Wasteland Express Delivery Service is a game I am extremely proud of and can’t wait to get into player’s hands everywhere.  It’s been in development in various stages for half a decade, and I think the balance between thematic, story driven elements and well-balanced Euro-economy is going to appeal to gamers of all stripes.  I think taking on the role of drivers for the last delivery company on Earth is going to be one of gamer’s favorite activities in 2017.

It was three years ago when I first talked to Matt Riddle and Ben Pinchback (co-designers of Wasteland Express Delivery Service). Originally, I just wanted to fanboy out about how much I loved their game Fleet. The discussion quickly turned to how we lived within driving distance of each other, and how cool it would be to work on something together. We discussed some potential projects. We chatted about game designs I felt stuck on, some they were stuck on, and some new game ideas.  Several Skype calls later, we decided that they would send me the files for a game they were working on called “Space Vikings”.

After receiving the prototype, I spent a couple days reading through the rules, pouring over the components, and thinking about what “just didn’t feel right” about the game. Ben and Matt both agreed that something wasn’t quite clicking.

Then, it dawned me on me: there was a slight crack between the mechanics and the theme. So, I started poking and prodding at that crack, exploring it to see what I could do with their already awesomely sound mechanics. I felt like “Post-apocalyptic pick up and deliver” sounded like something I really wanted to play, so I sent them back a concise email: “Wasteland Truckers.”

Matt’s reply: “All in.  I think post-apocalyptic trucking is great!  Adding factions and Ameritrash elements and combat is exactly what the design needs.” 

Ben’s reply: “Ya I'd rather do post-apocalyptic than space, too. I actually hate space. And Fallout 3 is one of my Top 5 video games of all time.”

From there, I worked on a revision to the game, tested it with my local playtesting group, revised it, then planned a meeting with Matt and Ben. Thus began our tradition of meeting at Panera Bread, somewhere in the middle of the three of us, and spending days working on the game with major revisions between each meeting. One of the things that struck me early in playtesting was how much fun the game was, and I knew that layering some awesome theme and story was only going to make it shine.

After about four months of revising and refining the changes, we reached out to some of the publishers we were excited to work with, and after several meetings we felt that Pandasaurus Games was the best home for Wasteland Express Delivery Service. Molly and Nathan (the owners of Pandasaurus Games) were both extremely pumped and had some great ideas about the world and the story we wanted to tell.

The next step was finding the perfect artist for the world we envisioned. They had to be just right to bring the weird, chaotic, and sometimes disturbing Wasteland to life. After many suggestions and much debating, Pandasaurus Games decided on the incredible Riccardo Burchielli (artist for the DC Comics/Vertigo series DMZ, among others). His initial sketches were exactly what I had been envisioning, and the creative team continued to push him in new and interesting directions with each additional rendering.

The attention to detail that was given to Wasteland Express Delivery Service over the next year was incredible. We conversed about lots of fun ideas, our wish list was impressive, and Pandasaurus delivered on all fronts. When I open my first copy of the finished game, it’s going to be like Christmas on my game table.

Some of the highlights (IMHO) are:

All in all, I can’t wait for all of you to get your hands on Wasteland Express Delivery Service. To immerse yourselves into the phenomenal story we’ve devised. To experience the fun, emergent moments that happen during play. To hop into the driver's seat and haul some guns, water, and perishables through the raider-infested Wasteland, while helping out the enclaves and making a few bucks on the side.

Jonathan W. Gilmour is a full time game designer (Dead of Winter, Vault Wars), husband, and father of four awesome game geeks. He also enjoys reading comics and watching TV with the family.