Who here is familiar with the webcomic Homestuck? Probably more than a few of you, considering that the Kickstarter for this Homestuck-flavored point-and-click adventure title helmed by What Pumpkin Studios was funded to the tune of a cool two and a half million US dollars. But even if you can’t tell Terezi from Tavros, Hiveswap is blossoming into something very interesting.
Hiveswap takes place in an alternate-universe 1990s, where young proto-hipster heroine Joey and her conspiracy-nut brother Jude find themselves suddenly attacked by a ferocious otherworldly being. After fending off the beast, Joey discovers a teleportation device in her attic that switches her with a resident of Alternia, the realm of Homestuck’s grey-skinned, be-horned trolls. Joey must accustom herself to the unfamiliar troll society including its proprietary, parodic online social and shopping networks and help aid a band of scrappy rebels against a fearsome doomsday weapon, all while paying homage to (and sometimes making fun of) adventure genre conventions. But if you don’t know anything about the series, fear not: Homestuck’s massive length and scope may have earned it the reputation of being the War and Peace of story-driven webcomics, but Hiveswap is very much its own beast, taking cues and giving nods to Homestuck rather than requiring you read the entire wiki to understand what’s happening.
HiveSwap is slated to be the first in an episodic series the story of the troll character Joey swaps places with will be the next episode and given that the Homestuck comic itself was inspired by point-and-click adventure games, a game made on similar principles feels like a perfect fit. The direct involvement of creator Andrew Hussie and other lovable webcomic folks (like Dinosaur Comics scribe Ryan North) in the game’s development is also a cause for much excitement.
Hiveswap takes place in an alternate-universe 1990s, where young proto-hipster heroine Joey and her conspiracy-nut brother Jude find themselves suddenly attacked by a ferocious otherworldly being. After fending off the beast, Joey discovers a teleportation device in her attic that switches her with a resident of Alternia, the realm of Homestuck’s grey-skinned, be-horned trolls. Joey must accustom herself to the unfamiliar troll society including its proprietary, parodic online social and shopping networks and help aid a band of scrappy rebels against a fearsome doomsday weapon, all while paying homage to (and sometimes making fun of) adventure genre conventions. But if you don’t know anything about the series, fear not: Homestuck’s massive length and scope may have earned it the reputation of being the War and Peace of story-driven webcomics, but Hiveswap is very much its own beast, taking cues and giving nods to Homestuck rather than requiring you read the entire wiki to understand what’s happening.
HiveSwap is slated to be the first in an episodic series the story of the troll character Joey swaps places with will be the next episode and given that the Homestuck comic itself was inspired by point-and-click adventure games, a game made on similar principles feels like a perfect fit. The direct involvement of creator Andrew Hussie and other lovable webcomic folks (like Dinosaur Comics scribe Ryan North) in the game’s development is also a cause for much excitement.
Comments
Post a Comment