Well hello, dearest stellar beings!
2021 is bumbling along and we are in intense preparations of … you know what. Some of you might already have gotten a glimpse or two on the people running this show, but we would like to introduce you to the team and some of our associates that support us. We’ll throw a spoonful of time into the mix, which should give you an overview how Sefirot was conceived and began to materialize.
In approximately 2017, a game designer called Georg Hobmeier had the idea to make a Tarot based board game. Georg grew up in the Eastern Alps, spent his formative years with pen & paper games, the theatre and Peyote, a mix that led him through various dimensions and professions. By 35 he had carried coffins, guarded cellar doors, performed on stage, choreographed for television and retired to the quiet life of a narrative game designer. Sefirot was meant to be a small sideshow, a brief rest from all things digital.
In 2018 he was introduced by the amazing Sarah Hiebl to their colleagues Viv Tanner and Eli Baum, an artist duo and couple based in Vienna. While working on their own projects, be it illustrated books or comics, they’ve also taken on several freelance gigs along the years. (Clients include Titmouse, BOOM! Studios, HMH Books and more). While both styles and interests differ slightly, they converge for matters that are close to their hearts, such as LGBTQ+ works and all things fairy tale and fantastical.
The work on Sefirot began with some careful research, playtesting and exploration, that involved also the participation of the illustrators Brian Main and Peter Diamond.
In late 2019, plans solidified and became more concrete: Kickstarter. Everyone is doing those and so should we. With the support of Georg’s game development studio Causa Creations and his more obscure artistic collective gold extra, they started to produce Tarot cards and various other assets for the board game.
You might wanna start drawing a chart with the dramatis personae now, because the cast will get even bigger. Entering two more people from the Causa Creations to support the project, the 3D generalist Ben Wahl and the graphic designer Zsombor Svab.
Ben is a trained Kundalini Yoga teacher, who loves to paint miniatures in the comfort of his own home, but by heart he is an artist and never stops to try something new, even the more cumbersome aspects of production.
Apart from making graphics, Zsombor (the name is Hungarian) had been an avid Tarot disciple for quite some years. The beneficial guidance of his best friend’s readings prompted him to delve deeper in the various traditions, which eventually led to Sefirot. He now also is an active cardomancer.
This fabulous five form the current core team of Sefirot, and together they sail with increasing speed towards their next goal, the mysterious Kickstarter campaign. Some people have already left that vessel, such as the marvellous Thomas Ortsik who supported them with extensive research on press and promotion, some are just getting on board, like the good people of Moonshadow Garden, who practise such witchcraft as content creation and search engine optimisation.
And of course there are countless people that support us with their advice and benign presence. Such as yourselves!
Stay safe and connected with each other!
Georg, Card Master of Sefirot
P.S.: This friday, we shall start a raffle with some exquisite pre-production assets such as test prints of cards on social media, but also amongst the newsletter subscribers! You might hear from us next week concerning that. One of you to be precise.
