Last we heard, "Ecco" creator Ed Annunziata was on his way to a meeting with Sega to pitch the idea of a new "Ecco the Dolphin" game. Evidently, that meeting didn't go as well as cetaceanophiles may have hoped, because Annunziata and the rest of the "Ecco" crew are turning to Kickstarter to breathe new life and sonar into the down but not out dolphin.
Welcome to "The Big Blue."
While not a direct sequel to the "Ecco" line of games, players will still take command of a dolphin in what Annunziata is calling "the next evolutionary step in underwater adventure games."
Named for one of "Ecco's" larger marine buddies, "The Big Blue" takes place after an event leading to the mass extinction of humanity causes dolphins and whales to undergo a massive radioactive spike, bringing them to the next step of evolution, much like Annunziata hopes the game will be to the genre.
Annunziata has teamed up with the composer behind "Ecco's" haunting melodies, Spencer Nilsen, as well as creature designer Jon Berg.
The kickstarter only launched on Monday, and they have a long way to go to get to their $665,000 goal. The game is currently being developed to run on iOS and Android devices, with hopes of porting the game to Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo devices. It's truly an ambitious undertaking, but the team has a lot of hope and plans for the game's future beyond ports. As Annunziata explains, "If we exceed our goal by 50% the game will get multiplayer, cooperative game play. Players will be able to share environments, creatures, and complete quests as teams."
You can check out their kickstarter page here, where a very early prototype is available.
