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This page tells the story of System Mania's development from the beginning, right up to the first release build.

We thought it might be fun to show you all the bits and pieces that add up to make a Pi Eye Game, and this isn't everything, just the bits we marked off along the way.

System Mania Prototype Diary

30th September 2007

Started new games design doc (working title : Contraptions)
Worked on Contraptions editor/core render system
Editor modes system
Select a type
Select an object (within the type)
Type system/structure
Objects system/structure (not using objects module)
Rendering the three basic types (point, line, quad)
Mouse detection for all three types
Group selection and selection rendering
Tweaked the big to do list into separate headings
Object Structure (Quads, Lines, None, Routine, etc)
Some test object routines (including rendering)

1st October 2007

Load/Save objects
Level editor scrolling/swapping levels!
Editor level name is updated correctly in all places
Editor is toggle-able
Copy, cut, paste (single object and groups)
Rotation and scale values (just individual objects is fine)
Point editing for lines and quads
Allowed for easy node editing (using the shift key)

2nd October 2007

Messed with the field of view so 3d objects don't distort too much
Test switch (with position indicators)
Change in-game detection to find the closest control then overstate detection areas
Quick test of changing switches
Proper game updater which selects what to change and when =D
Test group display
Game logic (game affects controls and is generally naughty)
Group logic (controls assign to groups)
Make switches work with click and move technique (more hands on that just clicking)
Test knob (with position indicators and warning light and movement)
Test button (push to reset, glows when wrong)
Lots of visual polishing and reusable routines ... Nice =D

3rd October 2007

Group indicator display/code
Game over event (just back to the title screen for now)
Crank object (have to turn it X times to reduce indicator to 0)
Outlines, shadows and highlights on panels =D
Test backdrop
Level texture/location selection
Level coloring & reset option
Fixed the crash bug to do with reordering while buddies were used.
First pipe/line test

4th October 2007

Standard decal system (uses any render mode)
Designed 10+ controls =D
X/Y flip properties (test with decals and pipes)
Allow Ctrl+PageUp/Down to quickly set orders
Allow editor UI to be toggled on 'H'
Ctrl+Insert creates the object at the bottom
Insert defaults to placing the new ob on top
Allow copy, cut, paste for individual objects (much more commonly used)
Level time, editor and temporary indicator
Level success (everything settles down for now)
No control on success or failure states
Difficulty tweaker (over level time)
Found lots of values to change to alter difficulty
Each object can have a string which we can use as anything (handy for text too)
Text placing system, as a centred line : )
Took the first prototype screenshot =D

System Mania Prototype Screenshot

System Mania Development Diary

8th January 2008

Test camera movement with z position
Populated the Contraptions to do list from paper notes
Practiced some pencil character drawing, good fun even if it was rubbish =D

9th January 2008

More drawing tests
Started programming a gear stick

10th January 2008

Contraption : Gear Stick
Contraption : Slider
Started on the numerical keypad (got keypad itself finished off)

12th January 2008

Finished Contraption's keypad entry
Contraption : Pull Cord

13th January 2008

Contraption : Guitar Strings
Contraption : Egg Timer (with lovely sand effect like a mini Circulate!)
Contraption : Wheel (spin when required, has large momentum)

17th January 2008

Finished spinning wheel condition light
Contraption : Doors (cover buttons, must time when you can hit the button)
Contraption : Piano Keyboard
Contraption : Joystick + Button
Contraption : TV Mini Game

20th January 2008

Started analysing & practicing a new style

23rd January 2008

Learned all about paths : )

26th January 2008

Messing around with new art style

27th January 2008

Playing with the new art style more, found a nice simple look for the backgrounds.

2nd February 2008

Rewrote how the panels are displayed ... much improved =D
Writing out additional object variables which can be tweaked

3rd February 2008

Background system, multiple layers, FX etc.
Prepared some test assets
Allow Page system to load up it's own dynamic assets
Added a clear function to remove all assets
Now able to use pages as a background editing system
Turned current page FX system into a full system which allows multiple, complex fx
Write a few FX (UV scroll, X/Y wobble)
Create a finished backdrop to test the system
Got rid of group indicators
Started on UI : )
Tided up background elements
Added black outline to groups

5th February 2008

Finalised buttons, switches and egg timers

6th February 2008

Got most of the controls finalised, looking good : )

7th February 2008

Finished re-doing all the controls.
Bendy pianos and keypads too
TV screens

8th February 2008

In-game UI & Number display (rotating-alarm-clock-digits)
Improved the FX_SCORE module and added some scores in

9th February 2008

Combo Scores
Instant Bonus ($100)
Type Combos (clicked X buttons in a row, $10 per item)
String Bonus (clicked less that 1 second ... $10 per item?)
Group Bonus (all elements of a group clicked in a row)
Scoring System & 'Floater' Display, star FX when bonuses are awarded (not too much!)
Fixed a bug in FX_PAR module
Added scores/penalties to every control type
In game cursor turns into a direction arrow giving some indication as to what to do

10th February 2008

Location design
Location mock ups =D

16th February 2008

Finished off test location images : )
Put them in game, wow, they actually work straight away =D
Started on title screen image
First character tests

17th February 2008

Finished main character
Created 5 more characters (location owners) =D
Started on the map
Got groups displaying as dialog boxes

18th February 2008

UI buttons/panels for ... erm, the UI.

