Time marches on.
Well, at least it used to.
The Game
You work for the mysterious organization known only as The Agency , tasked with tracking a time-consuming entity throughout an entire year.
Project ECCO is a game of time travel and cosmic horror—a solo journaling game with a twist. Time travel across the pages of a planner, writing in and marking up the dates based on prompts as you go, ultimately creating an artifact of your travels through time.
You will discover anomalies signifying the decay of time, evidence of the entity's destruction and influence, and pieces of yourself you had forgotten existed.
Don’t forget your coin. One flip may be the last line of defense between you and the fracturing of time itself.
In the end, will you destroy The Entity? Do you dare question The Agency? Can you find yourself?
*Mockup,
final product may differGameplay
How You Travel
As you journey through time, discover and make use of 7 different devices—modes of time travel represented by unique mechanics. From dice and playing cards to tarot cards and coins, these devices will help you shift back and forth (and often back again) through the dates of your planner.
Tracking Your Journey
Your planner is your log of everything you experience on your journey through time. For tracking your progress through the game, you'll have a bookmark character sheet for your inventory, encounters, and identity.
Endgame
Every play through of Project ECCO has an ending. With 6 possible final prompts, the final lines of your story will be up to you.
The Zine & The Planner
The Zine
Project ECCO will be printed in a full-color, 40-page, saddle-stitched, 5.5” x 8.5” zine. These rules can be used to play with any full-year planner, past present, or future.
The Planner
We will also be creating an official Project ECCO weekly planner for use with this game. A black & white, 105 page, wire-O bound, 5.5” x 8.5” journal. Featuring dedicated writing space for each day of the year across 52 weekly spreads.
Use of FundsThe funds accrued in this campaign will be used first to pay everyone involved in its creation. This will allow us to hire some incredible folks in the indie community to guest write, edit, and layout. Funds will also go towards the print run of this zine as well as printing the official planner and bookmark character sheets.
Stretch GoalsUNLOCKED - $3000 - Original Soundtrack by BE/HOLD Our wonderful composer creating the game's theme music will be able to make a 5 song soundtrack for you to listen to as you play!
UNLOCKED - $5000 - Everyone Gets a Raise At double our goal, all contributors get paid more!
$7500 - Planner Upgrade The Official Project Ecco Planner gets an upgrade! Additional artwork, supplemental materials, and more. |  |
Inspiration
Solo RPGs are one of the most unique formats to come out of the indie roleplaying space. I have been wowed by the innovation of creators in this space and have been wanting to contribute my own vision for some time. Project ECCO is a new game, but also builds on the influence of many other solo game creators in this space.
Some particular notes of inspiration:
The Portal at Hill House by Travis D. Hill and Lindi M. Farris-Hill
Thousand Year Old Vampire by Tim Hutchings
Anamnesis by Samantha Leigh
Rune by Spencer Campbell
Mud by Hannah Shaffer and Evan Rowland
The Wretched by Chris Bissette
Tether by Adam Baffoni (a two-player game, yet still a huge inspiration)
Fulfillment Partners
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A massive thank you to the community behind Zine Month 2023
Highlights
See all activity180Designer/Artist - Elliot Davis (He/Him) - @morebluebs
Elliot, aka "moreblueberries," is a game designer, artist, and podcast producer living in Brooklyn with his cat, Blue. He has designed two previous games: ABOMINATIONS and Something Is Wrong With The Chickens.
Guest Writer - Samantha Leigh (She/They) - @goblinmixtape
Samantha Leigh is a research assistant by day and game designer by night. They are best known for their solo tarot game, Anamnesis, and their short-form videos about indie TTRPGs.
Editor - Will Jobst (They/Them) - @will_jobst
Will is an award-winning tabletop game designer, editor, and publisher, with games like TORQ, this discord has ghosts in it, Campfire, and Black Mass. Will’s games are available at willjobst.itch.io .
Layout Designer - Brian Flaherty (He/Him) - @mrbrianflaherty
Brian Flaherty is a TTRPG performer and podcast producer in NYC. He can be found rolling dice on My First Dungeon and The Twenty Sided Podcast .
Composer - BE/HOLD - @behold.wav
BE/HOLD is the alter ego of Collin McClutchy (He/Him), a producer and audio engineer based out of Brooklyn, New York. You can find more of his music on streaming services, both under the moniker BE/HOLD , as well as with the indie rock band in contrast .
Perks
Back at this level to receive:
1 - PDF Download of Project ECCO
Estimated Delivery - June 2023
**Every backer at this level also contributes 1 community copy of the game when released on itch.io**
Back at this level to receive:
1 - Zine (5.5" x 8.5")
1 - Bookmark Character Sheet (2" x 6" )
1 - PDF Download of Project ECCO
Estimated Delivery - Summer 2023
**Every backer at this level also contributes 1 community copy of the game when released on itch.io**
Back at this level to receive:
1 - Zine (5.5" x 8.5" )
1 - Official Project ECCO Planner (5.5" x 8.5" wire-o bound)
1 - Bookmark Character Sheet (2" x 6" )
1 - PDF Download of Project ECCO
Estimated Delivery - Summer 2023
**Every backer at this level also contributes 2 community copies of the game when released on itch.io**
Provide a free PDF copy to those who can't afford to purchase Project ECCO when it is released digitally on itch.io
- 6 ordered
- 4 remaining
A huge show of support. Days of Significance are unique prompts associated with specific dates that players may encounter. As a baseline, these will include U.S. Holidays as well as some customizable days individual to the player.
At this tier, you can choose a day of significance to add to the official rules and help inspire the associated prompt. Is there a holiday you think deserves a shoutout missing from planners? A personal moment you want to sacrifice to the Entity? Let us know!
You will also receive the PDF, a signed copy of the physical zine, and official planner.
Estimated Time of Outreach - March 2023
Estimated Delivery - Summer 2023
Activity
Back at this level to receive:
1 - PDF Download of Project ECCO
Estimated Delivery - June 2023
**Every backer at this level also contributes 1 community copy of the game when released on itch.io**
Back at this level to receive:
1 - Zine (5.5" x 8.5")
1 - Bookmark Character Sheet (2" x 6" )
1 - PDF Download of Project ECCO
Estimated Delivery - Summer 2023
**Every backer at this level also contributes 1 community copy of the game when released on itch.io**
Back at this level to receive:
1 - Zine (5.5" x 8.5" )
1 - Official Project ECCO Planner (5.5" x 8.5" wire-o bound)
1 - Bookmark Character Sheet (2" x 6" )
1 - PDF Download of Project ECCO
Estimated Delivery - Summer 2023
**Every backer at this level also contributes 2 community copies of the game when released on itch.io**
Provide a free PDF copy to those who can't afford to purchase Project ECCO when it is released digitally on itch.io
- 6 ordered
- 4 remaining
A huge show of support. Days of Significance are unique prompts associated with specific dates that players may encounter. As a baseline, these will include U.S. Holidays as well as some customizable days individual to the player.
At this tier, you can choose a day of significance to add to the official rules and help inspire the associated prompt. Is there a holiday you think deserves a shoutout missing from planners? A personal moment you want to sacrifice to the Entity? Let us know!
You will also receive the PDF, a signed copy of the physical zine, and official planner.
Estimated Time of Outreach - March 2023
Estimated Delivery - Summer 2023
