN    
SHIPWRECK CITY.

THOSE PESKY PIRATES HAVE    
TAKEN 2 WINKS.  
WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR ?  
GO GET 'EM BEFORE THEY  
ARE MADE TO WALK THE PLANK!

TRAVEL BACK IN TIME 
TO THE DAYS OF OLD  
WHEN KNIGHTS WERE BOLD  
AND RESCUE 2 WINKS FROM 
NITEKAP'S CREEPY CASTLE

IT LOOKS AS IF A GREAT
BATTLE WAS ONCE FOUGHT
HERE.   
WIND YOUR WAY THROUGH   
CASTLE RUINS AND    
FIND THE 2 WINKS    
THEY ARE LOST HERE.

SOMEWHERE IN THIS DEEP  
DARK DREARY DUNGEON 
NITEKAP HAS IMPRISONED  
2 WINKS.

Level intro and boss intro lines. Level intros were all rewritten to contain level names.

YOU HAVE ENTERED    
UNDERWATER DREAMS.  
SPACE DREAMS.   
THE CASTLE DREAMS.  
NITEKAP DREAM.

Generic world intro lines, also unused in the final game. Worlds not present in the prototype lines are due to the lines being recycled from other sentences.