"Eccky" played principally via the Eccky website and MSN Messenger, though also via mobile phone. Upon Eccky's birth, Eccky is automatically added as a contact to the MSN contact lists of both players. This allows users to talk to their virtual child. Running on an AIML chat engine, Eccky is able to speak from the moment following birth, both in response to users addressing Eccky and by initiating conversations him/herself. Eccky initiates conversation either randomly or to express any particularly pressing need he/she may have (i.e. being extremely hungry, having to go to the bathroom, being very sick, feeling neglected, etc.) Eccky's vocabulary is initially limited to newborn babble. Then, as with a real child, Eccky's command of vocabulary grows with each day of gameplay, to a final capability of being able to respond with over 60,000 unique answers on more than 4,000 diverse subjects. Since June 2007, Eccky also features an in-game chat functionality.