Prerelease:A Hat in Time (Windows, Mac OS X)/2013/Pre-Kickstarter

This is a sub-page of Prerelease:A Hat in Time (Windows, Mac OS X)/2013.

January 2013

Kicking off the new year are four pieces of concept art, all dated New Year's day. They're for Sam the Detective, The coffee shop owner, Thor and Tim the Timelord. The characters concept art was released on Luigi Lucarelli's DeviantArt around this time, while Tim's concept art showed up in multiple places across 2013, one of them being the website for the game.

Also found on the aforementioned site's image cache from 2015 are two additional pieces of concept art for Tim the Timelord, both being just pencil sketches. One of them depicts a slightly older, unused design for Tim, with a much smaller beard and different eyes.

One final screenshot of "Harbor" was shown this year, dated January 3 2013. The screenshot shows the level covered in a dark, polluted fog. On top of the arch in the background is an hourglass symbol that is only known to appear in this screenshot.

On January 4 2013, Jonas posted this in-progress image of "Calcite" on his Tumblr, showing the level mostly in blockout form. Mafia HQ is absent from the level at this point. The mountain the level would be based on in both "Calcite" and Prototype Mafia Town is now present.

On January 6 2013, Jonas posted the first video footage of "Calcite", which shows the level in a very bare bones state. Hat Kid begins the level in a back alley near the backside of the level. There's a staircase leading to the juice bar, which is closed and doesn't have any kind of interior like it did in "Harbor". Seaside Spaghetti appears in the level, along with its scrapped subtitle that it had back in "Harbor". A single mafia goon is present in the level leaning on a wall next to the upwards waterfall. He speaks the following:

That waterfall here? Goes upwards.
I don't know how it works, it's some science shit. All I know is that it makes a good lift.

The sound effect for progressing dialogue is different from the sound used in "Harbor".

This screenshot of the level was also shared the same day.

On January 7 2013, Jonas shared this screenshot of a Mafia with a broken alpha channel for its face texture.

On January 8 2013, Jonas posted concept art for the hookshot ability idea.

On January 9 2013, Jonas posted this screenshot on his Tumblr account. Hat Kid is looking into newly-added windows for Seaside Spaghetti, which now has an interior like it did in "Harbor". Mustache Girl and a small island can be seen in the reflection of the window, the former of which now using their final design. This is the first known screenshot showing Mustache Girl's final design.

On January 10 2013, Jonas shared this screenshot of the level, featuring a titlecard in front of Seaside Spaghetti.

On January 11 2013, Jonas shared a screenshot of Hat Kid laying down next to a newly-added Mafia that is wading his hand in the water. The screenshot also shows a few changes and additions to "Calcite", being that Seaside Spaghetti now has a modeled interior again and that a ladder has been added.

On January 12 2013, Jonas uploaded a lost video to YouTube called "Pushing Mafia Dudes", This lost video would be the earliest known to have original music made for the game, composed by Armand Rochette, called "A City of Calcite and Adventure".

The music can be heard in a single surviving video from this era of development.

On January 13 2013, Jonas showed three more screenshots of the level:

Three new screenshots dated January 13 2013, all from Jonas's Tumblr and Twitter. Several new things have been added to the level at this point, such as torch stands, more mafia, and the tailor shop. The screenshot with the pasta is likely of Sam the Detective, who is using Hat Kid's model as placeholder and would go on to use this very same model of Hat Kid into the GoBoiano Prototype.

On January 23 2013, the Coffee Clerk's 3D model (The one used in the Prototype builds) was completed and shown off on the game's website at the time.

Also shown off on January 23 is concept art for the Forest Dwellers. The concept art depicts them talking, something that can be seen in numerous prerelease footage and screenshots of them, as well as the final game until DLC 1 released.

Screenshot of early paintings inside Seaside Spaghetti, dated January 24 2013. The paintings use their designs seen in the Prototype and Alpha builds. This screenshot was shown on Jonas's Tumblr.

Another screenshot dated January 24 2013 that was posted on the game's Facebook page, which depicts the mafia statue on the docks. The hands of the mafia that pounds on the doors of the tailor can barely be seen on the right, and it appears to be in a t-pose, indicating that this is a picture taken in-editor and not in-game.

