After unsuccessfully pitching SEGA to revive the classic underwater action game Ecco the Dolphin, series creator Ed Annunziata has instead taken to Kickstarter to crowdfund an all new game along similar themes.

The Big Blue is being designed around "themes such as climate change, mass extinction, gradation, evolution, and biogenesis", proposing the gaia theory of the Earth itself being a living organism. In a world where humans are extinct, the player will control sea mammals and other creatures, using sound and music as key game mechanics.

The development team boasts original Ecco the Dolphin composer Spencer Nilsen, and the Walking Dead, and Battlestar Galactica composer Bear McCreary, as well as Star Wars creature designer Jon Berg.

Initially aiming for US$665,000, the projects goals get even more ambitious, with stretch targets to add multiplayer if it exceeds by 50%, and some crazy plan to turn the game into an "aquatic version" of Eve Online if they can double their goal.

The game is being built on the Unity Engine, and a gameplay prototype is already playable over on the studio's official website.

Watch the pitch video below, and head over to the Kickstarter page for more details.