Oceania 2084: A Postmortem

Introduction: What is Oceania 2084 and why was it made?

Oceania 2084 is a dystopian tabletop roleplaying game that asks a simple question: what would Orwell write if he were observing our world today? The game imagines the logical horrors of contemporary authoritarianism and explores what a GM-less, asymmetric, and adversarial roleplaying experience can look like.

It is a dark game that invites deep, personal roleplay. It examines who we are under the boot of an authoritarian system, what resistance means, and how vital connection and community are for retaining our humanity. It is a game about hope and struggle.

I set out to create something politically meaningful and personally honest. I also wanted to challenge myself by building a game with more mechanical complexity than I usually design.

Personal Inspirations

Oceania 2084 grew out of Control, a dice-based emotional resolution engine I developed quickly in 2021 and released as an unpolished Creative Commons TTRPG engine. While writing Control, I imagined several applications, including dystopian and horror.

A Reddit poll ranked 1984 as the IP that was the most impossible to turn into a good TTRPG. I did not agree. I took it as a design challenge and began exploring 1984 immediately. From the start I wanted the game to reflect what I consider an honest understanding of Orwell's politics and the premise of his critique of Stalinism and fascism. I spent significant time reading his works and contemporary responses to 1984. This interest draws on my background in extraparliamentary anarchist organizing.

For most of development I did not know if the game would ever be published. As the project grew through playtesting and refinement, a hardback book began to feel possible. By year four, the rules reached a pre-Kickstarter state. The system had gone through three playtesting phases and, by my estimate, involved about 150 playtesters. It was mechanically complete and functionally sound. After many conversations with friends and colleagues, I decided to run a Kickstarter.

The Kickstarter Experience

As part of the preparations I asked Mika Edström to illustrate the book. We worked on two or three drafts and refined them into the art used for the campaign. I prepared most campaign materials, including a visual draft of the first two chapters, logotypes, and other design elements. I also produced a short mood trailer using a mix of AI and Creative Commons clips. The goals were to convey the game's aesthetic, present a piece of in-world propaganda from Big Brother, and spark debate.

For printing I chose Totem Printing in Poland based on a personal recommendation from a book publisher. That relationship helped secure a small discount.

During this period I was also writing my Master's thesis using the game's design process as research. Doing both at once was exhausting, but it allowed me to alternate between game designer and reflective practitioner.

Running the Kickstarter campaign

Expectations vs reality

I expected to spend one or two hours per day on the campaign. In reality I averaged about eight hours per day while also teaching full-time, with only one day off in the month. Three days in, I realized I had misjudged preexisting support. About 120 people had requested launch notifications, which I read as hype. In practice, notifications function more like bookmarks than commitments.

Outreach and marketing

Outreach started a month before launch. I scheduled interviews with podcasters and reviewers and sent many emails. The response rate was roughly 3 percent, including a few negative responses with helpful advice. During the campaign I did five interviews. These were rewarding personally, but they were not a major driver of backers.

A crucial boost came when Tim Hutchings shared the campaign with his mailing list. We met at a conference early in development and kept in touch. Over three days during the last week of the campaign I sent about 1,500 personal messages across my social platforms using a tailored template. This effort generated conversations and reconnections and ultimately pushed the campaign over the finish line.

Paid ads on Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit drove traffic but did not convert. This remained true after the campaign for general promotion. In my experience, paid social ads were a time and money sink.

Funding outcome and structure

The campaign funded at 121 percent. 201 backers pledged €10,914. The goal was set to cover production and shipping. I did not aim for profit until after fulfillment. There were no stretch goals and little production risk. I added stickers, play sheets and a poster as small optional bonuses, still within the financial overhead.

Key takeaways

• Notification counts do not equal committed backers.
• Personal networks and direct messages convert better than paid ads.
• Clear scope and low risk are easy to communicate and help trust.
• Plan for more time than you think, especially if you have a day job.

After the Campaign

In spring 2024 I ran a one-month Kickstarter while teaching full-time, which created a heavy workload. After funding, I took a short break, then set internal deadlines and refined the timeline for fulfillment.

I completed the visual layout, restructured and polished the rules, and led art direction for Mika's illustrations. We initially aimed for more illustrations than time allowed. After adjustments we landed on 21 illustrations, including 5 layout and design elements. Mika captured the game's tension beautifully.

In December 2024 the book went to Totem. In January 2025 I began shipping to backers, about three months later than the original delivery date. The delay was necessary to reach the level of quality we wanted and to complete illustrations, and it reflected the need to slow down after the campaign.

The final book has 176 full-color pages, an embossed hardback cover, and 4 meticulously designed play sheets. I am proud of the result and believe it will become one of those obscure indie titles that keep finding dedicated players over time. Fulfillment wrapped in summer 2025.

Economic gain was never the goal. Breaking even was. Any surplus is future development money. The financial plan for the campaign and book matched reality.

Layout and art direction

Pre-Kickstarter production was sporadic and inspiration-driven. After deciding to run a Kickstarter I set external deadlines. I underestimated the remaining work and my own level of perfectionism. The Surplus Edition uses individually designed spreads. Coordinating my visual design with Mika Edström required careful alignment of styles. This phase took about three months longer than expected. We chose to maintain ambition for a polished collector's edition rather than cut visuals.

I have a long history of practicing and teaching layout and visual design so I felt well prepared to do that production on my own.

Printing and proofing

Printing went smoothly. Proofing required four or five PDF iterations. One oversight was forgetting to convert a few illustrations to CMYK, which led to late night corrections.

The play sheets needed a reprint due to a minor layout mistake: misaligned text in the personal values section of the Resistance sheet. The reprint cost a few hundred euros, covered by budget overhead.

