Eco (2018 video game)

Lore & Background

Eco was originally conceived as an educational tool for middle school students. Strange Loop Games collaborated with the University of Illinois on its creation, and the U.S. Department of Education allocated over a million dollars for development, with a major boost of nearly $900,000 in 2015 for a two-year contract. The studio had previously produced the logic game Vessel and the serious game Sim Cell. In August 2015, CEO and designer John Krajewski launched a Kickstarter campaign seeking $100,000; it raised over $200,000. The game was initially targeted for a September 2015 release but eventually launched in early access in February 2018 to fund ongoing development.

The game world is a small planet threatened by an impending meteor impact. Players must research and improve technology to destroy the asteroid while avoiding excessive resource exploitation or pollution. The planet features biomes such as forests, plains, and rivers, along with harvestable plants and huntable animals. Unlike typical survival games, Eco has no combat between players or monsters, and player characters cannot die. Players can create currencies, establish economies, form governments, and vote on laws that restrict actions or apply taxes and grants to incentivize sustainable behavior.

Reader's Guide

Eco's significance lies in its unique approach to the survival genre, shifting the focus from individual resource hoarding to collective environmental stewardship. By requiring players to manage nutrition, limit pollution, and prevent species extinction, the game serves as a practical simulation of ecological economics and governance. Its educational roots—developed with university input and federal funding—distinguish it as a serious game that teaches sustainability through play. The absence of combat and player death further reinforces cooperation over conflict. Reception highlighted this contrast: in 2018, Rock, Paper, Shotgun called it a 'pretty Minecraft' and noted that survival games typically promote heedless exploitation, whereas Eco forces players to consider consequences. Massively Overpowered in 2021 expressed curiosity about its development, and in 2023 German site Buffed.de deemed it better suited to cooperative multiplayer players. Eco's legacy includes demonstrating how video games can model real-world environmental challenges and foster collaborative problem-solving.

Did You Know?

• Eco was originally designed purely as an educational tool for middle school students.
• The U.S. Department of Education allocated more than a million dollars for the game's development, with a boost of nearly $900,000 in 2015.
• The game has no combat between players or monsters, and player characters cannot die.
• Players can create currencies, form governments, and vote on laws that restrict actions or apply taxes and grants.