GaMaYo returns on Thursday 23rd May 2024 at Tileyard North and it’s about time we highlight another one of the demos that are going to be on show and take time to interview, the talented creators behind them too!
If you would like to come to this event and/or join the GaMaYo network and develop games or support the games industry – then visit our Discord or Facebook group.
The third GaMaYo highlight is a Western themed resource management game where you build up your own community. Make sure to play your cards right, reap the rewards and you might just become…
Governor of the West
This is being developed by the team at La Volière and we asked Trevor Fountain some questions to find out more…
What would be your description of Governor of the West?
“A turn-based game of exploration, resource management, and worker outlaw placement set in the Old West.”
How did development start? (Were there any key inspirations or ideas that drove you?)
“I’m the parent of a 16-month old, and for the first year or so after he was born he Would. Not. Sleep through the night. To help me pass those multi-hour, 3 o’clock-in-the-morning rocking-the-baby-back-to-sleep sessions I decided to start poking at Unity and building the kind of game I wanted to be playing. Thus Governor of the West was born!
I build retail point-of-sale software for a living (yawn), and shipping bug fixes for people’s financial software in sleep-deprived, late-night coding sessions just seemed like a bad idea. But building a turn-based strategy game? That’s a great way to make me look forward to a long night in the rocking chair.”
Tell us about yourself? (Where are you from? How did you get started?)
“I’m building Governor of the West as a hobbyist (pretentiously, a “solo indie”), and while it’s not my first indie game it’s been…8 years (wow!) since my last game. Previously I released a few small solo-indie games for iOS, and helped co-found an indie studio (Blazing Griffin) in Edinburgh back in 2011.
Governor of the West is built by a husband-and-wife team; myself doing the design, development, & art, while my wife (a composer & sound designer) produced the sound design & audio effects.
I’m from the US (howdy!) and only very recently moved to the North. I’ve been living in France since 2018, but my wife and I have just moved to Leeds to be closer to her parents.”
What kind of experiences do you hope to bring players?
“I try to build games that are easy to pick up and easy to put down; games that can be played in lots of little chunks of stolen time. I’m self-employed and a parent so “little chunks of stolen time” is how I play games, and I make games that I want to play. Governor of the West is all about exploring a space of possible options and making lots of little choices (“What should I use this one character to improve during this turn? What micro-improvement or resource do I need next?”) that all snowball together into victory.
And, obviously, you should be able to just put the game down and pick it right back up later.”
In 10 words or less, highlight the appeal of Governor of the West?
“Methodical, turn-based strategy with a charming aesthetic!“
That’s all from our chat with Trevor, but look forward to seeing Governor of the West and trying it out in person at GaMaYo, May 23rd, Tileyard North, Wakefield.
You can also check out the Steam page HERE for a demo and make sure to Wishlist if you like what you see. It goes a long way to get the word out there and support independent developers.
