WhatPumpkin was recently hit with layoffs, and it sounds like VIZ Media made the choice themselves.
Those I spoke to were very adamant about WhatPumpkin and Homestuck creator Andrew Hussie fighting for the employees that were let go. Many of the staff also sounded hopeful that their involvement with the project wouldn’t be severed forever, as pretty much everyone I spoke to said they hope fans support the Friendsims so VIZ is more inclined to hire people back.
HEY SO UH, THE FRIENDSIMS ARE GONNA BE DOLLAR DLCS SO PLEASE IF YOU WERE MAD ABOUT THE LAYOFFS, SUPPORT THE FUCK OUT OF THIS
Here’s my submission for @whatpumpkin‘s comic contest!
I wanted to combine Homestuck and Hiveswap a little bit with this one. This panel sort of started the ball rolling and I was thinking about babysitter Roxy’s backstory and read a bunch of zodiac constellation myths on wikipedia and things got a little intense? So enjoy I guess.
It’s almost 3 am. I don’t have much to say for myself. I’ve sacrificed a lot of sleep for this thing so I figure I should post it.
I’m gunna go sleep now.
Edit – Okay so for some reason at 3 am I didn’t realize I could put all the panels in one post like this. So they’re all here now. Whoops. If you still want to read it on imgur you can here.
We were recently contacted by one of our digital partners (Google) regarding your content.
After looking at the streaming statistics associated with your albums, they have determined that an excessive
amount of streaming was being done from the same individual or computers. This is sometimes done by artists or fans to increase the visibility of their music. Unfortunately this is also a violation of the terms of service of most digital music distributors.
As a result of this, Google has decided to remove your content from their service.
Your content will remain for sale on the CD Baby website and will still be available with any of our other digital partners you are currently
using for distribution.
Please note – If we receive other complaints of streaming abuse from other partners, your content may be removed entirely, and any funds which have been accrued from abusive streaming will be unavailable for payout.
Please do not spam any particular song consistently on any streaming service. If you want to listen to the same song on loop, please purchase the song and do it that way.
I’m going to be making an attempt to contest this. But this is actually threatening to my livelihood. If you know of anyone who has been abusing streaming services, let me know, and let them know to stop.
Thanks. Please reblog this to let people know what’s going on.
Aw man 😦 Case is super cool and talented, and does not deserve this. I hope its resolved soon
CA friends, PLEASE call about this. This bill has already affected outreach services similar to the ones STROLL provides; if you care about sex workers, if you’ve been wanting to do something to help us and regretting not harassing the heck out of Kamala pre-SESTA, this is your chance. Call your famous friends, call your family, use your fan base, whatever. Please don’t allow this to happen.
CALL BEFORE NEXT TUESDAY 4/10!
Text of the image:
Via a sex worker friend, please read:
CA is passing a bill that changes the definition of pandering making it a felony to provide any help or out reach for sex workers.
That means distributing condoms to street based workers, know your rights pamphlets, any kind of mentoring, basically all harm reduction will be a felony. I know I talk a lot about sex work and y’all are probably are bored but my community is on fire. The government wants sex workers dead, in jail and exploited.
This bill and fosta will literally mean life and death for REAL HUMAN BEINGS who just want to survive. This feels hopeless and is an incredibly dark time.
If you care about poverty, feminism, trans people, poc, sex workers and sexual freedom PLEASE CALL Nancy Skinner (chair of the CA state committee) to let her know you oppose SB 1204
(510) 286-1333 (local office)
(916) 651-4009
BY 4/10 (tues)
Here is a link to the proposed bill on the California Legislature page if anyone needs it:
This is enough. Ajit Pai has already succeded MULTIPLE TIMES and you can expect the full removal of net neutrality on APRIL 23RD OF THIS YEAR. We can still contact our senators, we can still fight as hrd as we can, but even though 23 states are suposedly suing for the repeal of this, we need to help it along.
In case people forgot what Net Neutrality is: it is a series of laws that ensure everyone free and fair access to the internet. Without them, you will be charged for the sites you use on top of an already high internet bill. This means creators like us cannot post and be seen. Thia means that smaller schools will havebto switch to out of date text books. This means that starter IT projects that could make our lives better will die because noone can support an online presence that noone can afford to see.
And the list goes on and on and on. I have frienda who have to make their livings through commissions and working online because of multiple health issues. I have friends trying to publish books, post art, post voice acting snippets that will not be seen without these laws.
Please support Net Neutrality and contact your senators!!! This is so important to everyone you know, AND WE JUST NEED ONE SENATOR TO TURN THE TIDE!!!
Background by Rah-Bop
Not sure who did this one but that moon is stunning
paperseverywhere animated the intro
pretty sure dammek drew the photos on the wall
Not sure who animated these wonderful segments
Thank you based Cohen for the pigeon jokes
I think Poinko did some of Xefros’s animations. Maybe he drew this?
Shelby (?) caps off the game with Xefros and Joey running together
Since it seems @whatpumpkin is changing around a lot, and most of the key staff have left the company, I thought it’d be nice to pay tribute to Act 1. We’ll still see their work when act 2 is released, so it’ll be a bittersweet occasion.
Some notable names, let me know if I miss out anything important each person contributed:
@skullmandible was the head writer and director. He’s responsible for nearly every item combination you see in the game, including the goofy pigeon jokes. Cohen was the person who talked to us the most during Hiveswap’s development. This is really important, and I think his contribution to our fandom is deeply underrated.
@guzusuru was the animation director, overseeing the contributions of all the animators and giving direction. Homestuck wise, you may remember her for her work on [s] Terezi: Remem8er, where she drew the young Scourge Sisters, and [s] Collide where she directed the animation yet again. Her most ambitious Homestuck work is probably animating the whole of Act 7. Angela’s famous homestuck fandom works include Lullaby to the Gods. She’s been with the fandom for a long time. I think her contribution runs deeper than I know.