Shipping and logistics

I handled all shipping and logistics myself, which worked well at our scale. I had prepared for up to 500 backers. Fulfillment required one to two months of part-time work. Late survey replies extended the process to almost five months. The shipping was included in the pledge amount, no extra/hidden cost for the backer to cover at release.

Design and development

In this section I will try to briefly outline the design and development process for the game from first version to the finished Surplus Edition.

Core design principles

These principles later appeared in the rulebook because they explain the game's premise to new players:

1. True liberation of the world is not possible.
2. You play to explore, not to win.
3. We are what we leave behind.
4. Friendship and true connection challenge power and make resistance possible.
5. To portray dystopia we do not have to describe every gory detail.
6. Physical conflict is rare and brutal. Violence is common.
7. Big Brother sees you.

Adapting the Control engine

I adapted and streamlined Control for the setting. I added stress and memory systems, meta-currencies and trackers, and narrative elements like work position (later expanded into three classes). Early versions included passions and motivations, which later merged into Deviations. Initial playtests were GM-led, with me playing Big Brother.

From GM to Big Brother player

I realized the experience of playing under surveillance depended heavily on the GM's personality. To make it fair and thematic, Big Brother needed rules. Over time, Big Brother became a player role with defined constraints rather than a traditional GM. The game breaks down if run with a standard modern GM, this is because the role of Big Brother is that of an actual adversary. Many other games rely on the perceived tension of the GM being adversarial, but the actual task of a GM in modern TTRPGs is balancing for expected survival of the player characters.

Narrative control as core conflict

The shift to GM-less design created challenges. The breakthrough came when I reframed the game's core conflict as a struggle over narrative control. This aligned with resistance versus oppression and led to mechanics for Big Brother's reactions, Trust scores, and the use of a character's social network. Players move through a series of characters connected by friends and family, which supports the theme and structure.

Progression and rogue-like influence

I wanted progression that rewarded understanding and legacy rather than power creep. Inspired by rogue-likes, I added Notes, a system that lets players leave traces for future characters. Notes generate points for re-rolls and avoiding doom. I expanded classes to create mechanical identity. Discounts on specific actions enabled Class Acts, which shape play style.

Playtesting phases and feedback

• Internal playtests with my group and friends focused on character sheet load and quick iterations.
• External phase two recruited about 10 groups through Reddit, Discord, Facebook, and local posters. Over three months, they ran campaigns, submitted notes, and completed a survey. The hardest part was resisting the urge to change rules mid-test.
• Findings included validation of core assumptions and a request for fewer Values in the resolution system. I reduced Values from 15 to 11. Players reported strong engagement despite the game modeling the downfall of a resistance movement.
• Refinement merged passions and motivations into Deviations, expanded rules for Class Acts and Big Brother reactions, and tuned tension between Resistance actions and Big Brother responses. I added detailed reaction rules and a post-game debrief chapter.
• External phase three focused on fine-tuning rather than major changes.

Design lessons

• Adversarial roles require strict constraints to avoid imbalance.
• Narrative control can be a satisfying and thematic axis of conflict.
• Legacy systems like Notes support hope without undermining stakes.
• Reduce choice where it overwhelms. Fewer, sharper Values improved play.

Current status and take aways

The game is niche within a niche. Since release it has received strong recognition and positive reviews for design, rules innovation, and subject matter. An Italian outlet rated it 9.2 out of 10, and No Dice Unrolled praised its treatment of resistance and its relevance. Backer feedback has been very positive.

As of writing, the PDF bundle has been sold or downloaded about 700 times, and about 200 hardback copies have been sold, including backer copies. These are humble numbers. I expect growth to be driven by word of mouth.

I have given academic and public talks about the politics and intent of the game, with positive responses. I believe Oceania 2084 can grow into a cult classic with time.

Consolidated metrics

• Development: ~4 years, 3 playtest phases, ~150 playtesters
• Book: 176 full-color pages, embossed hardback, 4 play sheets, 21 illustrations
• Kickstarter: 201 backers, €10,914 pledged, 121 percent funded
• Art cost: ~€3000
• Book printing cost: ~€3600
• Bonuses printing cost (sheets, stickers, posters): ~€1800
• Fulfillment shipping costs: ~€1500
  • Total project cost: ~€9900
• Fulfillment: initial target missed by ~3 months, final completion summer 2025
• Sales: ~700 PDFs, ~200 hardbacks sold

What went well

• A clear thematic vision guided every design choice.
• The reframing around narrative control unlocked GM-less play.
• Class Acts and Notes created identity and legacy without removing stakes.
• Personal outreach converted better than paid ads.
• Art direction and layout achieved a polished collector's edition.

What did not go well

• Workload during the Kickstarter was far higher than planned.
• Pre-launch hype was overestimated based on notification counts.
• Production timelines were optimistic, especially for bespoke layouts.
• Small but costly printing and layout mistakes required rework.
• Paid social ads drove traffic but did not convert.

What I would do differently next time

• Schedule the campaign during a period with lighter teaching duties.
• Treat notifications as interest, not as commitments.
• Build a larger pre-launch mailing list and community presence earlier.
• Lock visual scope earlier or add buffer time for bespoke layouts.
• Budget a dedicated QA pass for print assets, including color space checks.
• Prioritize direct outreach and collaborations over paid ads.
• Plan a structured debrief and rest period after the campaign.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to the playtesters, backers, friends, and colleagues who supported the project. Special thanks to Mika Edström for illustrations and to Tim Hutchings for sharing the campaign. Your help was essential to bringing Oceania 2084 to print.