Homestuck 2.0 Debuts!

Perhaps I’m a little late to the game, because I’m sure most of you have probably seen the new video on the official Homestuck youtube page, starting off the channel in line with the info from the reddit user that we came across a few weeks back! I’m very excited about this news, especially in that I seem to have been accurate in my prediction that some part of the channel will be featuring fan contributed content! But first, let me break down what was said and announced in the video.

The video was hosted by Dante Basco, star of Hook, voice of Prince Zuko and high-profile Homestuck fan (I’m sure you’re familiar with him), and John Warren, a business developer at What Pumpkin. These two seem to be going to take a role in presenting further Homestuck content on the channel. Dante explains; “we’re gonna be here, we’re gonna be hanging out online, we’re gonna be in this youtube channel… putting together footage, putting together footage with the help of you guys out there to further the conversation of Homestuck”. This implies that, as we were hinted, the Youtube channel will be a major part of the new content output from What Pumpkin, and that Dante will have a big role in this project. Furthermore, this comes alongside new confirmation of the nature of this content, as the pair finally detail what the nature of Homestuck 2.0 will be!

“Homestuck 2.0 is really just a collective of stuff we’re doing after the webcomic’s over… Homestuck 2.0 consists of digital [media], video games, and stuff we can’t talk about yet.”

That’s essentially what we were expecting from the last information release, but it’s good to have confirmation of what the mysterious “Homestuck 2.0″ consists of, from an official source! My attention is particularly drawn to the exciting prospect “stuff we can’t talk about yet”; to speculate, could this be the hinted-at web series? That remains to be seen.

What is not speculation however are the other two major projects that are discussed in the video! Firstly, Dante confirms that Hiveswap, the long-awaited, much delayed Homestuck video game, is still in development! This is the first new information we’ve had about the project since the leaked information concerning the overhauls of the graphics and team, so it’s nice to have some updates.

Dante: “What kind of game is it?” John: “It’s going to be an episodic point-and-click adventure game … It’s going to be beautiful; 2D, hand-drawn art, lots of dialogue, lots of inventory mixing … It’s going to spin off a story … it’s connected to the Homestuck universe.”

This isn’t anything new, but it is exciting to hear that Hiveswap is definitely still coming along, especially given the issues that have marred the development of the game thus far.

What is new, however, is the initiative that Dante then announces for the Youtube channel itself.

Dante: “Well this is the deal; our brand new digs, this brand new Youtube page; it’s actually about you guys. One of my favourite things about Homestuck … is actually getting to meet you guys out there. Maybe you want to see a specific show, or maybe you want to do a show and put it on this channel. We’d love to help make it happen.” John: “Homestuck is huge. It’s bigger than the two of us, it’s even bigger than Andrew. And so the thing is that we need your help with cool ideas for the Youtube page. Whether it’s a show idea, or someone we can to talk to about Homestuck, or I don’t know, anything! And if you even want to take a video of your submission, or suggestions, you can pop a link down below, and we can take a look at it. And if we dig it, we can get in touch, and maybe you can help us make it.”

Whoa. I had predicted that the fan contributions might be a part of the youtube channel, but it appears that, more than that, they will be a main focus! What Pumpkin appears to want to work directly with the fans to create their new “shows”, insofar as actually asking for open submissions! (I can tell you what this blogger is going to be preparing as soon as I conclude this post…)

This makes perfect sense, however, within the broader context of what Homestuck is and where it has been going. Dante, earlier in the video, describes it as a “conversation”, and I don’t think there’s any word more apt. From the very start, MS Paint Adventures has primarily been driven by reader participation. Even once adventure commands stopped being accepted, this ethos continued, with fandom constantly influencing the comic and vice versa. Andrew pooled musicians and artists to tap for the big collaborative flashes such as Cascade and Collide, culminating in a comic conclusion that was put together entirely on the basis of fan artists working closely with the author himself.

Homestuck is a fandom that is known for the energetic creativity of its fans. The constant output of excitingly polished and broad-scoping fan projects stands testament to this The growth of the comic, for the very start, has largely been a result of the activity and creative fan community around the comic, so shifting even further to the reader-driven platform for the next step in Homestuck’s evolution is the natural progression of what has made Homestuck what it is today.

But that’s not all! The pair go on to give specific instructions for fan content that you can submit in response to this first video!

Dante: “I definitely want to start off by having you guys send us some videos, about how do you feel about the whole thing ending, and what Homestuck means to you.” John: “How do you feel about the fandom, how do you feel about it ending, when we say ‘Homestuck 2.0′ does this fill you with a sense of dread, or are you excited? Because we want to do this right, and we want to do it right by you. I think … one thing we can definitely do is improve out communication with you, the fans. And this youtube channel is a huge part of that.”

So there we go, everyone! Go record your video messages! I am very excited by the new media and fan involvement that is emerging in the wake of the end of Homestuck proper. It’s true that communication from What Pumpkin has been a concern of mine, especially recently, and I know that this is a sentiment which others have echoed. However, this new youtube channel looks to be a concerted effort to improve that, and build the fan community even as Homestuck itself has stopped updating (with the exception of the pending epilogue). One thing now seems for sure; the adventure that is Homestuck is not over, and is perhaps only just beginning.

(n.b.: not to neglect the most important part of the video):