Why Story Matters: The Gooey Cube Philosophy in Alphinius Goo’s Words

In a tabletop RPG landscape dominated by Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, standing out requires more than just clever mechanics or flashy artwork.

Gooey Cube has managed to do exactly that—building not only a product line, but a philosophy of play centered on deep storytelling, immersive worldbuilding, and collaborative adventure.

At the heart of this creative endeavor is Alphinius Goo—a seasoned marketer, art director, and above all, a lifelong RPG enthusiast.

In this interview, Alphinius reflects on the company’s journey through turbulent times: from the challenges of launching during a pandemic to navigating the OGL crisis and navigating unexpected tariffs.

He shares candid lessons from crowdfunding, discusses the delicate balance between creativity and logistics, and explains why Gooey Cube remains firmly committed to human-made art in the age of AI.

But beyond the business, this is a conversation about community—how to listen to your fans, make them part of the creative process, and build something magical together. Gooey Cube isn’t just a publisher; it’s a movement devoted to crafting truly epic tales.

Onwards!

What inspired you to start Gooey Cube in the first place, and what was the initial goal you set for the company?

I have always loved TTRPGs, and D&D in particular… so that played a part to be sure. Beyond this, there were a number of people working in our little Ad Agency (my day job) who were excited to “stretch their creative muscles” as it were… and Gooey gave all of us a chance to do that.

How did your background—as Alphinius Goo and beyond—inform the narrative-driven style of your modules?

The real impetus was my perception, from playing so many games for so many years, was that the truly “story driven” adventures and campaigns were always the most fun and most memorable.

As such, we were determined that, from the beginning we were going to help our Game Masters and Players craft, tell, and experience epic tales. That remains a cornerstone of everything we do even to today.

In a saturated market of 5E content, how did you define your unique space and creative voice?

Well… as I noted earlier, my background is in the Advertising business and so marketing strategy, market analysis, and, most important, creativity are a part of my life. I’ve had the privilege of launching many brands and products through my career and, thus, we did feel we had found an area in the category that was a bit “underserved”. So that was the foundation.

Then, as we were trying our best to look at the market we began to ask questions such as… what would help GMs tell better tales with the Players? What would help make those adventures more immersive and interesting and intriguing? What tools would help GMs and how could we reduce prep time? What style should we develop to engage Game Master’s BEFORE they even ran the game? That kind of thing.

And that line of questioning was what had us create a more high-value product which is focused on making a GMs life easier, entertaining them with the content (no “instruction manuals”), providing a deeper and richer overall experience for Players with art handouts, portraits, special item cards, and more.

Interestingly… we really went “old school” to bring this about as, if you recall, long ago many modules came with handouts to aid the Players in visualizing certain situations. Sadly, even though I believe this is still something that is greatly desired, it is also much more expensive to produce which is why I think that aspect is not seen so much today.

What lessons have you learned from running campaigns on Kickstarter, and how have they shaped Gooey Cube’s product development?

Crowdfunds really are helpful to small creators such as Gooey. They help at a host of levels including creating buzz, engaging our community, bringing new people to your brand, and a lot of other wonderful benefits. But they can also get you in trouble as we’re seeing now with the implementation of these tariffs.

Our last Kickstarter is costing us far more than we ever could have anticipated in the production arena and that is something we could not, and did not, plan for. But I am still a big fan of crowdfunding, and it will continue to be one of our channels in the future.

How do you balance expectations from backers with the realities of production and fulfillment?

I think this is all about communication and being transparent with your backers. The problem with the tariffs I spoke about earlier is a perfect example. In our case, we’re delayed a few months because of them.

As such, we’ve tried to over-communicate with our backer base as we’ve gone through this difficult circumstance so they know what’s going on. I do think most crowdfund backers understand that production schedules can slip for many reasons and that also helps as this is not really an unusual occurrence.

In any case, even though the tariffs did cause a fairly significant delay for our most recent crowdfund, we have had no complaints to this point from backers. The only true concern they have… which is appropriate because of all the small game companies who are struggling to fulfill right now… is are we going to deliver.

For our part, we are absorbing the additional costs as best we are able, and we are now in the process of printing. So we are going to deliver… just a bit later than we anticipated. For most of our backers, I think this is a relief given all that’s going on… and we are thankful we are in a position to do this.

Again… communication is the key. Delays are often inevitable… and most crowdfund backers understand this. But not keeping them informed causes mistrust and that’s why you always “keep them in the loop” as they say.

What do you think is the key to creating a successful RPG Kickstarter campaign today?

Have a good product concept. Give backers good rewards for supporting your project. Do your best to deliver quality and value in your materials. And then… spend money on advertising. Sadly, that last one is tough on small creators. But here’s the truth. If people don’t know about your project, they can’t back it.

How has your approach to marketing evolved between your first Kickstarter and your most recent ones?

We’ve gotten smarter to be sure and we’re now focusing on higher advertising spend levels. We’re also excited to be partnering with some great names in the industry such as Luke Gygax, Ed Greenwood, and others.

