Hiveswap Friendship Simulator

Dubiously Canon

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For the album, see Hiveswap Friendsim (album).

Hiveswap Friendship Simulator
Hiveswap Friendship Simulator title screen
Developer	What Pumpkin Games
Series	Homestuck/Hiveswap
Platforms	Microsoft Windows macOS Linux Android
Released	April 13, 2018—December 14, 2018
Genre	Visual novel, (platonic) Dating sim
Director	Andrew Hussie
Producer	Ash Paulsen Cindy Dominguez Cohen Edenfield Julian Dominguez

Hiveswap Friendship Simulator, or Hiveswap Friendsim, is a Hiveswap spinoff anthology of visual novels, written by a diverse group of writers, including Andrew Hussie, and primarily developed by David Turnbull in Ren'Py. The games are modelled on the style of the dating sim genre, styled as "friendship simulators" as the interactions had with the characters are platonic; this format follows in the footsteps of Andrew's previous dating simulator project featuring Homestuck characters, Namco High. The game features Hiveswap trolls first introduced by the Troll Call event, with whom the player interacts with in the persona of an unknown title character (potentially the MSPA Reader, acting as a nameless player substitute) who has crash-landed on Alternia. According to What Pumpkin, the format is a riff on the traditional dating sim; "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 Steam store page for the game describes the Hiveswap Friendsim as "loosely-canonical" with respect to the wider Hiveswap canon, and even the internal canon of the anthology is fuzzy, as events can vary depending upon player choices (despite this, some events from specific routes are referenced in later volumes). This is later explained to be at least partially due to a meddling influence.

The series is an anthology that was released in several volumes; its first installment was entitled "Hiveswap Friendship Simulator: Volume One". Each volume cost cost $0.99, with volumes beyond Volume 1 released individually as DLC. The first installment was introduced on April 13, 2018 in a surprise announcement on the What Pumpkin tumblr, in the immediate aftermath of a major company shakeup coinciding with the transfer of Homestuck and some related MSPA properties over to the Homestuck.com domain under the stewardship of Viz Media (although the project was reportedly in development long before this and the announcement was not directly linked). This post explained that the Friendship Simulator series was part of an immediate strategy to produce "smaller, fun, lightweight games that can be produced more quickly" between main acts of Hiveswap, as the company went through a period of transition.

The final episode and an epilogue, was released on December 14, 2018. A followup game that serves as a sequel, Pesterquest, was announced in August 2019 for an episodic release commencing in September of that year.

Volumes

Volume 1 was released on Steam on April 13, 2018. The game possesses an ESRB rating of Mature 17+, suitable for ages 17 and up, for containing "violence, blood and gore, and strong language."

On April 20, 2018, Volume 2 was announced in a festively dank post for a release one week later on April 27. Volume 3 followed in a surprise announcement and release on May 11. Volume 4 released on May 25th, followed by every new volume being released each two weeks except for Vol. 17 due to Thanksgiving, released the week after it.

Each of the Hiveswap Friendsim volumes has featured two characters from the Troll Call, with the exceptions of Volume 6 and Volume 18, which both spotlighted two in a single route. Other characters do occasionally make an appearance, with some previous characters returning for cameos or minor roles. By volume, Hiveswap Friendsim has featured:

Volume One	Ardata Carmia • Diemen Xicali
Volume Two	Amisia Erdehn • Cirava Hermod
Volume Three	Skylla Koriga • Bronya Ursama
Volume Four	Tagora Gorjek • Vikare Ratite
Volume Five	Polypa Goezee • Zebruh Codakk
Volume Six	Elwurd • Kuprum and Folykl
Volume Seven	Remele Namaaq • Konyyl Okimaw
Volume Eight	Tyzias Entykk • Chixie Roixmr
Volume Nine	Azdaja Knelax • Chahut Maenad
Volume Ten	Zebede Tongva • Tegiri Kalbur
Volume Eleven	Mallek Adalov • Lynera Skalbi
Volume Twelve	Galekh Xigisi • Tirona Kasund
Volume Thirteen	Boldir Lamati • Stelsa Sezyat
Volume Fourteen	Marsti Houtek • Karako Pierot
Volume Fifteen	Charun Krojib • Wanshi Adyata
Volume Sixteen	Fozzer Velyes • Marvus Xoloto
Volume Seventeen	Daraya Jonjet • Nihkee Moolah
Volume Eighteen	Lanque Bombyx • Barzum and Baizli

