It was brought to my attention that I didn't send an update when we launched the Addicube site. How could I have overlooked that?! So here it is: addicube.zakelro.com. If you're someone who reads the web almost exclusively via RSS (like Corvus does) then you can grab the Zakelro Story Studio rss feed here: feeds.zakelro.com/zakelro-posts.* 

We'll be posting news updates there, more behind-the-scenes glimpses of our process, and every new build of the game until it's released. That means you can play it every step along the way, just like we do. We're currently playing with a soundtrack that reflects the mood of the cubes in your petri dish, which we believe will add quite a lot to the game. New build will be released every two weeks or so. So stop by. play a while, and let us know what you think!

* That feed will include posts on Zakelro's other projects, as well as Corvus' thoughts on the industry and game design.

via The Wasabi Project

With Addicube now fully funded, and a fair bit of the initial t-crossing and i-dotting for the project settled, it seems like the right time to start releasing some of the prototypes and development versions that have been developed.

There are a number of incremental development versions of Addicube that I’ll be posting in the near future, but before getting to those, I wanted to go back to the very beginning of Addicube’s development.

Here’s a link to the very first working prototype of Addicube, which predates the Kickstarter project:

This version of Addicube was just a very rough experiment, and even some of the most basic concepts seen in this version have changed quite a bit; none-the-less, this has been a useful first reference point during the game’s development.

We're so excited that we hit our goal and will be working on this fun game starting next week. And every extra dollar contributed towards Addicube will go towards procuring soundtrack and sound effects. That means that your contributions at this point go directly into the pocket of a game musician and composer AND will have a dramatic impact on the experience of the game.

As an extra incentive, if we reach $4,000 by the deadline, I'll make a variety of posters (3 at minimum) for the $25 level backers to choose from. So recruit your friends, or upgrade your backer level today!

Corvus Elrod is a Semionaut and Narrative Design Consultant. He is the co-founder of Zakelro Story Studio and designer behind The HoneyComb Engine, a participatory storytelling platform. He has been designing participatory experiences for the better part of two decades, beginning with his exploration of improvisational theater. As he began incorporating more and more game mechanics into his performances he turned his attention to how video game mechanics communicate meaning. He contracts for a broad spectrum of clients, from major game studios to installation artists, and as of 2010 has begun to launch small online game projects in collaboration with independent developers and artists.

Charles Berube has been a programmer and freelance web developer for more than ten years. In the middle of 2009 he began designing short, experimental games on a regular basis using Flash in an effort to explore a variety of game play mechanics and the responses they elicited from players. Now, after releasing more than a dozen short-form games through his website, The Wasabi Project, he is transitioning into full-time independent game development.