Into the Abyss by Pie-Tras

made by Pie-Tras for Ludum Dare 46 (JAM)

Our Deep Water Marine Life Research Bases have stopped responding! Aquatical Life Corporations has hired you to discover the communication problem. Unfortunately, the only sub we have the funds for has... Uhhh... No Problems! Anyways, get down there and keep the company alive! Oh, and I suppose keep yourself alive! We wouldn't want any more lawsuits now would we!

Follow the purple squares to find a supply station where you can restore your oxygen and power. Follow the blue squares to go from research base to research base in an attempt to find out what happened to the researchers.

Controls

WADS - Move sub

Left/Right Arrows - Switch sub view

E - Turn on lights when looking out window

ESC - Pull up menu in-game

Install

Download the zip folder and extract everything inside it. Run the jar to start the game.

Requirements

Java 8 or higher

Change Log

Patch 0.1 - Fixed a bug that caused resources to not be refilled at stations.

Youtube	https://pie-tras.itch.io/into-the-abyss
Youtube	https://pie-tras.itch.io/into-the-abyss
Youtube	https://pie-tras.itch.io/into-the-abyss
Original URL	https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/46/into-the-abyss

Ratings

Overall	759^th	3.684⭐	21🧑‍⚖️
Fun	1771^th	3.053⭐	21🧑‍⚖️
Innovation	517^th	3.658⭐	21🧑‍⚖️
Theme	1234^th	3.658⭐	21🧑‍⚖️
Graphics	1152^th	3.684⭐	21🧑‍⚖️
Audio	263^th	3.889⭐	20🧑‍⚖️
Humor	1220^th	2.833⭐	17🧑‍⚖️
Mood	41^th	4.361⭐	20🧑‍⚖️
Given		18🗳️	14🗨️

Feedback

petrifiedapple

21. Apr 2020 · 02:19 UTC

Can you release an html5 build on itchio?

Brenan

21. Apr 2020 · 02:42 UTC

Really cool game ! I was creeped out by those strange red dot. The sonar is nice and the soundFX are great. Love the humor in the intro. Good job.

OldManWinters

21. Apr 2020 · 03:03 UTC

Interesting concept that I was initially very intrigued by, but after the first station I encountered I ran into problems. I couldn't seem to get anywhere, and the other stations I encountered didn't seem to do anything at all. After several runs of not encountering anything and running out of power I got frustrated. I feel like with a game that is primarily exploration based that the resource allocation was a bit overly strict. Having said that, the mood and atmosphere of the game were top notch. I'd love to see this game further developed.

🎤 Pie-Tras

21. Apr 2020 · 04:08 UTC

@oldmanwinters Yep! There was a bug that is now patched. Thanks for the feedback!

Vladadamm

23. Apr 2020 · 20:50 UTC

Really nice mood, got me hooked in the game and continued until the end, even if it took quite some time. Though the game still felt a bit too long for a jam game, as there isn't much content and the long travels through the caves/ocean feel a bit boring and repetitive. I think a post-jam version with a bit more story and some more variety underwater (other life forms, a bit more danger, etc...) could work pretty well.

gamechoy

25. Apr 2020 · 17:54 UTC

Awesome atmosphere and execution. I feel like this has a lot of potential and I think you should work on it more! The premise was unique and enjoyed the radar aspect with the windows. Great work!

Voidsay

09. May 2020 · 19:07 UTC

haven't used java since highschool.
Could someone remind me witch file you need to run java on to launch?

Nevermind apparently my java version is just borked

If someone else has the same problem on linux here is the command:
- first open directory in terminal
- enter: java -jar IntoTheAbyss0.1.jar

But now to the evaluation!

Very nice sound design! Great atmosphere!
Got lost in the caves and didn't find the second station. The leeches disappearing could use a better animation, but everything else is top notch!

Turkey

10. May 2020 · 01:58 UTC

Graphics were fantastic and I especially liked the radar! The squares seemed to keep moving/ changing as I felt whenever i was trying to find one/ get close to it, it would change its location. I don't think I visited it. Anyways, great mood and really good start to a game!

Oleksandr Rogovskyi

10. May 2020 · 02:03 UTC

I really liked the mood and sounds were on point. The pace was very slow and I noticed myself just waiting doing norhing until I reach some goal. Sonar looked cool, but there was little gameplay about it.

Overall I liked it. If game had a better pace, it would be fun to play.

Mark Keeble

10. May 2020 · 02:29 UTC

Cool game and execution. The audio was really cool and set the mood really well. Awesome submission. Especially since you made in in java, really cool.

Mark A Pressler

10. May 2020 · 03:19 UTC

Very cool game! The visuals are clear, the music and sfx are fantastic, and the story (at least the little bit that I did) was fun. The monsters were cool, I definitely got chills when I shined a light on my first one! I sorta wish they didn't path through walls but it's a very minor nitpick. I ran into an issue on the second blue dot, where it seemed to be in the middle of the wall with no way to get to it. I circled all around and couldn't find a way to it—maybe I'm dumb and missed it, but a more accessible map of the area you're in would be nice as well, though I get that as a mysterious exploration kinda game that's not really what you were going for. Overall, very nice job though.

Ceuteum

10. May 2020 · 13:01 UTC

I liked the atmosphere a lot. The UI & controls & the spritework together really make you feel like you're controlling a little sub. You're alone amidst the void, navigate your path with sonars and some clues from the researches before you, this is really cool. The audio adds up to that, too.

I liked the idea about firstly reading a log that says there are beasts and you must use your light to defend, and then actually encountering the beasts, quickly skimming through the windows and testing what you've read in logs. I feel like this sort of hinting can be expanded further with possibly more mechanics in a fuller version.

The maps felt huge and sadly there wasn't that much to do aside from going from point to point carefully and occasionally lighting enemies. In a fuller version, some radio conversations, or perhaps more mini-games would be great.

Anyways, nice job!

TheWustache

11. May 2020 · 13:27 UTC

Great atmosphere, you really nailed the mood! It is little slow paced, though.

Red Ash

11. May 2020 · 16:17 UTC

I tried to reach the dots to refill power and everything but i never could, they never got closer. I dont understand what i have missed :/ Very nice atmosphere though.