A GIF posted on Jonas's Tumblr on January 24 2013, showing Hat Kid and two mafia moving to a rhythm. The animations used in this GIF could be found in the GoBoiano Prototype.

A screenshot posted on Jonas's Tumblr that depicts Hat Kid wearing some kind of mafia mask. An animated GIF that appears similar to this could be found in the data of the Prototype builds. Dated January 25 2013.

On January 26 2013, this promotional artwork was created by Luigi Lucarelli, taking place in "Calcite" and featuring numerous characters that were slated for the game at this point in development: Hat Kid, Mustache Girl, the mafia, Mafia Boss, Coffee Clerk, Thor, Tim, Tim's Friend, Forest Dwellers, and Sam. This artwork would go on to be used throughout most of 2013, being heavily used during the game's Kickstarter campaign.

On January 26 2013, Jonas tweeted out a Tumblr post of his that showed a lost screenshot featuring a new water shader created by William "Habboi" Nicholls, who was now officially part of Gears For Breakfast. This would mark the end of the use of the "Wind Waker" water that was seen all throughout "Harbor"'s media.

A screenshot of a mafia strangling the Coffee Clerk. Was posted on Jonas's Tumblr.

A screenshot of Hat Kid standing outside of Seaside Spaghetti with some mafia laughing in the entrance. Was posted on Jonas's Tumblr.

On January 26 2013, Jonas posted a video called "A Hat in Time - First mission, new water, stuff". The video opens up with a mission intro, much like the Prototypes and future builds, and is the first known mission intro cinematic ever made for the game. It begins in the back alley where Hat Kid started in the previous video, and instead goes the opposite direction Hat Kid went, showing unfinished doors along the walls in the alleyway. A bridge connects the rooftop of two buildings at the end of the alley. Thor can be seen standing on one of the lower buildings in front of the docks, using Hat Kid's model as placeholder. The mission intro ends with a show of the entrance to Seaside Spaghetti which has a titlecard in front of it that says:

A HAT IN TIME presents
Down With The Mafia

This phrase would be used in the Beta builds and final game for Mafia Town's 4th Act.

The Coffee Clerk can now be seen inside of Seaside Spaghetti, getting strangled by a mafia. Sam the detective is also sitting in the upper right corner of the restaurant. Hat Kid now starts the level in front of Seaside Spaghetti instead of the back alley. The Coffee Clerk says the following while being strangled:

Don't touch me!
I'm freaking out!

Can't we just talk about i- ouch!

Argh! Help! Police!

Your hands are hurting me, but they're so soft!

What kind of lotion are you using? I'd like to kno- argh!

Something to note is that the Coffee Clerk does not speak in any public build of the game, even though he would receive a talking animation for his 2014 model.
While underwater, the music gets muffled very slightly and is much quieter.

There is now a bell that rings in the background, much like Mafia Town.

When the mission intro ends, three mafia are standing in front of the entrance to Seaside Spaghetti, laughing at the Coffee Clerk. According to developers, the mission for "Calcite" was to get into Seaside Spaghetti, which involved getting the mafia here to move out of the way.

The dust particles at the base of the waterfall are now larger.

This video is also the first known video to showcase Hat Kid's dive move. It appears to behave just as it does in the Prototype builds.

Hat Kid can interact with the giant mafia statue, which brings up the text:

The mafia really wants your fish.

No mafia statue can be interacted with like this in any known future build of the game.

A mafia that could be seen in a couple previous screenshot that wading his hand in the water is talked to in this video, and he says this text:

How are we supposed to get fish for our dishes? Fishing takes, like, effort and junk.
Come here fishies... come on...

As part of a brief scripted cutscene afterwards, Hat Kid shoves him into the water.

The seabed now has caustics.

Hat Kid's punching attack has a red streak effect to it, which was gone by the Prototype builds.

Finally, the strafing system seen in the Prototype builds while locked onto something is shown fully in the footage.

