Yes, it’s a while to wait for maybe a new game (after all, it could be that the remasters are coming next April and a new title is even further off), but this cult classic has fans that dream of having another chance to sidescroll across the ocean as Ecco the dolphin. That is, if they can progress past the first few challenges; the franchise is known for its difficulty, including Ecco: Defender of the Future, the third-person (third-dolphin?) 3D incarnation of the series. While Annunziata didn’t work on this sequel, Defender of the Future captured the rigor and eerie coziness of the first games: excellent atmospheric music, scary beings hiding in the dark, and a steep learning curve. The undoubtedly successful design of the game is, though, source to one of my biggest disappointments in life: I’ll never get to be a dolphin.
Apparently that sentiment isn’t too far off from Annunziata’s inspriations, though: “I started to dream about a game where you experience life as a dolphin,” he told Xbox Wire. “I chose a dolphin because I figured it’s as close to a person as all the whales.”
It’s a big-brain thought for a big-brain guy, who also mentioned in the interview that he thinks two things gamers possess in droves are “higher than average IQ” and “love [that] can really make things happen in the real world.” Here he’s also touching on the game’s legacy for promoting awareness about caring for the ocean and the life inside, something that naturally came out of his appreciation for the ocean as a Pacific Islander.
“Imagine a culture connected directly to the ocean’s ecosystems over generations. Growing and evolving together, humans contribute to the ecosystem rather than taxing it,” he said to Xbox Wire. “Over time, they would learn about all the ocean cycles and how to get into sync with them. Anything that fosters a connection between humans and the ocean should be enthusiastically embraced.”
The remasters of Ecco the Dolphin and Ecco: Tides of Time will be developed by Annunziata and the “entire original team.” These remasters, nor the new, yet-to-be-named Ecco game, do not yet have release dates.
