News
4 CommentsThe Big Blue Kickstarter campaign fails to reach its target
By Emily Gera on Apr 29, 2013 04.29.13
The Big Blue, an adventure game from Ecco the Dolphin creator Ed Annunziata, has failed to reach its target goal on Kickstarter. The Kickstarter project hit the crowdfunding site late last month with a funding goal of $665,000. But the campaign came to an end today having reached just $55,764, a fraction of the money necessary to fund the title. The failure of the Kickstarter didn't come as a surprise to Annunziata, however, who updated users on the site last week stating the studio already has a secondary plan lined up which will give users the opportunity to experience a slice of the larger planned game. The team will start a new Kickstarter campaign with a smaller funding goal and offer backer rewards at a "finer granularity." "One of the problems we have is it is hard to get...
News
5 CommentsThe Big Blue Kickstarter's Plan B involves a new Kickstarter campaign
By Jenna Pitcher on Apr 22, 2013 04.22.13
A Plan B campaign has been outlined for Ecco the Dolphin creator Ed Annunziata's current Kickstarter campaign for a new underwater action adventure game called The Big Blue, according to the campaign's latest update. Plan B involves a new Kickstarter campaign with a smaller funding goal with rewards "at a finer granularity." If successfully funded, "a slice" of The Big Blue will be developed to give potential backers a better idea of the game's vision. "One of the problems we have is it is hard to get people to see how compelling a game like the Big Blue will be," Annunziata wrote in the update. "If it is not clear in your mind's eye you will less likely back it. This is totally understandable. "On the other hand I am absolutely certain that if you could try the game and see how...
Feature
19 CommentsFighting the tide: the struggle to revive Ecco the Dolphin
By Megan Farokhmanesh on Jan 30, 2013 01.30.13
When pitching games, inconsistency is the consistent rule. A handful of guys sit silent at a conference table. Yesterday it was a marketing department and a lawyer; today it's a CEO and several producers. Tomorrow it will be a man from a toy company who knows nothing about games. Meetings never happen the same way twice. It's a dance that Ed Annunziata, the creator of Sega's ocean-based, sci-fi hit Ecco the Dolphin, is all too familiar with. To say that he's been in this room dozens upon dozens of times over the years is only half true. The location moves. The players change. Yet the goal remains the same: to pitch and pitch until something sticks. Today's meeting with Sega is no exception. Eight men in suits are already waiting for Annunziata by the time he arrives; he almost...