This screenshot, dated January 26 2013, was shared on Jonas's Tumblr after the video was uploaded, appearing to be an in-editor screenshot of the level.

On January 29 2013, this screenshot of Hat Kid swimming underwater was shared.

Also on January 29, another screenshot of the hourglass hub was shared, showing the area with darker wood, darker sand, and the hat parts of the hourglass design being purple and yellow card instead of tan. Otherwise, the hub didn't really change much since December 2012.

Also on January 29, screenshot of the three mafia from the previous shot being repulsed by Hat Kid's smell. This screenshot was posted on the game's Facebook page, Twitter, and Jonas's Tumblr.

February 2013

On February 7 2013, Jonas uploaded a video called "A Hat in Time - Rocket Ride 2". The video primarily showcases Hat Kid riding a rocket vehicle, a mechanic seen and used in the Prototype and Alpha builds, but was practically completely removed by the Beta builds. The rocket is shown to have a fuse tail, something that was removed prior to the Prototype builds. The rocket's steam is also not a constant cloud of dust. Aside from the rocket, "Calcite" has undergone some minor changes since the last preserved video. There are now rocks along the seabed, posters have been added to some walls and windows, a rocket is placed next to Thor, and Mafia HQ has been added to the level. For a very brief moment in the video, at precisely 0:29, a glimpse of the juice bar area can be seen, showing some additional details having been added there, like posters and a dumpster.

A screenshot of Hat Kid becoming smelly somehow by presumably interacting with a random cake. This image was shown on Jonas's Tumblr.

A screenshot of Limbo, also sourced from the game's Facebook page and Jonas's Tumblr. Some objects are seen next to Hat Kid, which are a barrel, Hat Kid's umbrella, and a model of Hat Kid's hands, which could be found in the final game's Modding Tools early on before being removed.

A screenshot of Mustache Girl peeking through some bars as a silhouette, which according to Habboi would happen as a cutscene after Hat Kid defeats the mafia goon in the cellar after the tutorial with Tim's Friend. This screenshot was posted on the game's Facebook page and Jonas's Tumblr.

A clearer screenshot of Mustache Girl's older model, seen in Limbo. Dated no later than February 4 2013. This screenshot was posted on Jonas's Tumblr after a fan asked for a 'sneak peek' at her new model.

A screenshot of an updated juice bar area, which was shared on the game's website and Jonas's Tumblr. Dated February 13 2013. The screenshot shows two dumpsters, a poster and plenty of umbrellas, one of which is humorously red instead of blue like the rest.

A screenshot of slot machines from Mafia HQ was posted on the game's Facebook site, showing their designs as they appeared in the data of the Prototype builds.

On February 14 2013, Jonas shared a lost Youtube video showcasing the portal doors in Limbo.

On February 17 2013, Jonas shared on the game's website a screenshot of the Mafia Boss boss battle. Hat Kid and Mustache Girl can be seen standing on the stage together, there are mafia lined up on both sides of the stage, the curtain is black, the pillars on the sides look slightly different, and there are no additional props on the stage.

A screenshot of the cellar tutorial scene with updated lighting and shaders. The earliest date known for this screenshot is February 11 2013. Aside from the lighting and materials, the large barrel on the left is now a small upright barrel with a wine bottle on it.

On February 19 2013, Jonas uploaded a video called "Mustache Girl clones herself and takes over the city". The video begins with Hat Kid inside Seaside Spaghetti, and an army of non-animating Mustache Girls flooding the restaurant and outside docks. They attempt to swarm Hat Kid, but she can use her umbrella to bat some of them away from her. If they maintain direct contact with Hat Kid for too long, she takes damage. This is a showcase of the unused 'zombie' Actors that were found leftover in the Prototype builds, and is a direct reference to Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, as that game has numerous segments just like this one. In terms of level layout differences since the last video, there's now a duplicate t-posing Hat Kid standing on the docks outside of Seaside Spaghetti, two solar panels were added on the rooftop of a building near Thor, and Thor now has a placeholder model for his Airmobile next to him. The placeholder model is the same one that can be found leftover in the final game's Modding Tools. There's also four different rockets near Thor, with each one being a different color. The smoke particles emitted by them now seem to match the Prototype Builds and the ones leftover in the Modding Tools.

