Now that Abject Abyss is on steam, I'd like to take a moment to give some context beyond what's shown in the screenshots and trailers, and some info about myself.
What kind of Horror?
There is an abundance of indie horror games these days, which I'm happy to see. I love seeing different developer's spins on ideas and themes, and all the weird sub-genres that pop up as a result. I enjoy a lot of different types of horror, but Horror-Adventure is where my heart truly lies, and that's where Abject Abyss falls too.
The Horror part you already know. Thick atmosphere, eerie sounds, creepy visuals, and of course monsters roaming around that must be avoided. But what about the Adventure in Horror-Adventure?
Let me mention a few key things I mean:
- An inventory Collecting items, door keys, healing items, etc.
- A world No one likes having lore forcibly dumped on them, but if there's nothing there at all you can really feel the absence. Finding notes and audio logs may be cliché, but it's cliché for a reason. I personally love finding little tidbits of lore and story scattered across a game. And if you don't? It's not like reading is compulsory.
- Obstacles/Puzzles I don't mean putting yet another Tower of Hanoi puzzle into a room. But finding something in your way and using a little brain power (or your inventory) to overcome it. Otherwise you'd just be walking through hallways occasionally running from a monster. Which is fine, but I like things feeling more involved than just a haunted house ride.
- A sense of progress This is the big one. There are some fantastic horrors that take place exclusively in one incredibly detailed area, but I've always loved reaching the end of a game and really feeling like I've covered a lot of ground. Like it was an actual journey, in a physical sense.
That's just my personal taste of course. But it should help give you an idea of what kind of game I intend to make.
I'll talk more about all the monsters and spooky stuff later.
Who's Making this game?
Hey, I'm Anton. I'm a New Zealand based developer with a background in art and animation.
Have you made anything before this?
Yes, and you can check some of that out over on my Itch page: https://antonbezett.itch.io/
Those games were all made in an incredibly short time frame, take a few minutes to play, and are leaning into the 'PSX' graphic style (Chosen entirely because of how fast it is to make assets for).
Abject Abyss is going to be quite different to any of those, but feel free to have a gander if you're interested. It's all free.
What's next?
I'm currently hard at work on the Abject Abyss Demo. I'm not ready to announce a release date just yet, but progress is steady. I'll let you know when it's close.