Eco - Global Survival Game

Eco is an upcoming game "where you must collaborate to build civilization in a finite shared world, using resources from a fully simulated ecosystem where your every action affects the lives of countless species." (All quoted text taken from the Kickstarter page, link below.)

On the surface, it might appear like Minecraft, but stay tuned!

Finite resources

A game of Eco is played on a world where every resource taken affects the complex ecosystem. "Without careful planning and understanding of the ecosystem, lands can become deforested and polluted, habitats destroyed, and species left extinct."

"In the extreme, the food supply of the ecosystem can be destroyed, along with all human life on it, resulting in server-wide perma-death."

A Player-Run Government and laws

Players are banded together on a server and must carefuly balance taking resources to build while maintaining the world they live in. To make the task doable, a government system can be established.

Each player can propose laws and vote on them based on actual data taken from the world of Eco. The data is gathered by objects placed around the world and can then be used as an argument when proposing a law.

Building, skills and food

Building is a complex but rewarding task in Eco. Players can construct a building and designate its type, which will give special effects, faster skill gains or access to different tools. However, every player can not have every skill, so cooperation is key.

Player-Run Economy

Players in Eco can sell both goods and services. Trading can be done while both online or offline via a shop window. It is entirely up to the players whether anything emerges as a main currency. Service contracts are similar to a quest system, except the quests are an actual job for something actually needed by a real player.

Researching Technology

Players can (and must) reseach technology in Eco by performing experiments, which consume resources. A knowledge object is then created, and can be kept by the player or shared. Technology is indispensable in Eco, because there is an outside threat to the world. Players have a finite amount of time to develop the technology necessary to thwart the threat while making sure they don't destroy the environment in the process. "In Eco, the threats to the world’s existence are not only internal (player destruction of the ecosystem) but external as well, giving players an additional incentive."

Eco is meant to not only be a game, but also a platform for future social experiments. The game is currently in Kickstarter with 5 days left to go. It is funded more than 150% but the stretch goals include a player-made penal justice system, which frankly sounds awesome. This is not my game, but I think it looks splendid. Thank you for reading and sorry for any errors (I am not a native English speaker.) :)

Kickstarter link:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1037798999/eco-global-survival-game