Back in 2009, a fellow by the name of Andrew Hussie started a webcomic parody of adventure games called Homestuck. Currently 7,500 pages in size, the format is that of a “mock adventure game” in which reader input is often used to influence the story. With approximately one million unique visitors per day, Homestuck has definitely achieved cult status.

Fast-forward to 2012, and the birth of an idea to create an actual adventure game spin-off, ultimately called Hiveswap.

Andrew Hussie: “Homestuck itself has always been sort of a mock adventure game, one the reader ‘plays’ by navigating the story, but what started relatively simply has developed into a huge world with its own lore and backstory. Bringing all this to an actual adventure game is a natural next step for the license — one we hope existing fans will love, but that should also appeal to anyone who enjoys the point-and-click style games I grew up playing, even if you’ve never heard of Homestuck.”

Hussie, under the guise of MS Paint Adventures, started a $700,000 Kickstarter campaign for the game that ended up raising a mind-boggling $2.5 million. Whoa.

The game has been in development by Hussie’s multimedia production company, What Pumpkin Studios, ever since. The first Act of Hiveswap is set to be released this Spring for PC, Mac and Linux. Release of the three remaining Acts will span the remainder of 2015.

Okay, so what is Hiveswap about, anyway? Well, meet Joey, a young girl who is unwittingly sucked through a portal and deposited on an alien planet called Alternia. What to do now?

Joey hooks up with “a band of scrappy troll rebels and embarks on an epic journey to save the world and find a way home.” (Oh, that’s all?) In the process, she will encounter a vibrant cast of characters, solve a whole bunch of puzzles and just might discover the true meaning of friendship.

As already mentioned, gamers unfamiliar with Homestuck need not worry. Although loosely based on Homestuck canon (as well as infused with its trademark humor), Hiveswap has a self-contained story that requires no prior knowledge of the webcomic. Hiveswap is sure to captivate Homestuck fans and newcomers alike.