This week I created some more images using photoshop, and started trying to incorporate some of these images into the game, hopefully giving the game a more appealing look. For a good tutorial on creating buttons, here's a youtube video I found.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niHsjUha-2o

A dynamic healthbar has been added to the game. Right now the sharks pretty much suck the life out of you the moment they touch you, but it works. I've also included a map icon to the bottom of the game screen. This should only be visible at certain points in the game, and is an indication that you are at a place where you can leave the level and return to the map.

I've also been working on turning the images that I've created into buttons. I create the buttons as textures, and then load the textures. In the draw function I create a rectangle with the x and y coordinates, as well as the width and height of the button.

I'm also working on creating the map, and the 'x' that mark the location of different levels. Soon it should be possible to choose a particular 'x' (as if it were a button), and be able to jump to that level.

I also created different colored buttons based on whether the button is currently being pressed down or not.