Links this evening has some clarification with all the big news swirling around following the premiere of Indie Game: The Movie at Sundance last week. Plenty of new for/from developers, game picks, and of course the usual round of interviews.

This past weekend Indie Game: The Movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. According to some early reviews it’s been very well received so much so, in fact, that it’s going to be spun off into a half-hour television show if HBO has its way. Earlier reports had it as a comedy show, but the producers of the film have clarified that it will not be a comedic show rather just a fictional show.

Links this weekend has a a few notable news bites (along with the standard batch of new interviews and suggestions for games to check out) including the passing of game designer and musician Bill “Phosphorus” Sears, a man described as a great ally in the indie game effort.

A huge victory today for those who want a free and open Internet as both SOPA and PIPA have been shelved indefinitely. This coming two days after the largest Internet black out protest ever with sites like Wikipedia, Reddit and others shutting down entirely for 24 hours. This is a landmark event that showcases just what the Internet can do if threatened. Groups like the RIAA, MPAA and most important the ESA should take note not to step on something bigger and stronger than they are.

Well I would say that LudumDare’s mini game jam, SOPAJam, was quite the success. Despite minimal preparations and not being a main competition like Ludum Dare 22 was it still managed to get 47 games created that were all about SOPA. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m pretty damn impressed with those numbers!

Today is the big Internet protest day for those against SOPA/PIPA. Between Reddit, Destructoid, Rock Paper Shotgun (this one especially hurts), Wikipedia and literally hundreds of other sites I think we’ve sent out a big message to not only consumers and general Internet goers, but also to the politicians who are seemingly at the beck and call of big lobby interests.

If you hadn’t noticed, there are plenty of places on the web today that have “gone dark” in protest to the upcoming and constantly debated legislation called the Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect IP Act. Both are attempting to circumvent basic freedoms granted by the Internet and censor Americans (like me!) from sites the government or big interests deem not appropriate or “illegal.” It’s this year’s Net Neutrality.

Game developer Jonathan Blow is a busy man. So we found ourselves scrambling about in a panic when we were given the chance to get an update on what’s going on these days with his hotly anticipated adventure title The Witness, and the team behind it, straight from the horse’s mouth. Weeks were spent attempting to scratch out a few decent questions regarding his upcoming game, development style, and some habitual leisure activities (weeks may have also been spent on holiday break as well), and now you can find those inquiries below, along (happily) with his responses.

Today’s links have word on a couple of upcoming indie jams and events, a few titles we ought to be investing a bit of time in, and some fine interviews.

As we all know by now, Indie Fund, the funding platform run by the likes of Ron Carmel, Jonathan Blow and other notable indie developers, funded a well known indie game that recently released by the name of Q.U.B.E. Said game was originally released back in December on Desura and Playism, but was available on Steam as of approximately eight days ago. After four days of being available on Steam, Q.U.B.E. developers Toxic Games were able to repay the full amount invested in them by the Indie Fund… Amazing.