As much as I want Hiveswap to be released ASAP, i also don’t want the development team to feel pressured and then rushing things out. All i can do is wishing them all my best wishes.
The graphics are great!! They’re working really hard for this. So Hiveswap, whenever you’re ready, I’m here…
Happy Wednesday, Hiveswap and Homestuck fans! Ash here once again, and I come bearing – you guessed it – another behind-the-scenes interview with one of the illustrious folks working hard to make Hiveswap everything you’re expecting and more!
Our interviewee this week is Anastasia, Hiveswap’s technical artist and one of the coding warriors on our awesome programming team! So without further ado, let’s get this show on the road…
Introduce yourself to the fans! What is your specific role on the Hiveswap team?
Hi all, my name is Anastasia Kinzel and I am a technical artist on the project.
Technical artists tend to fit right in-between programmers and artists. We have a combination of artistic and technical ability and work in-between the two disciplines to make everyone’s job simpler. Creating tools and interpreting needs from the programming and art teams are big parts of technical art!
So on Hiveswap specifically, I have been working with the artists – who typically don’t work with Unity or dabble in the programming side of things – to show them why or how things can or can’t work from a technical standpoint.
I also serve as a liaison between the artists and programmers in that I’m able to interpret what one side says and “translate” it in a way that makes logical sense to the other side. For example, when an artist says something like “That looks funny,” I know that what they actually mean is that the interaction seems off to them because the sprite has the wrong dimensions, and I relay that interpreted information to the programming side.
Basically, it’s half programmer and half artist!
(A lot of what I have been doing involves implementing all of our cool art and animations into the game itself. Some scenes have quite a few animations, and they’re really fun. In some cases I’ve gotten to implement the art for entire scenes all on my own, and those scenes have sort of become my favorite. – Anastasia)
When and how did you get your start on the Hiveswap project?
I started on Hiveswap sort of by happenstance really, but quickly became enthralled with the lore and how great the team is.
Tell us a little bit about your career background! How did you get your start in technical art? Do you have any advice for others looking to enter this field?
I actually started my career as an artist. I ended up discovering an aptitude and passion for the technical side of things, though, and now I get to help artists implement and create game assets more efficiently! My advice for someone looking to get into the industry, or into technical art, is to try everything; eventually you will find something that’s fun and challenging, and then you can focus your effort on that.
We’re making a video game, so of course the question must be asked: what’s your favorite game of all time, and what games are you playing currently (if any)?
I love games with a ton of story, so I can’t pick just one… I would have to say my three favorite games are The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, The Witcher 3, and Fable II. Currently I am playing quite a few Oculus Rift games and a lot of Heroes of the Storm.
Are there any games that you currently use or have used as inspiration for your own technical art and programming work here on Hiveswap, or just in general?
Most RPGs give me a lot of inspiration. Oftentimes, as I play a game I’ll find myself thinking about concepts and features I wish it had, and I’ll prototype those elements out in my personal game projects.
(The first screenshot shows how the game’s user interface [UI] looked for a long time. It was functional, but not polished yet. Recently the UI designer prepared a new, more polished interface – which you can see in the second screenshot –and I was able to implement that into Unity, which gave the whole game a much cleaner feel. – Anastasia)
Imagine you’ve been given an unlimited budget and time frame to make your dream game. Tell us (briefly!) about that game in terms of genre, style, platforms, etc. Is it an original game or a long-desired sequel to an existing game? Go crazy!
Honestly, being a huge Lord of the Rings nerd, I would love a really complex, in-depth, amazingly well-rendered, accurate LotR game. I’d like to have a “story” where you played through The Hobbit and LotR and then an open world aspect where you could create your own character and forge your own experiences. Imagine World of Warcraft, but with Lord of the Rings’ mythos, world, and characters!
What’s your workstation like? Do you like to listen to any particular kinds of music while you work? If so, tell us about it!
My workstation is actually pretty tidy. I currently have flowers on my desk, which I really enjoy. I listen to a lot of instrumental music while programming.
Favorite Homestuck character?
Rose.
