Mystery Case Files: 13th Skull

Mystery Case Files: 13th Skull is the seventh game in the Mystery Case Files series. This time around, the Master Detective is hired by a Sara Lawson to find her husband Marcus, after he was kidnapped by (according to their daughter) a pirate ghost protecting his long-lost treasure. In order to solve the mystery, the Detective will have to run around the Louisiana bayou doing odd jobs for the locals, from gathering cleaning supplies and crayons to delivering gumbo and unclogging a toilet.
Southern hospitality is pretty hard to come by, apparently.

Subpage#

Prerelease Info

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 can be seen 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 used in Return to Ravenhearst.

Unused Voicelines#

Momma Aimee#

Momma Aimee has two idle voicelines that are never used.

Magnolia Lawson#

Magnolia also has a few unused voicelines, two related to finding her crayons. One of these is a hint regarding the location of the green crayon, which is not indicated in-game without using a hint.

A third, somewhat stranger sound is also present in Magnolia's sound file: it's a short scream, with rolling thunder and (possibly Phineas Crown's) evil laughter in the background.

Unused Sounds#

default.mp3#

Two short beeps. While normally unused, if a sound is missing from the game's sounds folder, it will play this instead.

ratsInDistance.mp3#

The sound of three distant mousetraps setting off, which would've been used for the rat-catching puzzle in the cellar. The final game uses three separate sound files for this, instead of a singular one.

Unused Text#

Callout Tests#

There are six lines for testing the different "attitudes" for the game's callouts.

<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>

Claw Machine#

These lines are apparently for attempting to vandalize the claw machine at the Drink & Swaller.

<ClawGamePuzzle_MachineItemVandal>
    <Normal>I’m pretty sure that’s illegal, Detective.</Normal>
    <Normal>A coin might be easier.</Normal>
    <Southern>You’re tighter than a fiddle string!</Southern>
    <Southern>You squeeze quarters so tight, the eagle screams.</Southern>
    <Southern>Careful! You’ll bust it beyond function!</Southern>
    <Snarky>Trying to ruin everyone else’s fun, huh?</Snarky>
    <Snarky>You know people are watching you, right?</Snarky>
</ClawGamePuzzle_MachineItemVandal>

Foyer Painting#

This line is found with the text for the painting in the mansion's foyer. It seems that at one point, there wouldn't have been a key hidden underneath the canvas.

  <PaintingPuzzle4_PaintingClickOpen>I’ve only succeeded in destroying the artwork.</PaintingPuzzle4_PaintingClickOpen>

References#