Plus for me… as a fan-boy… it’s totally exciting to work with them.

Can you share any behind-the-scenes moments—challenges or surprises—you encountered during your crowdfunding campaigns?

Oh my goodness… we’ve had such a crazy ride. First, just as we launched Gooey we had the start of the pandemic. THEN… just as we’re coming out of the pandemic and getting our feet back under us, there’s the OGL crisis and it looks like we won’t be able to produce under 5E (or 6E) in the future. Now… it’s the tariffs. All of these have made it much more challenging for us and many others.

BUT… the greatest thing I’ve seen comes back to the magnificent Gooey Community. We have, over the years, had many amazing people come and join our “movement” to try to craft more fun and engaging tales.

What I never expected when we began this journey was how many wonderful friends I would make… all over the world. It is one of the greatest blessings of my life and a most fantabulous surprise.

Gooey Cube has cultivated a passionate community, including a Reddit group and Discord presence. What are your most effective strategies for keeping your fans engaged between product launches?

We do try to keep up with our posting and engagement in social media… we obviously go to conventions and events… but most of all we strive to just have fun with our community. That’s the best “strategy” in my opinion. But it’s really not a strategy when you enjoy it, right?

How has community feedback influenced the content or direction of your adventures and supplements?

As you know, we’re very community focused. We’ve literally had hundreds of people provide contributions to our materials that have been published (or will soon be published)… we’ve offered some in our community the opportunity to be writers for projects… we have the most amazing group of Game Masters and Eos at conventions who give so much joy to so many players.

As such… I would say that we listen better than most because it’s another cornerstone in our foundation. And that listening and interaction helps keep our friends and fans engaged with us.

What role do live events (like conventions or streamed games) play in building relationships with your audience?

We believe it to be very important and, as you know, have a big presence at a number of conventions. At Gen Con, for example, we’ll be running hundreds of games.

You often feature community-contributed art and characters—how do you manage that creative collaboration while maintaining quality and consistency?

It’s a challenge but we have a process in place to help it work. I’ve also been an art director for most of my career so that helps as well. I review every portrait and do my best to make sure it’s special and wonderful for the person we’re doing it for. Beyond this… we have great artists and that is, of course, critical.

How do you nurture a sense of belonging within your fanbase, especially among new players and GMs?

As I mentioned earlier… it’s all about engagement. But that engagement, at least in my opinion, needs to be natural and real. We’re all passionate about our friends and fans and they are truly a joy to us. As such, we do try to be welcoming and thoughtful. I think that is the key to it all.

You’ve been vocal about prioritizing human-created art over AI-generated content. Why is that stance important to Gooey Cube?

As long as this old wizard is in charge… we will always use human authors and human artists. I absolutely see the value of AI for concepting and as a tool for artists and writers to help them in their concepts. BUT… for us… we will not supplant humans for robots.

Do you see any areas in which AI could play a helpful supporting role in tabletop RPG development—such as editing, organization, or logistics?

It certainly will play a role… and will improve efficiency and productivity. This is all a good thing. We have had technology doing this for many centuries. My worry is the capacity for this particular technology to supplant humans at levels we’ve never really seen before.

What’s your take on the growing use of AI tools in the tabletop industry, especially for solo game development?

Again… I would prefer that game industry companies not supplant human crafted creations with robot created work in this industry. But I do see the potential with many of the tools that are being spawned from AI.

The line is pretty gray though. For me… my line is “Does this technology aid the creator in their craft?” versus “Does this technology supplant them.” That’s where we’re trying to walk.

Can you tell us what’s next for Gooey Cube—any new systems, settings, or media outside of 5E?

We are likely to continue our OSE direction along with supporting 5E. We will have another Gyzaengaxx Kickstarter early next year and another interesting project coming later in 2026. More on that tale to come in the future….

Do you have plans to support digital VTT platforms more extensively, like Foundry or Alchemy?

We are looking at it as it is clearly an opportunity. But we are a small company and to commit to these platforms significantly requires a lot of resources to convert and adapt the materials. Thus, right now it is not at the top of our priority lists currently but we shall see what the next 12 to 18 months holds.

With the success of your boxed campaigns, do you foresee licensing or collaborations with other publishers in the future?

We absolutely hope to. There are some amazing people in this industry and to work with them would be a dream come true.

Where do you see Gooey Cube in five years, and what’s your vision for expanding the Wy’rded World?

I so hope we have grown our fanbase significantly and that, by that time, much of the Wy’rded World has been fleshed out. The continent of Sundestia is next which is loosely inspired by African, Middle Eastern, and Egyptian cultures and mythologies and I’m REALLY excited to explore this with our friends and fans.

We definitely want to continue our collaborations with Luke and Gen Con and others. And we just want to fulfill our passion of making great tales that support great games for our GMs and Players.

It’s the most fun I’ve had in my career even though, as with any business, there are stresses and strains that you have to overcome. But I LOVE this industry…. I love the gamer community…. And I love gaming. So I’m very excited for all the adventure to come.