Unfortunately, the recovered video is in very poor quality, but a single high-resolution screenshot of it survived, sourced from the game's Facebook page:

In the distance on a tiny rock island, much like in the Prototype builds, the Coffee Clerk can be found.

On February 24 2013, Jonas shared an updated version of a screenshot he posted earlier in 2013. A large wooden structure can be seen on the other side of the docks, the Coffee Clerk can be seen on the rock island again alongside a small bird, and there's a bird up in the sky surrounded by an orange ring. The birds were part of a quest where Hat Kid would have to ride a rocket to collect all of the birds for the Coffee Clerk. This quest was moved over to Mafia Town and can be un-Hidden through console commands in the Prototype and Alpha builds. There is now also more underwater detail in the form of additional rocks.

Another screenshot of the docks area, posted on the game's Facebook page. Some more rocks on the seabed are visible.

A screenshot, dated February 27 2013, depicting grass on top of a building that was shared on the game's website and Facebook page, also showcasing that Pons have been added into the game! They appear slightly different compared to the ones in the Prototype and Alpha builds. A second collectible bird ring can be seen beneath one of the yellow bells.

On February 28 2013, Jonas uploaded a beefy trailer for the game called "A Hat in Time - March 2013 Trailer", which showed off numerous new things that have been made for the game since January. To start off, the early Pons can now be seen in motion. Instead of a white spinning swirl on the orb, there is instead a subtle pulsing effect inside. The sound for collecting Pons is also different. Wooden posts have been added around the grassy building top. There's a couple balloons leading from this rooftop to another nearby rooftop next to the bells. Footage of the scrapped cellar tutorial scene is shown off, showing the monochrome Time Stop effect in full use, as well as Tim's Friend being present and a mafia being turned into a cardboard cutout. This video also showcases the first known footage of Mafia HQ, revealing that the layout of the level is very similar to the final version. The purple wall shown off here has strange 8-bit-like alien creatures in its pattern, while by the Beta builds, it would be replaced with mafia faces and smiling fish. Hat Kid is shown talking to two mafia, which give a conversation not seen in any future build:

Hey, how come there aren't any... you know... women in our mafia?

Limbo is also shown off, being the 'new' hub where Hat Kid would select a save file from three books that pop out of a floor mechanism. After picking a save file, Hat Kid would then walk through a portal door to enter a Chapter's hourglass hub area. Hat Kid is then seen walking onto the small rock island in "Calcite" and talking to the Coffee Clerk, who says:

Hey there kid, do you think you can help me get my birds back?

Hat Kid could then either answer with a 'Yes' or a 'No'. The red rocket that was shown to be on the rock island is now purple. It then cuts to a camera that moves back in front of Seaside Spaghetti and focuses on the titlecard seen previously, now with Pons on the awning above the entrance. For some reason, the leaning mafia seen in previous media for the level is t-posing during this shot. Afterwards, it cuts into what is presumably an early version of the bathroom in Mafia HQ, showing much simpler models and more basic decorations than what's seen in the Beta builds. Dark-colored smog can be seen coming out of one of the stalls like in later builds and the final game, but here Hat Kid can actually talk to the person behind the stall, who says:

Uhm, hey, Bill is that you?

Hat Kid answers 'Yes', and the person says:

DUDE! I've been stuck in here for hours, there's no toilet paper!