Credits

Director

• Andrew Hussie - All volumes

Producers

• Ash Paulsen - All volumes
• Cindy Dominguez - All volumes
• Cohen Edenfield - Volume 1
• Julian Dominguez - Volume 2 onward

Writers

• Andrew Hussie - Ardata, Diemen
• Anonymous - Cirava
• Aysha U. Farah - Amisia, Skylla, Polypa, Folykl & Kuprum, Konyyl, Chixie, Chahut, Zebede, Mallek, Boldir, Marsti, Epilogue
• Cee L. Kyle - Bronya, Zebruh, Remele, Lynera, Daraya
• Magdalena Clark - Vikare, Elwurd, Zebede
• Lalo Hunt - Tagora, Tyzias, Galekh, Wanshi,Epilogue
• Kieran Miranda - Azdaja, Stelsa, Charun, Barzum & Baizli
• David Turnbull - Tegiri, Tirona, Nihkee
• Geezey - Karako, Fozzer
• V - Marvus, Lanque

Character Artists

• Danny Cragg - Volumes 1, 2, 6 (credited as Amber Cragg)
• Adrienne Garcia - Volumes 3, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17
• Gina Chacón - Volumes 4, 7, 9
• Kim Quach - Volumes 14, 16, 18

Colorist

• Shelby Cragg - Volumes 1, 2
• Adrienne Garcia - Volume 18

Background Artists

• Danny Cragg - Volumes 1, 2, 6
• Adrienne Garcia - Volumes 3, 5, 8
• Gina Chacón - Volumes 4, 7, 9
• Phil Gibson - Volumes 10, 11, 13, 15, 17
• Angela Sham - Volumes 10, 14
• Leland Goodman - Volume 12
• Kim Quach - Volume 13
• CJ Walker - Volumes 16, 18

Ending Illustrations

• Danny Cragg - Volumes 1, 2, 6
• Adrienne Garcia - Volumes 3, 5, 8
• Gina Chacón - Volumes 4, 7, 9
• Phil Gibson - Volumes 10, 11, 13, 15, 17, 18
• Leland Goodman - Volume 12
• Angela Sham - Volume 14
• CJ Walker - Volumes 16, 18
• Kim Quach - Volume 17

UI Designer

• David Turnbull - All volumes

Musicians

Main article: Hiveswap Friendship Simulator Music

• James Roach - Title Theme and Fanfares, Cirava's Theme, Amisia's Theme, Tagora's Theme, Folykl & Kuprum's Theme, Remele's Theme, Chixie's Theme, Chahut's Theme, Zebede's Theme, Mallek's Theme, Stelsa's Theme, Boldir's Theme, Karako's Theme, Marsti's Theme, Wanshi's Theme, Fozzer's Theme, Daraya's Theme, Nihkee's Theme, Special Theme, Lanque's Theme, Lanque's Other Theme, Soleil Twins Theme, Final Route Theme
• Alex Rosetti - Ardata's Theme, Diemen's Theme, Bronya's Theme, Vikare's Theme, Polypa's Theme, Zebruh's Theme, Tyzias' Theme, Azdaja's Theme, Tirona's Theme
• Max "Imbrog" Wright - Skylla's Theme
• Yan "Nucleose" Rodriguez - Elwurd's Theme
• J. "CharredAsperity" Steven - Konyyl's Theme
• Toby Fox - Tegiri's Theme, Lynera's Theme, Galekh's Theme, Charun's Theme
• James Roach and Toby Fox - Marvus' Theme

Game Design and Programming

• David Turnbull - Volumes 1 through 5, 7, 10, 17
• Mint Chipleaf - Volumes 6, 8, 9, 11 through 18

Quality Assurance

• Sondra Crawford - Volume 3 onward

See also

• Hiveswap
• Troll Call
• Hiveswap Friendship Simulator Music

Gallery

The game's logo on Steam, which includes all landdweller blood colors excluding lime (all of the blood colors featured in the Troll Call)