We are VERY excited to announce that Q.U.B.E. will be launching on December 16.  For almost two years we’ve been reviewing submissions, discussing games, writing checks, providing guidance and feedback, and wondering whether our investment experiment is working.  Certainly, we have helped a few developers bring their vision to life, but it’s not until those games are released that we will know if we fulfilled our main goal: to help promising developers get, and stay, independent.

With Q.U.B.E.‘s release, and more releases coming soon, this question will begin to be answered.  We will be sharing as much information as we can so that everyone can learn from this funding experiment.  Keep an eye on this blog if you’re interested.

But enough about us…

Q.U.B.E. is a first person puzzle solving game set in a structure made of white cubes. Using colored cubes as tools, the player must complete a series of challenging puzzles.  On December 16, Q.U.B.E. will be available on Steam, Desura, and Playism. It will be sold for £9.99/$14.99/€10.99.

The game was developed by Toxic Games, who built the prototype as part of their undergraduate program and developed it into a full game  after graduating.  Q.U.B.E.‘s development is very unusual in that it was developed without a programmer.  The team used only the UDK and its scripting facilities.

Q.U.B.E. is an Indie Game Challenge finalist, an Official Selection of the Escapist Extra Credit Innovation Award, and most recently, an official selection at the Tokyo Game Show’s Sense of Wonder Night.

Steph Thirion’s Faraway is now the 5th project backed by Indie Fund.

Faraway is Steph’s second game, following in the footsteps of his critically acclaimed award winning debut release, Eliss.  Faraway has already garnered critical acclaim as a Gamma IV finalist, Independent Games Festival Excellence in Design finalist, and the winner of the Sublime Experience award at IndieCade. We’re proud to be providing support for this title to help it cross the finish line.

Like Eliss before it, Faraway provides the kind of cohesive and harmonious experience that is rarely seen in games created by larger teams. Coding, game design, visual design, musical score, and sound design, were all done by Steph.  Adding to the personal feel of the game is the fact that the game’s universe is procedurally generated and adapts to the player’s skill level to provide an ever-challenging and infinitely replayable experience for all skill levels. With this game, Steph establishes depth and simplicity as his game design hallmarks.

If you’re attending PAX this weekend, you can be one of the first to play Faraway at booth number 878, along side Derek Yu’s upcoming XBLA release, Spelunky.

For more information about Faraway, check out http://playfaraway.com