19th February 2008

Planed levels based on controls
Ordered the controls
Need a get key 'G' and easy ways of scrolling though current list '+/-'
Variation swapping table system
Delete group indicator (graphics too)
Creation short cuts? 'B' button 'I' Icon Display 'T' text display 'W' Wheel ...
Fix the group screws position when rotating
When moving/rotating/scaling groups all it's elements should move too
Reset object UI buttons on 'SetMode'
5 levels
Moved group graphics to correct folder
Pipes per location and redo graphics/move
Delete left over screw graphics

20th February 2008

Objects auto create to back or front
Page up/down works better now (not always having to hold ctrl)
Fixed a bunch of little things with the editor
10 levels
Did some variations of Cake backdrops
Redid machine graphics
Initial 15 levels for zoo
Began how to play screen graphics

21st February 2008

One zoo backdrop finished
Animating elephant
Found a fix for that alpha white-lines problem
Sleeping lion
Some zoo variations
Initial 15 levels for funfair levels

System Mania Crank Model

22nd February 2008

Twitching ear on sleeping tiger
ZZZ's for sleeping tiger
Sorted objects not assigning themselves to groups correctly
Flag animation
Ferris wheel animation
Some location variations
Map screen locations/icons
Started map screen TVs

23rd February 2008

Finished map with replay option, characters talking and level summaries (including level pictures!) =D
How To Play system done!
Added half the controls to the system
Fixed some bugs in the page module (to do with new texture system)
Fixed some in-game scoring issues caused by how to play system when used in-game

24th February 2008

Finished all the instruction controls & pages

27th February 2008

Failure screen, playing tip and smoke FX ... nice effect =D
Summary screen, longest combo etc.
Just In Time bonus

2nd March 2008

Redid all the difficulty code
Added the first animated elements
Can specify what control does what to which animated element
Animating cogs
Levels auto assign their own max times
Zappers antennae
Steam jet machines
60 goes to 59 correctly on time display
Pause button is now 2d
Added help routine to quad module to quickly get offsets positions
Can click anywhere on the UI buttons now
Tweaked some controls here and there
Sliders now has a more distinctive slider handle

3rd March 2008

Simple/small steam generator gizmos
Trumpet gizmos
Easy selection cancelling in editor
No accidental key presses (creating buttons) while editing names
Control names/texts display toggling on 'N' in editor
Can now name controls anything (not limited to a single character)
Stopped pull cords from jiggling on start up
Belts 3 wheels and colored belts

5th March 2008

Wrote a UV trimmer function which uses the textures w/h to remove the last pixel

9th March 2008

Speed up score text to make the next one stand out more
Added a panic button mechanic, with bar and bonus! =D
Did a checkbox override
Started percentage override, going well

11th March 2008

Finished dialog control override for percentage
Finished all UI panels
Tweaked the panic button (works on right-click and blinks the UI)
Added bonus coins =D

12th March 2008

Expert scores system
Finalised text displays
Initial 15 levels for perfume location
Several small control tweaks
2 space levels

15th March 2008

Tweaked TV games
Fixed a bug in the fire button
Tweaked button doors behaviour
Fixed a detection bug
5 Space Levels
Another 8 space levels
All 75 are now done (first pass), just another 5 passes left!

16th March 2008

One perfume backdrop finished (animated conveyors)
Perfume conveyors and bubble animations
Some perfume variations
Smaller screws on the groups, much better : )
Tweaked some background art
Got rid of lots of UV edge lines
Tweaked switch detection
Added centre bit to egg timer
Got a page routine which auto-fixes UV edges

17th March 2008

One space backdrop finished
2nd pass of all cake levels
Auto naming for auto-animations
Can now have multiple controls tied to a single reaction animation
Added reactions for all cake levels

18th March 2008

Additional bonus round mechanics

19th March 2008

Chose better colors (including frame which should match)
Don't use panic bar values
Tie in the success / failure screens so they make sense
Need to use time as a big bonus rather than panic timer
Success condition, make levels winnable
Additional arcade mode mechanics

20th March 2008

Started arcade map, can now play arcade levels : )
Arcade level selection with unlocking levels, total score etc.

