''Eco'' is a wire-frame 3D

evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

life simulation game Life simulation games form a subgenre of simulation video games in which the player lives or controls one or more virtual characters (human or otherwise). Such a game can revolve around "individuals and relationships, or it could be a simulation ...

developed by

Denton Designs Denton Designs was a British video game developer based in Liverpool. The company was founded in 1984 and initially specialised in developing software for the ZX Spectrum home computer. Amongst the founders were developers who had worked on the ...

for the

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...

and

Atari ST Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the company's Atari 8-bit computers, 8-bit computers. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985, and was widely available i ...

. It was released in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

and published by

Ocean Software Ocean Software Limited was a British software development company that became one of the biggest European video game developers and publishers of the 1980s and 1990s. The company was founded by David Ward and Jon Woods and was based in Manchest ...

. The player uses a mouse or joystick to control an insect, which must avoid predators, find food, and then find another insect of the same species and mate with it. The player can then unlock one of several "

gene In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...

s", altering the value of which changes their creature. Some changes are only cosmetic and leave the creature in the same species; others can, for instance, make the initial insect a new species with wings and capable of flight. After unlocking multiple genes the player can become a fast dog-like quadruped, a bird, a scorpion or a humanoid. The game does not end until the player starves, is killed by another creature, or deliberately "evolves" into a plant.

References

External links

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''Eco''
at Lemon Amiga 1987 video games Amiga games Atari ST games Biological simulation video games Denton Designs games Ocean Software games Single-player video games Video games about evolution Video games about insects Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games scored by Fred Gray {{life-simulation-videogame-stub