According to Habboi's description of this scenario in his 2018 developer playthrough of the game, this was part of a quest Hat Kid would need to partake in to be able to enter the freezer in Mafia HQ and by extension, Mafia Boss. The next shot is a Mafia wearing glasses walking down the entrance corridor of Mafia HQ. Behind him is a rough-looking entrance to the level as well as placeholder tree models for the pots they're placed in. The red wall in Mafia HQ is using its older design that was also featured in the Beta builds. The next shot is Hat Kid standing outside of Seaside Spaghetti with the mafia being repulsed by Hat Kid's scent. The shot after this features the Mafia HQ kitchen, showing that it has a different appearance that uses a lot more bricks than how it appears in the Beta builds and final game. The layout of the room appears to be the same as future builds. A mafia begins walking toward Hat Kid and Mustache Girl, telling them to "Get outta here!" Mustache Girl appears to be following Hat Kid like a partner, showing that the partner system was still planned to be used at this point in development. Hat Kid and Mustache girl are then seen running on top of the grassy building outside. Hat Kid is also shown whacking a mafia with her umbrella, with the mafia beginning to block her attacks halfway through her combo. Hat Kid then boards a yellow rocket in the next shot, showing almost the entire right side of the level of "Calcite" when she flies higher up with it. A small building with a blue dome and brick columns can be seen further back in the level, looking very similar to the church building that would appear later on in Mafia Town. The next shot shows the Mafia Boss boss fight in action, with Mustache Girl being attached to a spinning wheel behind Mafia Boss. The texture for this wheel can be found leftover in the final game's Modding Tools, but the model is long gone. One of Mafia Boss's knives is also stuck on the wheel. The camera then pulls back to show the entire stage, showing another Mustache Girl standing next to Hat Kid. The stage itself has received some new decorations since its last appearance, with better lighting, flashing lights, a background, and flat trees. There are also three balloons near the ceiling of the stage. In the next shot, Hat Kid is shown to have the 'collectibles' HUD open, showing that's she currently doing a sidequest to collect items. Mustache Girl, as Hat Kid's partner, is then instructed to give Hat Kid a boost. Using the boost, Hat Kid collects a cog, the icon for which could be found leftover in the final game's Modding Tools early on before being removed. When collecting the cog, a cartoony 'pop' sound is made, and is the same one used in the Prototype builds for collecting the hidden birds in Mafia Town. Hat Kid and Mustache Girl are seen standing near the top of the clock tower windmill, with Mustache Girl saying:

Radical! Let's go!

...before joining your "party van". There's a shot of Hat Kid and Mustache Girl in what would become the secret room in the final game. Hat Kid is talking to a mafia in the room, who says:

You're... kinda young for someone entering the golden room.

The textures used for the room are almost completely different from the ones used in the Beta builds and final game. The video ends with a mafia entering the doorway at the end of the entrance room and showing the list of developers for the game at this point along with asking for people to support the game on Steam Greenlight. The cutscene with the mafia is similar to one seen in the Beta builds and final game, but there's no mafia guarding the doorway and the mafia entering the doorway is not carrying a Time Piece with him.

March 2013

Three screenshots of Mafia HQ were shared, all of them dated March 5 2013. The main differences being that a guard now blocks the doorway at the end of the room and the purple wallpaper has been updated to its design seen in the Beta builds.

On March 6 2013, Jonas posted this very early screenshot of Subcon Forest on his Tumblr, showing a large, 2D Snatcher on the ground. The grass of the level, aside from the 3D grass, is incredibly basic at this point in the level's development, being just a flat color with no additional detail. This screenshot also shows newly-made HUD for Pons and Time Pieces.

A screenshot of the 2D Fire Spirits, posted on the game's Facebook page on March 8 2013.

On March 9 2013, Jonas uploaded a video called "A Hat in Time - Hookshots, Huds 'n Hats". The video starts off by showing Hat Kid wearing Thor's hat, which hadn't been seen before at this point in development. The Mafia that once leaned against the wall next to the waterfall no longer leans, and just stands there. Notably, the hookshot has been implemented as of this video. The unused sprite hookpoint indicators that were used in the Prototype builds also appear in this video with the same purpose as the Prototypes. Curiously, when Hat Kid's hookshot links to a hookpoint and she begins swinging, a red balloon appears in the same location as the hookpoint sprite.

Also on March 9, this screenshot was shared on the game's Facebook page, showing a silhouette for an early model for Thor.

Another March 9 screenshot, showing Hat Kid wearing Thor's hat.

On March 10 2013, Shane Frost shared a screenshot of Hat Kid talking to 2D Snatcher in Subcon Forest, which was also posted on the game's Facebook page. The grass has actual detail now, and the lighting is much darker compared to the previous screenshot of Snatcher.

