The Toge Game Fund Initiative has been revealed by Coffee Talk developer Toge Productions as a way to help Southeast Asian game developers get their start in the industry with up to $10,000 of funding — and no requirement to pay it back.
Toge Productions is an indie studio from Southeast Asia that has seen a fair amount of success with Coffee Talk, an interactive fiction game where you serve coffee to various fantastical creatures while talking about their problems. Now, this developer wants to give back to the community by establishing a fund to help other game devs get their start.
"If you're from Southeast Asia and you're looking for a fund for your game project, submit your pitch deck to us and get up to 10K USD!" Toge Productions said on Twitter. "In order to help marginalized & underrepresented game developers of Southeast Asia turn their game ideas into reality, we want to provide a safety net for you to experiment and iterate. This is the reason we are launching Toge Game Fund Initiative or TGFI."
How the Toge Game Fund Initiative Helps Game Developers Get Their Start
The Toge Game Fund Initiative helps game developers in a bunch of different ways; one of the most significant benefits to applicants is securing up to USD$10,000 to work on a vertical slide or "minimum viable product." Essentially, this fun aims to help game devs get a functional game off the ground.
Of course, Toge Productions is not just handing out money willy-nilly; developers will have to submit a pitch deck to Toge Productions. Should it be accepted, the fund will provide payments in installments based on milestones agreed upon by the developer and Toge Productions. The cash is not the only benefit, either.
"In order to help marginalized and underrepresented game developers of Southeast Asia turn their game ideas into reality, we need to provide a safety net for them to experiment and iterate, similar to the Flash sponsorship era." – Toge Productions
"In addition to the funding, Toge will provide consultation & mentorship, project management assistance, as well as testing & feedback," read an F.A.Q. about the fund. "You will have full control over your project."
So, what's in it for Toge Productions? Aside from warm fuzzy feelings, Toge Productions gets the "Right of First Refusal" to publish the game that the Toge Game Fund Initiative funded. Should Toge Productions pass on publishing the game, the funded developer is free to seek offers from other publishers or publish their game independently.
If you're a game developer in Southeast Asia and want to apply for this fund, you can submit a pitch deck via the fund's official website. Most of you are probably more about playing games rather than making them, though; you can buy Coffee Talk on Steam for just $12.99 or your regional equivalent.
What do you think of the Toge Game Fund Initiative? What's your favorite indie game released in recent years? Let us know in the comments below!
