Eco Is Almost Ready To Go Global

Earlier this year, IGM shared the news about Eco , a global survival game being developed by Strange Loop Games .

. Players take to the wilderness in an online ecosystem struggling to thrive. Every decision impacts the ecosystem, directly or indirectly, and players must work together to ensure the survival of all.

Eco is committed to teaching its players about wilderness survival and also about cause and effect. Each player on the server is a resident of the ecosystem, and as the game begins, an event which will bring about global destruction is looming in the near (real time) future. In addition to building construction and other familiar elements of sim games, Eco players must form a government, then propose and vote on laws which will allow their society to maintain the ecosystem, develop new technology, and ultimately avert the impending crisis.

The game also offers PvP in the pursuit and capture of criminals who break these player-created laws, and are then subjected to the punishment defined by the laws. The players must utilize the resources of their untamed world without straining them too harshly. Victory comes in the form of survival, failure in the form of a server-wide permadeath.

Looking to do more than entertain, Strange Loop is working to get Eco added to school curricula; they’re also creating tools for teachers which will allow them to help their students navigate its intricacies. The U.S. Department of Education provided them with two years’ worth of funding to help them on their way. Now, to complete the project, they are turning to the internet for the rest of what they need. Their Kickstarter, which launched today, is seeking $100,000 USD to help bring Eco to life. Featuring thousands of plants and animals, Eco is a powerful lesson in how connected the lives of all species really are, and how they must coexist for the greater good. Details about the ongoing campaign and Eco ‘s progress can be found on the Strange Loop Twitterand Facebook; the game has already been Greenlit on Steam.