This screenshot of Mafia HQ was shared on the game's Facebook page on March 14 2013. For some odd reason, even though there have already been screenshots of the purple wallpaper's updated texture, this one still uses the "Space Invaders" motiff seen in the previous trailer.

On March 16 2013, Jonas uploaded a video called "A Hat in Time - The Snatcher", which shows Hat Kid talking to 2D Snatcher on the wall. Snatcher has snatched one of Hat Kid's Time Pieces, and is holding it hostage. He says that he cannot be harmed by anything except fire. Notably, this is the first known public appearance of Time Pieces. They appear to lack any sound effects when nearby them at this point in development, as well as any particle effects. Placeholder music from Luigi's mansion is edited in post-recording when Hat Kid talks to him, as his own theme was not yet composed. The music for Subcon Forest was also not composed yet, as when Hat Kid is not talking to Snatcher in the video, there is no music at all, only silence.

On March 17 2013, concept art of Subcon Village was shared on the game's Facebook page, game website and Jonas's Tumblr, dated March 9 2013, showing a slightly different design of the area than the one seen even in the earliest screenshots and footage of the area. A cave entrance can be seen in the lake, the two tree houses in the middle of the art have a second boardwalk connecting to another tree beneath it, and there's a ladder leading up and out of the lake. There's also no depiction of the pathway to the Toilet of Doom. Luigi eventually shared it himself on his DeviantArt on May 30 2013.

On March 21 2013, Shane Frost shared a screenshot of the Moonjumper, marking his first public appearance. Notably, given the post's date, this screenshot is a picture of the unused, earlier model for Moonjumper that can be found leftover in the final game's Modding Tools. It appears to have some kind of animation in the screenshot, while in the Modding Tools, there are no known animations for it.

Also on March 21, this concept art for the scrapped Shromb enemies that can be seen in pre-release screenshots and footage, as well as the GoBoiano Prototype, was shared on the game's Facebook page and Jonas's Tumblr. On April 4 2013, Shane Frost showed concept art off as well.

On March 23 2013, this screenshot of a tree house in Subcon Forest was shared on the game's Facebook page and Jonas's Tumblr.

On March 24 2013, Jonas uploaded a trailer for the game's 2nd Chapter, Subcon Forest. The video depicts a vastly different-looking version of the level, being darker and overall much smaller than the final version. Snatcher's theme, as composed by Eric Gleiser, is used as the music throughout the video, confirming that he had joined Gears For Breakfast by this point in the game's development. The level, overall, is shown to have a much denser, bluer fog than shown previously. In the first shot of the level, Subcon Village is shown off, revealing that its layout is similar to the final's, but is different in some places. Light Plant enemies, making their first public appearance, appear on top of most of the houses. Some houses are in different locations compared to the final, as are some mushrooms. There's a long gate at the back of the village that barricades the Toilet of Doom area, which lacks the pit seen in the final game and features an earlier and much more basic Toilet of Doom model. Notably, the leftover early Toilet of Doom model in the game's Modding Tools is dated July 28 2013, well after this video. Given that the Toilet of Doom doesn't move in the footage, and that there's no coding for a Toilet of Doom boss in the Prototype builds, it's possible this model of the toilet is a static mesh. When the camera gets close to the Toilet of Doom in the footage, a post-process effect kicks in that makes the area appear much more purple than normal. The witch hat makes is first public appearance in the next shot, with Hat Kid wearing it while collecting some Pons. The Pon trail she is following leads to the Fire Spirits, who are only 2D characters at this point using artwork of an unrelated character made by Shane Frost as placeholder. The Fire Spirits speak with the same kind of moving text effects that they do in the final game, but appear to be worshipping some kind of god that they say is destroying them. Their dialogue is as follows:

Milkyway stars, we're doing the struts! Send us stars, ignite our butts!
Please don't hit us anymore, yesterday you put us down to four!

The sound effect used when bouncing on mushrooms at this point differs from even the Prototype builds. Hat Kid is also shown wearing the Fox Mask at one point, although it appears that the Dweller mechanic associated with it in builds starting with the Alpha builds has not be implemented yet. Vanessa's manor is shown to be located in a heavy blizzard in a featureless, white snow field instead of a crystal cave made of ice. The shape of the manor is also radically different, being much larger than the final's and more rectangular and horizontal. The Moonjumper is shown off again in the next shot, this time being the model that actually has an animation for it in the game's Modding Tools. The animation shown in the footage appears to be identical to the leftover one. In the next shot, Hat Kid is shown battling Light Plant enemies in a spike trap arena, a scrapped mechanic of Subcon Forest which can be found in the coding of future builds. Here, the arena uses the textureless spikes that can also be found in the final game's Modding Tools as the barrier for the fight. Hat Kid's umbrella has changed by this point, now looking more like it does in the Prototype builds and final game. Hat Kid also attacks with it closed instead of open, and the blue streak particle effect for its attacks seen in the Prototype, Alpha, and Beta builds has been implemented at this point. The next shot depicts a small cutscene of Hat Kid watching a Forest Dweller getting attacked by Moonjumper's puppet strings. The dialogue for this cutscene could be found in the Prototype builds. In the next shot, Hat Kid is back in a spike arena again, this time fighting a giant, spacey mafia. This enemy would go unused in the final game. The video ends with a shot of a Subcon Village house with all of the Forest Dweller masks attached to it. A similar shot would be used for the icon for "Dweller Drought" in the Prototype builds.

The music used throughout the Subcon Forest trailer, Snatcher's Theme, was released as a part of Eric's An OST in Time album in 2018. It can be heard here:

On March 31 2013, concept art of Vanessa's manor was shared on the game's Facebook page and Jonas's Tumblr, showing a completely different location and design for the manor, depicting it as a rickety old shack in a non-descript area of the forest. It would be this design that makes it into the final game. To the right of the manor is what appears to be a hollow tree stump, possibly as a reference to the Creepy Steeple in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

April 2013

On April 6 2013, the first public screenshot of Mafia Town was posted on the game's Facebook page and Jonas's Tumblr, explaining that the team was redoing the game's first Chapter to be even bigger than ever before.

On April 9 2013, concept art from Shane Frost was shared on the Facebook page for the game, with the art depicting a very abstract and strange design for a "platforming challenge".

On April 11 2013, a screenshot of a very early Mafia Town was shared as a sort of postcard, with "Wish you were here?" written on the bottom right. The buildings are all white and lack any kind of detailed texturing. The beach is devoid of any mafia and there's only two parasols on the beach. There are no doors blocking the cave, the wooden structure holding up Thor's workshop is completely white, Mafia HQ is sitting on a board instead of a circular platform, and the water geyser is a solid model instead of several cylinders of material effects. Mafia HQ itself is also using its bland white placeholder model that can be seen much more closely and clearly in the Prototype builds.

On April 12 2013, a concept art sketch for Timmy was shared, marking his public reveal. His design appears to be the same as his model that was leftover in final game's Modding Tools.

A screenshot of the game dated April 14 2013 that was shared on the game's website, Facebook page, and Jonas's Tumblr. The most immediate and noticeable difference is the geyser is now as it appears in all future builds. The meat house has a blue roof and it uses what is most likely a placeholder texture. The central tower is made out of white bricks instead of brown ones, the bell tower that Mustache Girls climbs up starting in the Alpha builds seems to be missing part of its model, and Thor's workshop appears to be in a blockout state at this point. The wooden platform that Mafia HQ once used as its base can be seen more clearly here.

This screenshot of Mafia Town was shared on the game's Facebook page and Jonas's Tumblr on April 17 2013. It depicts the distant background clock towers, which can be seen in the distance in Mafia Town in all prerelease builds, but was removed from Mafia Town in the final except in Rainy Mafia Town.

On April 19 2013, a cropped screenshot of the unused Time Thief Act in the Prototype builds was shared by Jonas on the game's Facebook page and his Tumblr, with him saying that he's trying to make battling with Mustache Girl more interesting.

This screenshot of a fiery meat slab was posted on the game's Facebook page and Jonas's Tumblr on April 21 2013. It's unknown why the meat is on fire, as there's no such scenario or known remnants of this in the Prototype builds.

