Kickstarter is a site that allows projects to be set up for crowd-sourced funding.
Homestuck Adventure Game[]
On September 4, 2012, the Homestuck Adventure Game Kickstarter campaign was initiated, the initial funding campaign for what became Hiveswap.
Rewards[]
To entice potential backers, the Kickstarter offered several rewards. Anyone backing at $15 or more will receive a digital download of the game, and all backers will have exclusive access to a behind-the-scenes blog that provides weekly production updates. Those backing above $15 could get items such as soundtrack downloads, art prints and physical game copies, some of which will be signed by Andrew Hussie. Even higher tiers were rewarded with merchandise packs from What Pumpkin that include pins, stickers, t-shirts and tote bags.
- The MSPA Funpak (kids and Sburb themed with a god tier shirt)
- The Bropak (Dave and Bro themed with a GameBro or GameGrl shirt)
- The Slickpak (Midnight Crew themed with a spade shirt and a deck of Midnight Crew playing cards)
- The Seerpak (Prospit, Derse, and Rose themed with a dream self shirt and a deck of Homestuck tarot cards)
- The Snoutpak (troll themed with a Terezi's hive shirt and a Senator Lemonsnout or Pyralspite scalemate plush)
Most of this merchandise is currently exclusive to the pledge drive, but some of it may be offered in the What Pumpkin store later, depending on what kind of reception it gets (for instance, the Snoutpaks sold out very fast, indicating the popularity of the plushes).
At the top of the reward tiers, anyone who pledged $10,000 - the largest amount Kickstarter allows an individual to pledge - became a "god tier backer", and their fan troll became a canon Homestuck character that appeared in the comic. Higher god tier rewards were available outside of the Kickstarter, each ten times more expensive than the last. These tiers were largely for humour value and never selected by any backer:
- At $100,000, the canonised fan troll will survive for more than one page
- At $1 million, the fan troll becomes "the most important character in Homestuck"
- At $10 million, Hussie will "like" a tumblr post from the backer's blog
- At $100 million, Hussie will "reblog" a tumblr post from the backer's blog
- At $1 billion, Hussie will write a courteous thank-you note to the backer, and deliver it on a social media platform of their choice.
Stretch goals[]
After the full amount of money asked for was raised, a series of stretch goals were announced with the aim of funding ports to other platforms and adding more items to the backer rewards. Funds raised from these goals will be added to the game's budget and be used to increase its production values. The final stretch goal revealed, at $2.5 million, was quickly met during the PayPal phase of the campaign.
$800,000 | Mac OSX support for the game. |
$850,000 | A kids and cherubs sticker sheet, based on Shelby Cragg's cover art for the coloUrs and mayhem: Universe B music album, was added to all $105+ reward tiers. |
$900,000 | Linux support for the game. |
$950,000 | A Sburb logo keychain was added to all $105+ reward tiers. |
$1,000,000 | The game will be translated into French, Italian, German and Spanish. |
$1,100,000 | The signed art print was added to any $105+ reward tiers that did not already include it, and backers who pledged $50+ were given the opportunity to beta test the second and third parts of Openbound. |
$1,250,000 | The physical copy of the game will also be available on a Homestuck-themed USB drive. |
$1,500,000 | All backers will get to beta test the Adventure Game. In addition, two kid shipping sticker sheets were added to all $105+ reward tiers, and three troll shipping sticker sheets were added to all $300+ reward tiers. |
$1,750,000 | An art book documenting the making of the game will be made. |
$2,000,000 | Two random embroidered patches – selected from the kids', trolls' and cherubs' symbols – are added to all GAMEPAK2 reward tiers. With them comes the statement, "This pairing is your officially designated OTP." – signed, officially, Andrew Hussie. |
The main Kickstarter campaign concluded at $2,485,506; the below goal was met through PayPal. | |
$2,500,000 | A digital copy of Homestuck will be included with physical copies of the Adventure Game. |
Results[]
- “From my observation, there are two things which cause artists to become deterred from completing their projects.
1) Self doubt.
2) Video games.” - — Andrew Hussie, 2010
The Kickstarter campaign concluded with total funds raised reaching $2,485,506, not including PayPal donations. Due to development delays the game didn't make its initially projected 2014 release date (and neither did Homestuck's ending for related reasons). The first episode of the game, which overall was entitled Hiveswap, was delivered on September 14, 2017. Hiveswap: Act 2 was announced for Spring 2018, but was released in November 2020. Two further episodes (acts), are to follow. A second game, Hauntswitch, is set to follow Hiveswap, also comprising four episodic acts.
Gallery[]
Machine of Death: The Game of Creative Assassination[]
On February 14, 2013, the Machine of Death: The Game of Creative Assassination Kickstarter campaign was initiated by David Malki, inspired by the book of the same name. The campaign concluded with total funds raised reaching at $556,596.
Along with other guest artists from the Topatoco store, Andrew created some playable cards for the board game as part of the $300,000 stretch goal with Homestuck and Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff characters and a custom assassination mission involving the Midnight Crew as part of the $460,000 goal, both having released on January 2014. The game is available digitally here.
Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff and the Quest for the Missing Spoon[]
On November 17, 2017, the Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff, by Hussie, Dril, and KC Green Kickstarter campaign was initiated.
Rewards[]
To entice potential backers, the Kickstarter offered several rewards, only one of which was unnamed (receiving only the E-book at a minimum of $10).
- $35 or more: HARD>COVER
- Hardcover book and PDF.
- $50 or more: HARDcover, Stickens,+ Magnest
- All previous rewards plus stickers and magnets.
- $75 or more: THE HOLE ENCHALADA
- All previous rewards plus fidget spinners, a dunce cap, a bracelet, and two enamel pins.
- $125 or more: The Signature Experients
- All previous rewards plus a bookplate signed by Hussie and GOURMéT BARBEBEQUE SAUCE.
Results[]
The campaign reached its funding goal raising $90,038 in total by 1,618 backers. Production of the books was delayed by having to "order two thousand spoons and ship them to a book printer and have the spoons placed inside the books", solved around May 2018. By October 31, backers could use a service called BackerKit to buy extra physical rewards plus a limited ammount of leftover Homestuck t-shirts and send their shipping addresses. Digital books came out in November 8 while physical products were slightly delayed but received by backers around December 2018, eight months from its estimate deliver and slightly over a year from the crowdfunding.