Favorite Homestuck ship?
Oh gosh, I try not to get too swept up in all that!
Favorite Homestuck flash?
There are too many to choose from, but probably one of the weirder ones.
Do you have a personal message you’d like to relay to all the Homestuck and Hiveswap fans out there?
Thanks for being such a passionate community, and we can’t wait to share all our hard work with you!
Where can people find more of your work? Link us to your own little corner(s) of the Internet!
You can find my personal website and portfolio right here!
—
And there you have it: the life, trials, and tribulations of a Hiveswap technical artist, straight from the source! Thank you, Anastasia!
Since Anastasia was kind enough to spotlight Hiveswap’sUI and the evolution it has undergone over the course of the project, next week we’re going to bring you an interview with Tauhid Bondia, the graphic designer and artist who created that very UI (and plenty else, but I’ll let him tell you about that). Something to look forward to!
Hey there, Hiveswap and Homestuck fans! Ash here once again, and as promised, it’s time for another interview with the talented folks on Hiveswap’s development team! And don’t worry – if you missed the first interview, with our environment art director Rah, you can find it right here!
Who’s in the hot seat today? Why, it’s Adrienne, our lead animator! She can tell you far more about her work on the project than I ever could, so without further ado, I’m going to hand things off to her – after reminding you all to take good, long looks at the wonderful examples of her work peppered throughout this interview. Take it away, Adrienne!
Introduce yourself to the fans! What is your specific role on the Hiveswap team?
Hiya! My name’s Adrienne and I’m the lead animator for Hiveswap. I work together with Angela, the animation director, on roughs, cleanup, background and cutscene animation – anything that moves!
When and how did you get your start on the Hiveswap project?
I was hired full-time in January 2016, but I started doing some sprite conceptualization in late 2015 in tandem with [S]:Collide work (I animated sprites for the main big bads and did thumbnails for some of the sequences).
Tell us a little bit about your career background! How did you get your start in animation? Do you have any advice for others looking to enter this field?
Homestuck is basically my career background, ahaha.
I drew a lot of fan art for Homestuck after I finished catching up in late 2012. I got some attention from my work and I was asked to do comic pages for Paradox Space. Then I did work for the Homestuck calendar. Then I just became more involved in the comic after that by doing thumbnails, sprite animation, comic pages, snapchats… and now I’m working on the game… it’s been a wild ride from fan to full-time fan.
But as for how I got started in animation, a lot of it was influenced by anime and then DeviantArt while I was growing up. I grew up with Naruto and loved Norio Matsumoto’s work in it (he did the key animation for the best episodes!). And on DeviantArt, I liked following OCTs (Original Character Tournaments) and was particularly inspired by Unknown-Person’s work.
My general advice would be to value learning and exploration, and have less expectations of what life should hand you – it makes a lot of circumstances feel like a pleasant surprise and a good opportunity to learn something new. That’s how I felt when I stumbled into this field anyway, haha.
We’re making a video game, so of course the question must be asked: what’s your favorite game of all time, and what games are you playing currently (if any)?
Agh, what a difficult question. My most-played genre is colorful multiplayer shooters like Team Fortress 2, Overwatch, and Splatoon.
I finished Nier: Automata recently and now I’m working through Persona 5. But when I’m not working through that game, I play Breath of the Wild (most of my time is spent riding my horse around Hyrule – it’s very calming).
Are there any games that you currently use or have used as inspiration for your own animation work here on Hiveswap, or just in general?
I generally use Homestuck flash animations as an inspiration for Hiveswap sprite animations.
When I’m working on cutscenes, I look to Professor Layton stuff. I love how they integrated cutscenes with gameplay in that series.
As an animator, you must have some favorite cartoons and/or anime – tell us about them!
My recent favorite is Mob Psycho 100. The raw and rough quality of the animation for that one is my jam and the main cast is really inspiring. Avatar: The Last Airbender is still my top favorite for its epic storytelling and world-building. Naruto always has a special place in my heart since it’s one of the earliest things that inspired me to study animation.
