We recently connected with Reid Gustavson and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Reid thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard

Whispering Goat Games utilises AI artwork.

My background is in computer science and AI, so I was excited to play with the latest AI technology. Years ago, I had a game concept that I ultimately shelved because the costs associated made it economically unviable for its price point. When AI art became an option it opened the door to finally bring my game to life—something that felt incredibly rewarding.

The board games we make are primarily a mechanics-driven art form, with visuals enhancing the experience. By using AI art, we can keep production costs down, passing these savings onto players and putting more resources toward designing innovative, intuitive mechanics. My team includes talented designers who tie together the visual elements, ensuring a consistent look and feel. AI art helps us, as indie creators, compete in an industry dominated by large incumbent publishers.

The board game industry is slow to adopt AI-generated imagery. Critics of AI art primarily use the argument that AI art is theft. I disagree at a technical level, but ultimately, I think the true ethos of the argument is that AI is hurting the job prospects for artists in the industry. This is a struggle that all industries are going to have to deal with in the coming years, as AI is our new reality.

Ultimately, I’m fascinated by what AI represents—not just in board games but across all industries. For indie creators like myself, AI offers a way to bring our visions to life without the heavy burden of upfront costs. For us, it’s about making quality, complete games that are both fun and affordable.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m Reid, the creator behind Whispering Goat Games of Vancouver, BC. I design board/card games that focus on logic-based gameplay mechanics; I studied economics at the University of Ottawa and am interested in everything to do with game theory.

The board game industry has been trending towards more complex strategy games with many intricate rules, back stories, and quests. Conversely, I grew up enjoying more classic games: Monopoly, Risk, and Settlers of Catan. These games have relatively straightforward rules and goals, but can lead to negotiations and heated arguments. I entered the industry to make this type of games: simple concepts with lots of yelling. My goal with each game is to give players an experience that is challenging, yet intuitive. The best games have players easily grasping rules and quickly focussed on strategy. To this end, we build on well-known mechanics when possible.

Our first three games Rock Paper Scissors, Secret Santa, and Easter Egg Hunt, take the rules from Rock Paper Scissors, White Elephant, and Memory Match, respectively, then add a delightful twist. All three of these games were designed to be perfect stocking stuffer gifts: fun, simple, cute, un-intimidating, and affordable.

Our latest game “Embezzlement: Honesty Never Pays” is coming out December 2024. This is our first full board game. Players are employees in the accounts payable department, trying to skim the most money while paying company invoices. All the while they are tearing down their colleagues with audits, blackmail, and bribes. It all comes down to bluffing, getting a read on each other, and managing your cards.

Ultimately, our goal is the same of any game developer: we hope our games give players a little bit of joy, and some memories with their family and friends.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I have self funded my business by way of my day job as a software engineer. This has been challenging for many reasons, the obvious of which is launching a business while fully employed and maintaining the motivation to work on games after a full day’s work. Another challenge is that there is a great stability in having a job, which might be getting in the way of me fully marketing my products and “going for it”. Or, as they discuss on Friends, I might need “the fear,…the motivation to go after [what] you really want”.

But the job also has its ancillary benefits. It forces me to regularly walk away from my games and put myself in a completely different head space. I am constantly returning to my games from a fresh perspective. I am forced to prioritise relentlessly, as I just don’t have the hours in the day to do everything. I’m reminded of the phrase, “if you want something done, ask a busy person”. Another huge benefit is the skills I continually gain allow me to code the dynamic portions of the how-to videos and website. So, maybe at some point I need to “accept the fear”, but right now, having a source of income to fund the R&D is vital.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Start With Why, Simon Sinek.

The main concept of Start With Why is that when designing a product, focus on why a person needs your product. It is easy for game designers to mistakenly answer this question by describing the end goal of the game (ex. “to embezzle the most money”). But that is actually the “how”, not the “why”. The why is “to have a fun time and get a chance to feel more clever than your friends“. That’s the why I work back from, and I feel like it has guided us in the right direction. We go to board game conventions and see many game designs that are technically flawless, interesting, and pretty. But when you see people sitting down to play them, nobody is smiling. That’s where they’ve failed. A game should be foremost about fun. Next about an interesting puzzle. That’s our why.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://whisperinggoat.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whisperinggoat
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whisperinggoatgames
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/whispering-goat-games
• Twitter: @whispering_goat
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhisperingGoatGames