Before you can start you'll need to install Lightning and the updated sync plugin which can be downloaded here (mirror). Once it's installed, setting everything up is a breeze.

Open a calendar tab in Thunderbird and add a new calendar (right click on the sidebar and select "new calendar"). Add a network calendar, select the "Remember The Milk" provider, and enter a few details.

Once this is set up, you'll have a single task that contains details on how to authorize the plugin. Go to the URL in this message and allow the plugin to access your account. Once you see the confirmation screen, head back to Thunderbird and mark the task as complete.

If everything worked, you'll receive a welcome popup in Thunderbird and your tasks will start to sync!

Below are computerised versions of the two mind maps I used when coming up with ideas for the game. There are plenty of dead ends, but a few of the ideas filtered through to the final game. The decreasing energy seemed like a good way to go, and the transformational aspect tied into the whole "psycho" idea.

The original game was going to be a platform game with shooting elements (i.e. Mario with guns). As you can see, things didn't end up that way.

I didn't make a time lapse video, but instead took screenshots at key times of development.

I made most of the mistakes from Monster Mash, and some new ones too!

• Even Slower Start – Saturday was the Reddit Triangle meetup, which took up most of the afternoon. Needless to say, not much code was written until the evening.
• Scrapped Everything – When development ended on Saturday night I wasn't happy with how the game played. The platforming didn't feel right, and every now and then the player would stick to the ground after jumping. I didn't think I'd be able to fix things in the morning, so a total rewrite was in order.
• Graphics Dictated Gameplay – Switching to the top down perspective had a few side-effects. The biggest was the lack of diagonal movement and firing, which made the game less enjoyable than it could have been.

• It Got Done – Like Monster Mash, at the end of the jam I had something playable. There were a few features that didn't make the cut, and a lot of the game is unpolished.
• Development Screenshots – Although I didn't make a time lapse, I did want to capture what the game looked like at various points in development.
• Scrapped The First Version – Moving from a platformer to a top-down shooter meant a lot of time was wasted, which can be a killer when there's a tight time limit. Fortunately the changes made the game far more playable which is the most important part.

Lessons for next time:

• Iterate faster. Get it playable. Make it fun.
• Don't be afraid to throw things out if they're not fun.
• Don't worry if it looks stupid. It's not a beauty contest (although having a nice looking game certainly helps to attract votes)

You can play the latest version here: Psycho Bean.

View all of the entries here: Reddit Game Jam #6: Final Submissions

Look under Tools -> Message Filters. Click "New" button to open the filter creation dialog.

Set the filter to run on messages that have a subject with "BMT Micro Affiliate Order" in them. You can also add extra conditions for other sales emails, depending on who emails you.

Under "Perform these actions", add a "Play Sound" action and link to your favourite sound. There's plenty of cash register sounds at freesound.org, although personally I prefer the cash register noise from Sonic the Hedgehog :)

• Zero-Defect Software Development
• Conducting a Project Postmortem
• Working With Teams

• Shareware Amateurs vs. Shareware Professionals
• If No Independent Developers Are 100 Times Smarter Than You, Then Why Do Some Get 100 Times the Results?
• The Power of Clarity
• To Plan or Not to Plan
• Basic Negotiating for Fun and Profit
• Going Full-Time
• Networking Without the Cables

• If You've Tried Everything Imaginable And Your Product Still Won't Sell, Here's What You're Missing
• How to Get More Sales for Less Work
• How to Permanently Increase Your Sales by 50% or More in Only One Day

• From Slump to Supercharged
• Cultivating Burning Desire
• Overcoming Procrastination
• How to Get More Done in Less Time
• Clean Up That Mess!
• Do It Now

Slow start – I didn't actually start coding until about 16 hours in, which didn't turn out to be a big problem, but those 16 hours would have been handy for polishing things up at the end.

Awful balance – The number one comment I got was that the game was far too hard. I'd originally intended to have about a dozen enemies to fight, but only had time to sprite 3 mutations so the rest were cut. This left the level caps and final boss out of balance, so the game was impossible to finish (although this was fixed shortly after the final submission).

Hidden Stats – There was no way to find out how much experience you had, your level or how many of each enemy you have defeated (to figure out how you'll evolve). Again, this was planned but was cut at the end.

Unintuitive – Probably the worst part. There's no obvious explanation of what's going on, or how to get the various enemy parts, it just happens as you play.

It got done – This is the big one. At the end of the 48 hours, there was a playable game. Considering it was my first Flash, I was super excited. More importantly, it was a big confidence boost.

Planning saved a lot of time – I did jump in to code at the start, but took a break a few hours in to design the screen layouts and game flow. All the features I wanted were listed on a piece of paper in order of important, which really helped towards the end when things got tight.

There were some excellent games entered, and I'll admit the high quality really surprised me, especially given the short development time. Presentation played a big part in the higher rated entries, so that something to work on next time. Having a distinctive style is important to help you to stand out, although having a fun game is the key factor.

Lessons for next time:

• Spend time polishing and play testing. If possible, have someone else play the game too. I knew the rules inside out, so I couldn't see the bigger problems.
• Join in. I worked alone and missed out on chatting with other developers. Next time I'll hook up a second monitor and join the party.
• Make a time lapse video. I didn't make one this time as it would mostly be me reading the Flixel documentation to see how things work, but I'm sad that I missed out on seeing how the game evolved over time.
• Start early, design more, get it playable ASAP. As soon as it's designed, get something playable working. This helps with motivation, but also lets you know if you're onto something fun.

You can play the latest version here: Monster Mash.

View all of the entries here: Reddit Game Jam #4: Final Submissions