Another April 21 screenshot, showing Hat Kid having an Electroshock Pin equipped. These pins could be found in the Prototype builds, but were non-functional.

On April 23 2013, Jonas posted a screenshot of Lava Mafia Town on his Tumblr. Things to note in this image is that some structures in the top right of the images are either using white bricks or are using a flat white color instead of their colors seen in the Prototype builds. This is especially noteworthy for the small bazaar model that a mafia can be seen standing in.

Another screenshot of the fiery meat slab, dated no later than April 24 2013. Compared to the previous image, the meat slab lacks the heat wave distortion effect around it and some walls changed textures. It's unknown if this image was taken before or after the previous meat slab screenshot.

A screenshot of a scared-looking Hat Kid in Lava Mafia Town, posted on April 25 2013 on the game's Facebook page.

The logo for the game's first Chapter was revealed on the game's Facebook page and Jonas's Tumblr also on April 25.

On April 26 2013, this screenshot of Lava Mafia Town was shared on the game's Facebook page. These mafia could be found in the Prototype builds when playing Mafia Heat.

On April 28 2013, the logo for the second Chapter of the game was shared on Jonas's Tumblr.

On April 31 2013, Jonas uploaded footage of Secret Level Rectangles, called "A Hat in Time - Obstacle Course". This level could be found in Prototype GoBoiano. One difference between the version in the footage compared to the Prototypes is that the barrel that Hat Kid jumps on near the end of the level was changed into a button. The level appears to have placeholder music edited in post-recording, as it is completely silent in the Prototype.

May 2013

Another screenshot that was posted around this time, depicting Hat Kid riding in a scrapped mine cart.

A screenshot of the TV at the start of Mafia Town. This was posted on the game's website, the game's Facebook page, as well some other news sites at the time. Was posted sometime before the next screenshot below, but after the previous screenshot from late April.

A screenshot of Hat Kid wearing the fox mask down at the docks, dated May 4 2013. The wooden fence puzzle behind Hat Kid is lacking several decorations and is completely open on both sides.

An early version of Prototype Mafia Town, dated May 9 2013. The wooden boats are all using their black placeholder model alongside the swinging pirate ship, Thor's workshop is in a blockout state even at this point, the dark brown brick texture for the central tower and factory is different, and the floating platforms next to the lighthouse are more cone-shaped and have different fan blade designs at their bases.

A picture of the game's editor was posted on Tumblr on May 13 2013, showing how ladders functioned at this point in development.

On May 17 2013, Habboi uploaded an unlisted video to his Youtube channel that he then later shared in 2018, called "A Hat in Time Developer Video - Camera Angle Example - Alpha / Beta". The video name should be self-explanatory as to what the video itself is, but the more important things lay in background details. The swinging pirate ship has been implemented at this point, although it uses a placeholder model that also happens to be an early/placeholder model for the wooden boats down at the docks. The dock boats appear completely black. The hookpoint sprites are still being used in the level at this point. By the Prototypes, the yellow propeller hooks were being used. The screens for the rapper mafia's stage area don't actually screen capture anything, appearing as the default green. Thor's workshop is no longer in blockout as of this video.

A screenshot of the scrapped swinging pirate ship seen in the Prototype and Alpha builds of Mafia Town. Was posted on the game's Facebook page. The boat has been updated to the design it used in the early builds. Out in the distance, in the ocean, a sunken pirate ship can be seen, which is actually still present in the Prototype builds, is placed way, way further out into the ocean.

Two screenshots dated May 27 2013, showcasing Lava Mafia Town.

Another screenshot of Mafia Town dated no later than May 27 2013 was tweeted out by Jonas, showing off Coop Mode, which isn't normally accessible in the Prototype builds.

Another big screenshot of Prototype Mafia Town, which is quite a bit closer to its appearance in the Prototype builds. It appears to match its appearance as seen in the credits roll movie in the Prototype builds, given that the wooden boats are still using their black placeholder model but the floating platforms and brick texture for the factory and central tower all match the Prototype builds.