Edge of the Abyss
A downloadable game for Windows
“They say if you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back. I’d know better than anyone. Its eyes are red, and it stinks like death. Recently, a friend discovered an old tome detailing the location of a sealed horror. A black pit at the bottom of an old mine. Some previous group had tried to set it free, leaving its seal cracked and weak. I sought to lead a small group down into the depths to repair it, but it was no easy task. Purple miasma leaked into the mine, an ambient ringing, like a beating heart, threatened to drive us insane. I decided we needed more help. I gathered all the help I could find and created a makeshift camp at the edge of the mine. . . With all of our resources, I hope to get this job done quickly. Maybe it’s the quiet muttering, or the stench of rot and blood in the air. . . But something tells me this won’t be so easy.”
- High Archivist Sol
Unbeknownst to the ambitious wizards led by Sol, the abyssal rift drains life force from all that is in its vicinity. Slowly, like a growing cancer, the rift will take everything and leave behind only fear and hopelessness. Can you keep the morale of your task force high? Can you repair the abyssal rift that is threatening to unleash the elder evil slumbering within it?
This game was developed in 10 days for the VimJam2 game jam.
Controls:
| Pause | 0 |
| Speed (1x) | 1 |
| Speed (3x) | 2 |
| Speed (5x) | 3 |
| Reload | R |
| Exit | Escape |
Credits:
Game Design and Programming: Red Salmon
Artist: wrabbit (instagram // twitter // website )
Sound design: Uluç Kaymak
Story and Voice Acting: Jules
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Comments
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The biggest obstacle I found in this game, once I figured out how everything works (and especially that just letting the game run while I looked around cost morale), the biggest problem is that I consistently had one too many mages die—first I had was reduced to four right as I got enough research for a teleportation circle, then I was reduced to 6 as I got enough research to seal the ritual. It doesn't feel like I have any real agency; I just send mages on expeditions, hope they return alive, and build things in order.
The art's nice, though, as is the music. They're very atmospheric; they fit each other and the tone of the gameplay. The voice acting was a pleasant surprise, too; it reminds me of the voice clips you hear in some old strategy games, in a good way.
The chance of having a squad member die was currently set at 30%. Unfortunately we didn't spend time playtesting the final build of the game (since it was literally completed 30 minutes before the deadline lol) but that sort of balancing could've been done earlier.
Thanks a lot for taking the time to give your feedback. We'll keep your experience in mind as we make the post jam version of the game. Hope you'll check it out!
I only played a couple of times, but I think the biggest problem is that there isn't anything you can do to affect the odds of people dying. You have to send a certain number of expeditions to get enough research to do stuff, and those expeditions are all equally dangerous, and you have to just live with it. Losing for something that feels out of your control like that never feels good, no matter what the odds are of that happening.