Project Abyss

Project Abyss

Project Abyss is a simple underwater exploration game made for the Pygame Community Fall Jam 2024. You play as a marine biologist who tries to discover and document the different species, both mobile and sessile, found in the different layers of the ocean. You also need to keep an eye on your oxygen level; your tank can only carry 3 minutes worth of air.

Although this was initially made for the jam, I intend to continue working on it well after the jam ends.

How To Play

• Pressing w will move you in the direction of your cursor. moving the cursor around will change your direction.
• Left clicking on a creature, either a mobile one or a sessile one, while it is in close range will document it, adding it to your journal.
• If you move while a mobile creature is within proximity that creature will get spooked and try to swim away. It is best to sit still and let the animal come to you so you can document it.
• Press TAB to open your journal. Press TAB again to close it.
• In the journal you can click on a creature to learn more about it.
• The bar to the lower left shows your oxygen level. If you run out the game will reset and the journal will be cleared.
• To board the submarine you must press c while within a certain distance from it. Boarding the submarine will refill your oxygen. To exit press c.
• When you board the submarine a map will appear to the left. You can pan with left click. The sub will show as a yellow square on the map.
• You can set a waypoint by right clicking on the map. The waypoint will show as a green square.
• Press Enter to go to the waypoint.

Relevance To Theme

The tiles used are sized 64x64 pixels. The submarine also uses a 64x64 image. Unfortunately that was the best I could think of at the time.

Terminology

sessile: for an organism to be unable to move freely.

symbiosis: for two organisms of different species to live in a close relationship that benefits of both of them.

I had a lot of fun making this, and I even learned a lot about the different animals used in the game.

change log

• 2/23/2025:
  Added main menu
  Added pause menu
  Added a new fish: the cutlass fish

source code