Other big influential works for me were Princess Mononoke and How to Train Your Dragon.
What’s your workstation like? Do you like to listen to any particular kinds of music while you work? If so, tell us about it!
Here’s a picture of my workstation! If you squint at the bottom screen closely, you can see me taking the picture. But anyway… yeah. I am a little embarrassed for people to know how saturated my workstation is with inspirational quotes (there are papers of handwritten motivation on the walls behind me), but that’s just how I deal when the anxiety gets a little rough.
When I want to focus (usually for rough animation and concept art), I pull up an electronic or classical playlist on YouTube (and recently Spotify) or have no music playing at all. But for everything else (cleanup, in-betweens, etc.), I dig into different genres once in awhile but Imagine Dragons and Americana/folk stuff are my go-to. Acoustics sound really nice in these speakers.
Favorite Homestuck character?
Egh, this is impossible… I’m gonna say it’s between Rose, Jade, Roxy, Kanaya, Terezi, and Vriska… um…
Favorite Homestuck ship?
Rose/Kanaya has never once failed me! c: (I think John/Terezi is really funny too.)
Favorite Homestuck flash?
Urgh… I don’t know, there’s so many that I love. In terms of like… cool and creative setup, [S] Cascade probably? [S] GAME OVER is cool too, because everyone died and the stakes just got so much higher. Oh! I just remembered [S] Make her pay as well!
This question is impossible.
(In the above animation timeline, the first frame is held for 4/24 of a second, the second frame for 2/24 of a second, the third for 2/24, and so on.)
Do you have a personal message you’d like to relay to all the Homestuck and Hiveswap fans out there?
Thank you for all your support, and for your patience in making it through the Giga/Mega/Omegapauses intact!
Where can people find more of your work? Link us to your own little corner(s) of the Internet!
If you want to see more of my stuff, my Tumblr is the place to be!
—
Thank you, Adrienne! Well, folks, I hope you’ve enjoyed this second Hiveswap development team interview – and don’t worry, there are still plenty more to come!
Now that we’ve gotten things rolling, from here on out we’ll be bringing you a new interview every Wednesday, so be sure to check back every week for a new behind-the-scenes look at the development of Hiveswap and the talented people behind it!
See you next time!
In this episode, we break down the rules of the Alchemy system, and take a glimpse at how the ability to create anything is exploited by the kids playing Sburb. We also begin our exploration of how this mechanic is used to advance Homestuck’s philosophy.
In the next, we will see that philosophy come to fruition.
[This is the reuploaded link with the audio issues fixed! Please reblog this version. Thanks! :D]
My honest opinion is that Hiveswap is probably going to bring the fandom back and then some because it looks….really really fucking good? But it depends on what your friends are interested in. I’d suggest holding out to start them off with Hiveswap, or mmaaayybe trying my youtube series and seeing if those videos strike a chord with them? I don’t want to come off self-shilly or presumptuous, but that’s…what I’m making this series for, is for non-fans who would like to get oriented/interested in Homestuck in an easier, accessible way. I hope I’m succeeding at that and I’ve received some positive responses, but I’d be interested in hearing how your friends respond to them :B
Past those suggestions I honestly dunno what to tell you! My own track record for getting friends interested has never been particularly great.
Hey there everyone! I’m Ash Paulsen, the associate producer of Hiveswap here at What Pumpkin. I’m a relatively newer addition to the team, and while I’ve been working on the game behind-the-scenes for a little while now, this is my first appearance on our blog.
It’s far from my last, though, as I’ll be the one heading up the thrilling team member interviews Cohen teased in his recent update post! We’re kicking things off today with Rah, our environment art director, whose excellent work you can see in the images peppered throughout this post. So without further ado, let’s get things started!
Introduce yourself to the fans! What is your specific role on the Hiveswap team?
I’m Rah. I’m the environmental art director. The environmental art team is responsible for all of the backgrounds and scenery in the game. I draw some of them, but a large part of my job is coordinating with everyone to make sure the game has a consistent look and has the art it needs to support the characters and plot.
When and how did you get your start on the Hiveswap project?
