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The Five Basics of Being a Game Design Problem Solver

A short but important list of things that help me with the day-to-day design work of accepting feedback and using it to solve problems in my game designs.

July 1, 2013

The most important thing I'm responsible for day-to-day is managing the following perpetual cycle of game design:

1.  Listening  to feedback from team members and players;

2.  Deciding  how or how not to integrate that feedback into the game;

3. Then  validating  those decisions by tracking how changes resonate with players.

By no means have I mastered this cycle. However, especially as the designer on the small team developing  Highgrounds , I find that there are a small set of processes I can follow to more efficiently and respectfully work with the team to drive the design of our game forward. Here they are in no particular order.

1. Identify the Problem Before Finding a Solution . A lot of the feedback I encounter comes in the form of raw ideas or inspiration ("There should be a character who blocks lightning bolts!"). This feedback is often useless in actually helping to decide if the idea should make it into the game or not. To make a qualitative assessment, I always need to first understand what problem the design suggestion is trying to solve.

For example, behind the suggestion to allow characters to block lightning bolts may be a feeling that the lightning bolt ability is too powerful, making games against lightning bolt characters noncompetitive, and thus less fun. With the problem understood, it's much easier to evaluate if the solution proposed will help solve that problem or not. If the solution does not help or will causes other problems in the game elsewhere, you now at least have a basis to work from to easily look for alternative solutions that WILL address the issue. I also find it easier to have a dialogue with the person providing feedback as to why I agree or disagree. Now your feedback is directed at a common enemy ("the problem") instead of the merits of a team member's idea or design sensibility.

2.   Give Rationale Along With Recommendations . On the flip side, when it's my turn to make design recommendations, I find it's important to explain the problems in the game I see along with why I believe the suggestion I'm making is the best solution to that problem. I often refer to this part of a design recommendation as the "rationale" for the change.

If I find myself giving feedback without much rationale, it's usually a telling sign that I have not fully thought through the actual issues with the current design, or that I may be suggesting a change that is unnecessary.

3. Keep Design Notes . Once a decision is made on how to proceed with a design change, I always recommend that the change, problem, and rationale be captured for reference later (a simple Google document shared with the whole team is usually enough). Why should you go to all this trouble? Inevitably, a change you make to the game now will reveal or create new problems in the design later. When it comes time to address those problems, it's extremely helpful to remember why the previous changes were made in the first place. Having your previous rationale on hand will help prevent you from making the same mistakes twice, and ensure that new changes will not reintroduce old problems.

4. Use "Listening Aids" : I've been fortunate to have a number of great mentors over the course of my short career in games. A common habit between all of my mentors has been to bring a notebook or sketchpad to every meeting they attend. I've found this notepad serves a few important purposes in working through the cycle of design.

1. Most obviously, it allows design notes to be captured amid rapid conversation of problems and solutions.

2. It supports discussion of visual concepts better than the napkins, straws, and salt shakers that are typically available at meeting locations outside of work.

3. It provides important social cues about openness and listening. When you physically take note of what a team member is saying, it demonstrates to the other person that you are hearing and considering their ideas.

The notebook itself is not important, but making a conscious effort to "take note" of other's feedback is. Their perspective may not be relevant now, but extremely useful later. This applies when interacting outside of your immediate team as well. It's worth the effort to reply to your players on the forums, and respond to that misguided Publisher feedback that would be easier to ignore. Without doing the above, you run the risk of appearing unreasonable and longer term you will find yourself with less feedback from your team; feedback that could be critical to the success of your game down the road.

5. Play Your Game, Know Your Game . On small teams, it's typical to take on a lot of responsibility and wear many hats. When you have so much else to do, it gets harder and harder to justify spending time just playing your game. But I find it's critical to know your game well enough to understand how even the smallest changes will affect the high-level design. Even when you know where a problem lies in your game, it's easy to land on flawed rationale because you simply didn't know the full impact your suggested change would have.

In  Highgrounds , there are now upwards of 140 characters with 2-4 unique abilities each, and I do my best to make sure I know each and every one of their strengths and weaknesses. The time you spend now playing and studying your game will pay off in the form of fewer new design problems to tackle later in development.

There are likely many other things to consider, but keeping these five basic ideas in mind can have a big impact on how often you and your team make the right change to your game.

