Recently launched on Kickstarter, from the people behind the somewhat difficult 1992 Sega Genesis game Ecco the Dolphin comes The Big Blue, a spiritual sequel of sorts.
Ecco designer Ed Annunziata is helming the project, promising to deliver a game which “will be strikingly beautiful and at the same time mysterious and terrifying.”
Described as a “massive adventure game,” The Big Blue’s defining gameplay elements will be exploration, quests, creature collecting and puzzle solving. Some unique features are also planned:
All Creatures are controllable
Control multiple creatures at the same time (like a swarm)
Aquascape and populate your own small sea
Breed and multiply creatures to be used for various purposes (like quest assistance)
The project also has some rather lofty stretch goals. At 150% funding, the developers promise to implement a co-operative game mode, and at 200%, they plan to make an MMO. “Think of an aquatic version of [Eve Online] and you’d have a good idea how The Big Blue Online will work.”
Provided it hits its funding goal of $665,000, the game is set to launch on April 22, 2014 on PC, Mac, iOS, and Android.
The Big Blue, an underwater adventure game [Kickstarter, via MCV]