@paperseverywhere was the lead animator. She made the intro to the game, and has drawn…. basically every character in act 1 and 2, lmao. Papers is a fandom veteran and very talented young animator contributing to Vriskagram, drawing the ghost terezi/vriska parts of Remem8er, drawing a bunch of panels for End of act 6 including the post-Collide shots, and storyboarding the Heir of Grief section for Collide. Papers also drew some Paradox Space comics, like Mother & Grub and Lalondian Tourism. Needless to say, done a heck of a lot.
@jamesroachmusic was the lead musician for the first two acts. He’s been working on Hiveswap since at least the shift to WhatPumpkin NYC, so James has seen a lot of shit go down. My favourite track from Act 1 would be Intermission, the ending theme which set in deep anticipation for the next act.
His fellow musician Toby Fox needs no introduction
@shelbycragg and @poinko were cutscene animators for Hiveswap. Poinko/Phil Gibson wrote the Secret Sufferer comic for Paradox Space, among others, while Shelby is reknowned for being Calliope’s artist and the creator of Neokosmos. Shelby has been in this fandom for a VERY long time, and Poinko is a funny man who gives sassy replies to all his tumblr asks. I’m not entirely sure which animators made which cutscenes, but Poinko and Shelby at least contributed to the Pigeon scene, the flare scene, Xefros crashing a can against his head, and the ending cutscenes.
@rah-bop, as well as @dammek, were background illustrators for Hiveswap. User Dammek has been working on the project since its kickstarter, drawing the majority of the concept art that ended up being reworked for the 2D project, and Dammek also drew the cute photos with the young ‘Guardians. Some of their notable works would be Paradox Space’s Night at the 100dseum and Vrisky Business. rah-bop, meanwhile worked on Remem8er as a background artist who drew all the special effects of the sky falling. I’m sure they’ve done more before. Anyway, these two drew most of the epicly detailed backgrounds that you see in the back of Hiveswap.
Shout out to Ash Paulsen, the Associate Producer who interviewed everybody during Act 1′s development. From what you said, it sounded like your work was pretty important.
I think that’s it for this post! It’s amazing what WP 2D have accomplished, and despite the odds being stacked against them Hiveswap has gone off to a good start. Best of luck to everybody who’s moving forward, and here’s hoping Act 2 blows us away.
Anyway, here’s a Papers animation of Joey tapdancing:
Gina did an absolutely outrageous amount of concept art for this franchise since the 3D days and pretty much established the look of Hiveswap as it is now. She also did a GIGANTIC number of backgrounds, like SERIOUSLY A LOT OF THEM. She probably did more backgrounds than anyone, and that’s doubly true for Act 2!
I know there has been a lot of worry about what this all means. I want you all to know that this was a layoff; we were not fired, we did not quit, there was no internal drama that we were reacting to. It was, as was mentioned by @whatpumpkin, a restructuring event. It happens sometimes, in the video game industry!
I’m sad about it, of course. This was some of the most fun I’ve had in my entire career. The project was a blast, I loved the work I got to do, and all my coworkers were incredible to a one. I also felt that I was treated very well by the company, in general. It supported me when I was going through some extremely difficult times last year, and in return, I poured everything I had into Hiveswap. I have absolutely no hard feelings about the layoff. Overall, I am honored that I got to work on this amazing project for as long as I did, and I treasure the experiences I had. I’m so proud of what we accomplished, and I’m still friends with the people I worked with. And I really hope I can work on Hiveswap again someday!
Even though some of us may not be on the project going forward, the work we’ve already done on Act 2 is SOLID and I can’t wait for you all to see it! Seriously, it’s so good. Everyone, please continue to support Hiveswap and Viz/What Pumpkin. It’s a really great collection of people who are working SO hard to make cool stuff for you, and I wish them all the best!
Until I find my next new thing, I’m throwing myself at my own projects that I haven’t had the time for, until now. I’m actually really excited about it! You’ll be able to see what I’m up to on ✨ my Patreon ✨…which is also my main source of income at the moment! So if you are worried about me (or any of the others who have been laid off) please consider supporting us on Patreon or Ko-fi as we find our feet. Thanks!
Thank you for taking the time to communicate this, it is greatly appreciated. You’re all in my thoughts, and I hope you find something soon!
What Pumpkin Games is going through a transition period, which has involved restructuring the company, the way we develop games, and the types of projects we focus on. First, the most important thing to address is, Hiveswap’s development absolutely will continue. The approach to its development will evolve as this transition goes forward, but ensuring the release of the full Hiveswap series remains our priority. We should have more specific information about what exactly this means for Hiveswap in coming weeks.
In the more immediate future, WPG is shifting focus to making smaller, fun, lightweight games that can be produced more quickly. The type of content we can release along the way between acts, continuing to build upon the Hiveswap world, and give fans things they can enjoy while they wait. These games are somewhat in the vein of what we did with the Troll Call, but more engaging, providing more depth and background to the characters that were previewed.
The first such game will be available very soon. The format is a “Friendship Simulator”, much like dating sims or visual novels you may have played before. The idea is, instead of trying to date a character, you just try to befriend them, and in the process, you get to know them better, and ridiculous things happen along the way. The first volume features two trolls from the Troll Call, and was written by Andrew Hussie.
We hope you enjoy this type of game! If it’s well received by the fans, then there should be more of these to play in the future. We appreciate your patience and support as WPG makes this transition.
Interesting, and very welcome news. Note that Hussie seems to be writing the friendsim himself, meaning he’s still creatively involved. I’m glad we’re not looking at What Pumpkin being closed completely and Hiveswap is still going to get made sooner or later.
Flying through Storytelling 