21st March 2008

Finalizing zoo levels (got through eight)

22nd March 2008

Finished zoo and funfair levels
Added wheel holders
Tweaked some controls
Tweaked cake levels

23rd March 2008

Did most of the perfume levels
Made adding reaction animations far easier (auto depth and scale)

24th March 2008

Finished all the perfume and space levels (animations and scale)
Started bonus levels for cake location
Finished all the possible controls for bonus level (6 extra ones)

25th March 2008

Finished 15 bonus rounds
Wrote something to tweak entire levels =D
Did most of the arcade levels.
Added level script
Bonus round difficulties and tweakers.

26th March 2008

Finished arcade mode levels
Added reaction animations to all arcade levels
Applied backdrops to arcade levels
All levels are now complete (just the polished pass to do now) =D

27th March 2008

Reordered levels and generated new pictures
Fixed slider flashing bug
Scale the in game UI down a little
Trumpets and steam animations should allow multiple hits
Combo/Bonus text shouldn't go off the edges of the screen (compare with width?)
Zappers should allow multiple zaps and ignore requests for more
Are the coins too big? Yes, reduced
Collect closest coin with weighting towards bigger coins
Only show cursor instructions for elements that are currently wrong?
Closed the small gap in the button doors
Adjusted 'How To Play' control scales
Switch needs to set its value if instructions!
Story level difficulty controls tweakers

Some Of System Mania's In-Game Textures

28th March 2008

Sound : Keypad click
Sound : Guitar (5 notes)
Sound : Piano notes (7 notes)
Sound : Slider
Sound : Crank clicks (speed and volume)
Sound : Wheel spin loop (varies pitch and volume, used for egg timers)
Sound : Pull cord
Sound : Spinning loop & Belts (varies pitch and volume)
Sound : Steam release & variations
Sound : Button & variations
Sound : Switch & variations
Sound : Sand loop for egg timers

29th March 2008

Sound : Gear stick move
Sound : Knob click
Sound : Button doors open, closed
Tweaked some current sound effects (wheel mainly)
Allowed two wheels to sound at once (much better now)
Sound : Trumpet (3 notes)
Sound : Electric zap
Sound : Incorrect 'Buurrrp'
Sound : Correct ting
Sound : Keypad electronic noise

30th March 2008

Sound : Coins created
Sound : Coins collected
Sound : Main alarm flashing
Title, success and failure music selected and added

31st March 2008

Fixed the pull cord handle
Sound : All UI components
Sound : TV games, 8-Bit style samples

1st April 2008

Created 2 more level tunes (4 parts each)
Created some test title and map music

3rd April 2008

Found out why the arcade and bonus rounds were way too fast
Added tips system
Added several tips screens for different bits and pieces
Added post-it notes for in-game hints
Added in-game hints
Got the hide tips option working for both types of info
Added tip screens for all new types of control
Arcade Tips Screen
Redid the expert star on the summary screen
Arcade mode post-its
Updated FX_Score to allow for independent alpha and scale fading
Made sure points are never off screen

4th April 2008

Finished FX_SCORE module
Get the points (and bonuses) fading nicely =D
Y limit on bonus score displays
Started on the panic buttons
Level names finished

5th April 2008

Added machine names to all levels
Name and label system
Spent sometime making sure the labels/names looked okay
Finished off the panic button control and FX
Fixed can't-move-panic-buttons bug

19th April 2008

Made a start on the third pass of the comics (first computer pass)
Got 3 pages done and all the images to make up the rest of the middle comics!

20th April 2008

Finished three more middle pages and the last two end pages (1st pass, but looking good)
Comic system (display before map and page turning buttons)
Added all comic pages to game with 1st pass text.
Made sure they all function as expected (especially the start and end comic)

21st April 2008

Started on building drawings
Tweaking map with new buildings

22nd April 2008

Finished building drawings
Finished (more or less) the map screen
Redid map do use new buttons, much better
Red lights on map screens
Wobbling hover screens

23rd April 2008

Spent all day finished the front-end ... looks much better now =D
New arcade layout
Working on logo, might call it 'System Mania' instead of 'Systemania'

24th April 2008

Updated loading bar
Trying to find a way to get better characters
Spent lots of time on main character, adding detail using paths, looks good.

25th April 2008

Updated three characters using paths.
Starting text for the map screen.

26th April 2008

Updated the final two characters
Updated the main buildings
Did the ruined version of the main shop
Used new assets for the 1st comic page (with expressions!)
Animated main character on title screen.

