Dead Man's Rest [BxB, Adventure, Western]

[gammastre]

A Western LGBT Visual Novel

Developed by Gallium Games

Published by Argent Games

Estimated Release: Q4 2020

Itch page

For more frequent development updates, follow along on Twitter and our Blog!




1879, Golder's Rock. On a clear, moonless night in high summer, the stifling heat coils around a small town in the heartland of the Arizona Territory. Not a single lick of a breeze whistles through the dark, dusty main road, as silent as death itself.

After tracking down an old enemy for eight long years, lone bounty hunter Lee "Blackjack" McCarthy has finally pinned down his target—his eyes set only on vengeance for a past he can't forget.

But when the town mayor is ruthlessly murdered on that fateful, sweltering night, Lee's plan suddenly stops dead in its tracks.

Suspected of the killing, forced to remain in town under watch, and desperate for the opportunity to catch his quarry, Lee has no choice but to work with the townsfolk he trusts—each with their own buried pasts and agendas—to reveal the truth and clear his name.

Then, and only then, can Lee finally chase his real target...and lay to rest the ghost that haunts his memories.

Jump into a whirlwind Western mystery as Lee finds both lovers and enemies among the mysterious townsfolk, discovers the dark truths hidden in Golder's Rock, and ultimately takes revenge on the murderer who destroyed his life.

• Genre: Western, Adventure, Mystery, Romance (BxB)
• Rating: R-17 (language, violence, sexual themes)
• Length: ~125,000 words
• Endings: 15
• Platforms: Windows/Mac/Linux, Android
• 18 CGs

Content/Trigger warnings: Suicide, non-consensual sexual activities, guns/shooting

• Producer: gamma
• Writer/Designer: Theo Southgate
• Character Artist: RavenRein
• BG Artist: Lesleigh63

Comments, Questions, Feedback

• What do you look for in fiction set in the Wild West (late 1800s)?
• How important is historical accuracy (particularly cultural mannerisms) in portraying the setting, when history was rife with racism and other -isms that wouldn't fly today?

[parttimestorier]

I love mysteries and gay cowboys! I'll be looking forward to this one.

How important is historical accuracy (particularly cultural mannerisms) in portraying the setting, when history was rife with racism and other -isms that wouldn't fly today?

I think it's totally fine to decide on your own approach to that. If you want to write something historically accurate where characters have to deal with the prejudices of the times, that's okay; if you'd rather write about a fictional Wild West where everyone is in interracial gay relationships and no one has a problem with it, that can be nice and fun too. It just depends on the kind of story and audience you're going for.

One thing I'd love for the story to have a bit more detail about would be Taza's background. Which Indigenous Nation is he from? And if you decide to go for historical realism, how has colonialism impacted his life?

[Zelan]

What do you look for in fiction set in the Wild West (late 1800s)?: Honestly, I haven't consumed a lot of fiction set in this time, so I don't like for anything specific. I like the look of this VN. (:
How important is historical accuracy (particularly cultural mannerisms) in portraying the setting, when history was rife with racism and other -isms that wouldn't fly today?: This is a tough question, and honestly I think you could really go multiple ways with it. On the one hand, a lot of people consider visual novels an "escapist" medium, and don't want to play games where bigotry is included at all. On the other hand, compromising historical accuracy can be a problem for other people. Like parttimestorier said, it depends on the audience that you're going for. If you do decide to portray these cultural mannerisms, I think I would probably handle this one of two ways: 1) don't show explicit discrimination, but imply that it has taken place, maybe through dialogue by the characters who have experienced it, or 2) show it where necessary for your story, but don't pile it on so thick that it's difficult to read, and give the victimized characters space to call out the behavior (whether directly confronting the person or by explaining it to another person).

Looking forward to seeing more from this, good luck!

[aliciarune]

Oh, this looks amazing. I haven't watched much western, but this looks good. I like the art style and story. I'd really love to read about t a bounty hunter and his romance with guys. I'm also happy it's BxB. I feel like this will b e quite a unique visual novels. As for your questions

1. Like Zelan, I don't know enough about Western media to really answer that. I've watched Bonanzia and True Grit, but not much more. I'd love for a good western setting though (backgrouds) and some action. I guess that would be good. But yeah, I also want to read this for the mystery and romance.

2.Honestly it depends. Old me would want that to be tackled, but after reading a certain VN, I realized you can create a different world from our if you want to. You can tackle more heavy topics, but not make it a main point. Still, I know for some, they may want that. And with a Native American, you'll need to make sure you've done your research and to write him well. It'll be difficult either way you go, I will tell you and you won't be able to please everyone. For me, I'm fine either way and it's nice to see you putting in a Native American. I admit, I'm not sure I want racism to be in the forefront because it makes me feel weird, likely because I'm a person of color.

[gammastre]

It's been a while (project set aside to finish up another one), but we're back with an update and are aiming to launch a demo in about a month!

Thanks for the responses! It's been a struggle to decide how much liberty to take with the setting, but it's great to hear that a bit more freedom could be welcome

The sprites are getting spruced up a bit, so updated character cards will be coming soon. In the meantime, the GUI design is almost finalized!













Demo stats:
- Programming (60%)
- Art (100%)
- Sound (30%)
- UI (80%)

Follow the itch page: https://gallium-games.itch.io/dead-mans-rest

[gammastre]

Demo now available!

Taking anywhere from 45m-2hrs to play through, you’ll get the chance to meet most of the LIs and learn up to 41 period words/phrases.

Let us know what you think! You can find us and other players on the Argent Games Discord in #dead-mans-rest.

The demo is currently only available on itch. We hope to make it available on Steam in the near future, but it is dependent on getting past Steam’s review process.