by March 2023 max." Adaptations American science fiction author Orson Scott Card was hired to write a novelization of the film based on the screenplay and discussions with Cameron. He wrote back-stories for Bud, Lindsey, and Coffey as a means not only of helping the actors define their roles, but also to justify some of their behavior and mannerisms in the film. Card also wrote the aliens as a colonizing species which preferentially sought high-pressure deep-water worlds to build their ships as they traveled further into the galaxy (their mothership was in orbit on the far side of the moon). The NTIs' knowledge of neuroanatomy and nanoscale manipulation of biochemistry was responsible for many of the deus ex machina aspects of the film. A licensed interactive fiction video game based on the script was being developed for Infocom by Bob Bates, but was cancelled when Infocom was shut down by its then-parent company Activision. Sound Source Interactive later created an action video game entitled The Abyss: Incident at Europa. The game takes place a few years after the film, where the player must find a cure for a deadly virus. A two-issue comic book adaptation was published by Dark Horse Comics. Notes See also , features deep sea alien activity, albeit in a hostile capacity. References Sources External links 1989 films 1980s science fiction adventure films American science fiction adventure films American science fiction thriller films American adventure thriller films Sea adventure films 1980s English-language films Films directed by James Cameron Films produced by Gale Anne Hurd Films with screenplays by James Cameron Fiction about animal cruelty Films scored by Alan Silvestri Films set in 1994 Films set in the future Films shot in California Films shot in Missouri Films shot in North Carolina Films shot in South Carolina Films that won the Best Visual Effects Academy Award Lightstorm Entertainment films Science fiction submarine films 20th Century Fox films 20th Century Studios franchises Underwater action films Underwater civilizations in fiction Films with underwater settings Marine salvage operations 1980s American films