27th April 2008

Finished second comic page (spending time on expressions & poses)
Started on mid comic pictures

28th April 2008

Finished three mid comics
Finished first end comic
Redid the loading screen (again)

Before And After Of Fiona The Main Character

29th April 2008

Did the last comic (needs finishing)

30th April 2008

Finished the last comic page =D
Created all 21 character TV pictures
Vamped up the success and failure screens for both game modes (including new lead character)

1st May 2008

Created 10 exterior backdrop images for the levels.
Finished 6 backdrop 'pages' for each location
Story levels auto-select a backdrop
Updated the Moon Launcher graphic and redid all the comics, map & backdrops.

2nd May 2008

Flashing the map-play button a few times
Renamed story buttons on map screen
The Next button on the instruction page now flashes
Speed up conveyors, then slow down to normal as controls get nearer to the lose state.
Created expert scores (by test playing) for all levels (arcade & story)
Fixed the level numbers going over the limit on the map screens
Nine piano tunes
Signs now point out that you can practice on the tips/instructions pages
Condensed first instructions page (less text) and added coins info.
Added a new coins tip page to level 3
Moved panic button tip page to later in the game (where it's more likely needed).

3rd May 2008

Art variations for zoo.
Panel naming for zoo.
Fixed a few bugs to do with loading different textures.
Added a coloring system. Backgrounds, panels and controls can be colored separately.
Finished naming the cake shop panels.

4th May 2008

Fun fair panel naming & texture variations
Perfume factory panel naming & texture variations

5th May 2008

Space agency panel naming & texture variations
Added variations for clouds to all backdrops & UI
Added in-space background graphics/pages for the last five levels =D

6th May 2008

Preparing marketing materials
Renamed the game from 'Contraptions' to 'System Mania'
First pass of System Mania web pages
Took all the screenshots

7th May 2008

Re-ordered the space missions

9th May 2008

Tried uneven beats when not doing well, but it just sounds broken.
OGG'ified the sound files (saved about 10MB on the download size)
Updated the loading bar, again!
Made OGGs call the loading screen
Spent some time working on a nice way to display 'converting audio' but gave up in the end
Added OGG-loading-screen ignore code to all games
Made sure non-OGG'ed samples are being loaded direct from LMO file
Use 'Panic' instead of '!'
Use 'Pause' instead of '|'
Re-ordered post-it notes for coins and panic tip screens (where on the wrong levels)
Switches show stick to the correct position (similar to knobs)
Make the switch detection easier (see level 3)
Made pull cords so they actually need to be pulled
Map screens need a title and a description of what is expected of the player!
High-resolution window title for map screens
All screens now have proper static FX
Finish the arcade meter
Polished map speech text
Added a phone and waves and sound to map (different pitch phone talking sounds) : )
Hang up and phone ring samples added
Fixed the info-stays-on map bug
Added ability to define level order
Mixed up the levels so they cross over nicely
Proof read comics
Proof read half the phone conversations

10th May 2008

Redid icon
Redid cover
Tweaked logo so it's bright (in all places & standardized)
Need to play title music on comics
Proof read the rest of the story text and tweaked the order/positioning
In space pictures for map TV screens
Proof read all the panel labels
Added a new backdrop for when Fiona goes inside the mars obiter

11th May 2008

Take the mars obiter out of Larry's last story images (and re-test)
Need less text and more graphics on first how-to-play page
Stuck on the practice tip screens, make the first couple more obvious to continue
Wheel instructions should be more clear
Coins help should read 'click on them before ...'
Re-sized all instructions and tips text (including post-its)
Cancel talk sample when playing hang up (fades out past hang up sound)
Summary and failure screens should say 'Stage 1 Failed' or 'Stage 1 Success'
Finalized summary background fade : )
You can see a quick flash of the game controls appear when continuing from how to play
First level of zoo doesn't use correct colors!? Okay when you visit how to play though
Arcade music sequences
Arcade warning sounds (using the story mode ones is too much!)
Single panic Bonus Coins
Extra single panic button FX
Make sure panic bonus isn't permanently fixed (just on 'C' key)
Panic buttons auto-increase the levels difficulty
Panic buttons auto-increase the expert goal
Need a panic button tip (and in-game post it)
Tweaked the panic button holder
Tweaked the star FX texture
Add panic buttons to all levels
Tested panic buttons work for every control type
Added difficulty mode selection when story mode is completed
Made auto-difficulty real time stuff float based instead of integer
Added penalty consideration for some bonuses
Proof read all the pages
Added high score system
High score pages
Added System Mania high scores to Pi Eye builder
Uploaded System Mania pages to test high score
System Mania was the first visitor to the System Mania pages, worked first time too =D