A year and a half ago I started as a production artist, drawing backgrounds. I still do that, but now I also tell other people to draw backgrounds.
Tell us a little bit about your career background! How did you get your start in art and graphic design? Do you have any advice for others looking to enter this field?
I have been working in the games industry for ten years. On more than one occasion, I was hired because I did fan art of games I liked and then the studio hired me to keep doing it. It happens more often than you think!
We’re making a video game, so of course the question must be asked: what’s your favorite game of all time, and what games are you playing currently (if any)?
My favorite game is Shadow of the Colossus, but I also really love open-world games like Skyrim. Right now Final Fantasy XV is eating me alive. I sneak in some playtime here and there, but work is keeping me too busy to play more than one game at a time right now.
Are there any games that you currently use or have used as inspiration for your own art and graphic design work here on Hiveswap, or just in general?
Not on Hiveswap specifically, but I hope someday I can make game art as glorious as what can be seen in Bastion or Wakfu. I can’t get enough of that colorful, squishy style!
What are your preferred programs and applications as an artist and graphic designer? What are the tools of your trade?
I primarily use Photoshop and Paint Tool Sai.
What’s your workstation like? Do you like to listen to any particular kinds of music while you work? If so, tell us about it!
As I work I usually alternate between news podcasts and video game soundtracks. As for my workstation, I can reach approximately 70 plastic dinosaurs from where I’m sitting right now.
Favorite Homestuck character?
Karkat, Rose, Meenah, and Her Imperial Condescension (who, I guess, is also Meenah).
Favorite Homestuck ship?
I’m not really into shipping, but I can’t get enough Rosemary.
Favorite Homestuck flash?
That’s really hard to pick. Terezi: Remem8er is very important to me, but I think I liked Game Over the best for the huge reaction it gave me. I screamed for a solid nine minutes. It was great.
Do you have a personal message you’d like to relay to all the Homestuck and Hiveswap fans out there?
It’s been a real journey. Thanks for hanging in.
Where can people find more of your work? Link us to your own little corner(s) of the Internet!
Thanks for giving us some insight into your work here on Hiveswap, Rah! In the meantime, you all have been waiting for updates very patiently for quite awhile, so I’ll be back with another interview later this week, on Thursday, May 25th!
Does anyone else feel a strange joy in watching people complain about Hiveswap taking so long when “this video game was supposed to come out X days ago, now I’m still waiting for it and I may not get it for a long time” is literally Homestuck’s premise
And Act 1 was all about John ruminating on how it feels when something you want is still absent, like an unseen riddler taking it away from you
The phrase “the note desolation plays” is literally just an example of how, when you’re currently impatient and annoyed, any noise you hear will annoy the shit out of you
Because it’s the sound of wind skimming the void between houses, which John became painfully aware of when realizing his game still wasn’t coming
What I’m trying to say is Hiveswap is making us feel like John did, and I don’t think it’s entirely irrelevant
For those not familiar with discord, it’s an IRC style chatroom, where anyone can comment at any time. The Hiveswap discord is set up so that the primary topics of discussion are Hiveswap and Homestuck, but we have several other channels for various topics as well.
Some other features:
Emojis featuring Hiveswap and Homestuck characters
Name colors based on the twelve aspects from Homestuck
Archive your fanworks in our server-gallery so other fans can see what you’re making!
An LGBT+ friendly mod team dedicated to keeping the server safe and accessible for everyone
Pronoun tags!
Making an account is super easy, and the link to join is right here!
So, with Hiveswap on the horizon and a couple of asks I’ve gotten lately, I have been thinking more and more about the story of the game, and wondered if what we’ve seen already may be enough to find some interesting things out about the overall story! I decided to give it a shot and go through all we know about Hiveswap and see if I can predict some stuff.
Thanks to @revolutionaryduelist for inspiring me to make this post! You should totally check him out, he’s got some amazing stuff.
This is an amazing breakdown of what we know about Hiveswap so far so it’s a great resource if you wanna get up to speed on what people have pieced together and what the speculation line is!
Flying through Storytelling 