The Last Days Before Serenissima Obscura Launches
With just days to go before Serenissima Obscura goes live on Kickstarter, I am running on equal parts excitement, adrenaline, and sheer willpower. This final stretch before launch feels like rowing through a storm—Venetian style. It’s intense, a little chaotic, and entirely worth it.
When I started creating this dark Renaissance fantasy setting, I knew it would take time to craft the world, write the lore, test the mechanics, and polish the layout. What I didn’t fully grasp—until now—is just how much time and energy the final weeks would demand for something that doesn’t involve game design at all: promotion.
The Hidden Hours of Visibility
Behind the scenes, marketing a project like this is a full-time job. Every post, every update, every reel, story, and cross-promotion takes planning and coordination. The fantasy of “build it and they will come” doesn’t hold up unless people know you built it in the first place.
In these final days, we’re constantly juggling:
- Creating new teaser and ad images
- Scheduling daily posts across Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, Discord, and beyond
- Writing emails, press releases, and dev logs
- Replying to messages, comments, and DMs
- Coordinating with collaborators, reviewers, and influencers
Each task might only take 5–30 minutes, but multiply that across platforms and days, and you’re looking at several hours per day devoted just to staying visible.
Planning vs. Posting
We tried to be strategic early on—batching content, making a calendar, and designing visual assets in advance. That helped a lot. But the truth is, social media thrives on responsiveness and momentum. Plans shift. New opportunities arise. Someone posts fan art or a question that demands a thoughtful reply. A reel goes viral (or flops), and you need to react.
We’re also pushing for reach in multiple communities: TTRPG players, D&D fans, Ars Magica storytellers, indie designers, historical fantasy lovers, horror fans. Each group needs a different tone, a different angle. That means tailoring posts, not just copy-pasting.
The Human Cost (And Why I Keep Going)
On top of all this, I’ve been juggling my regular job—teaching tango during a week-long holiday in Italy. Every waking hour has been filled with classes, organizing the stay, answering guest questions, and trying to keep everyone happy. It’s been a beautiful whirlwind, but the multitasking has been absolutely insane. Switching between tango instructor and TTRPG creator on the fly is exhausting in ways I didn’t expect—equal parts passion and chaos. I even playtested Serenissima Obscura with some of my tango students – who had never played a ttrpg before!
So, my stress-levels are on maximum, but I knew this would be part of the journey. There’s a certain satisfaction in watching the momentum build—even if you’re answering comments while cooking dinner or scheduling Instagram posts at midnight.
And the response has been incredible. Seeing people connect with this strange, haunting Venice we’ve built? That’s the reward. That’s what makes the stress worth it.
If You’re Launching Your Own Project…
Here’s what we’ve learned (so far):
- Start social media way earlier than you think you need to (like: years)
- Engage with your community more than you broadcast to them
- Create more content than you think you’ll use—you’ll burn through it quickly
- Ask for help. Share the load when you can (so glad that I got support from a Gen Z supergirl)
- Track what’s working, but don’t obsess over metrics. Be human
Almost There
We’re in the final polish phase now—fine-tuning the Kickstarter page, double-checking reward tiers, and bracing ourselves for launch day. We’ve poured our hearts into Serenissima Obscura, and soon it will be out in the world. We can’t wait to show you what lurks in the fog.
Check it out here: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/6f9a7903-6491-4d10-9c2c-78af1583d6c2/landing