Eliss Author's Latest, Faraway, Gets Indie Fund Backing

The fifth game to be financially backed by the collection of independent game makers at the Indie Fund will be Steph Thirion's Faraway, a celestial-themed iOS title. Faraway is Thirion's second game, after 2009 IGF Mobile finalist Eliss. Gamasutra named Eliss the second greatest iPhone game of 2009. Faraway itself was a finalist for this year's IGF Excellence In Design award. According to Gamasutra sister site IndieGames.com, Faraway is a one button game with players taking control of a shooting star. "Holding down the button causes the comet to use the nearest star as a centre of gravity, allowing it to orbit around, changing its direction and velocity," IndieGames co-editor Mike Rose writes. "The key is to find special areas in space when constellations can be produced. Once such an area is entered, the key is to loop around stars, connecting them up and creating as complex a constellation as possible." Independent game funding collective Indie Fund includes indie game creators Jonathan Blow (Braid), Ron Carmel and Kyle Gabler of 2D Boy (World of Goo), Aaron Isaksen (Armadillo Gold Rush), thatgamecompany's Kellee Santiago (floWER, Journey, Capy's Nathan Fella (Critter Crunch, Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP and Flashbang Studios' Matthew Wegner (Off-Road Raptor Safari, Blurst). Games backed by the fund so far include Monaco, Shadow Physics, Q.U.B.E., and Dear Esther.