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About the Author(s)

Scott Brodie

Scott Brodie is a Game Designer and Producer with Microsoft Game Studios' Xbox LIVE Arcade Team. He has background in most aspects of game development, serving as designer, artist, producer, and programmer throughout his career. He regularly writes and creates experimental games for his personal blog, Left-Handed Game Design . He can also be followed on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/brodiegames .

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Game Developer Essentials

Core Dynamics: A Key Element in Instructional Game Design

• Come Together
• 6 Lessons Instructional Designers Can Learn From the Muppets

When designing an instructional game, it’s critical to ensure that the activities of the game align with the desired learning outcomes. What a learner does to win a game should align closely to activities and skills required on the job. One method of ensuring this alignment is to make sure the game’s core dynamic reinforces the real-world context, need, or preference of target learners.

The core dynamic of a game is also a key reason why some people like one type of game and others like another. Some people like the core dynamic of alignment, like in the games Candy Crush, Timeline, or Bejeweled. Others like a core dynamic of outwitting an opponent, like in chess or Stratego. Choosing the right core dynamic is critical to the success of the game.

Most games have one or two core dynamics. When you are starting out designing learning games, it’s easiest to select one core dynamic and design your game around it. As you add dynamics, you add complexity and the game becomes confusing to the learners. They will not understand what they are supposed to be doing to achieve the game goal. Table 1 below contains a list of common core dynamics and how they align with particular learning outcomes.

It is not uncommon to combine core dynamics in a game. For example, the poplar card game Go Fish includes the core dynamics of both collecting and matching. When combining core dynamics, keep these concepts in mind.

• A significant part of your game’s fun depends on how engaging players find the dynamic you choose. When you create your initial prototypes for your game, ask yourself, “How would the game change if I changed the dynamic from X to Y?” (for example, from race to the finish to rescue or escape). Or, “What would happen if I combined a second dynamic with the one I have?” (such as combining race to the finish with capture). Then try it and see what happens.
• Consider whether there are some core dynamics that are better suited to your learning goal than others. Use the ones that make the most sense for your purpose. For example: We developed a game that focused learners on the challenges of applying company values (excellent communication, ethics, teamwork, and so on) while also managing project constraints such time, money, and regulatory requirements. We used two major dynamics in this game: race to the finish (people had a specific amount of time in which to complete the game) and construct (they had to build an object that conformed to specified requirements). These dynamics tightly aligned with their real-world work environment. In the real world, learners faced tight time constraints, making race to the finish realistic for them. Learners’ jobs focused on commercializing a product, which links nicely with the core dynamic of constructing something. Core dynamics are a critically important element of learning game design. Chose the core dynamics that match your learning outcomes and support the skills, knowledge, and behaviors you want supported on the job.

Karl Kapp, Ed.D. is a professor of instructional design and technology at Commonwealth University, Bloomsburg Campus. He is an internationally recognized expert, consultant, and instructor on the convergence of learning, technology, and business. Follow him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlkapp and email at [email protected] .

Sharon Boller is president and chief product officer of Bottom-Line Performance, Inc. (BLP), a learning solutions firm she founded in 1995. Sharon has grown BLP from a single-woman sole proprietorship to a $3M+ company with 30 team members. Under Sharon’s direction, BLP created the Knowledge Guru™ learning game platform. Knowledge Guru is the recipient of numerous industry awards, including the coveted Brandon Hall Gold award for best innovation in gaming and technology (2014). BLP has also produced a wide array of other award-winning learning solutions. They earned Brandon Hall awards for best advance in sales training, best use of games and simulations for learning in 2014. They've earned numerous Horizon Awards as well. 

Sharon frequently speaks on game-based learning and learning design topics at the local and international level for eLearning Guild, ATD, CLO, Training Magazine, and other industry groups. She is also the author of numerous articles on game-based learning, learning science, and instructional design, as well as a book featuring team building simulations and games, Team Training. She also has an authoring credit for one of the chapter’s in Dr. Karl Kapp’s book, The Gamification of Learning and Instruction Field Book.

Video Game Design and Development

Encouragement, advice, and support for aspiring game designers.

Using Math to Develop Excellent Video Games

Beneath all those cool character animations, smart enemies, and fun game mechanics in your favorite games is one thing: math.

Mathematics is the foundation of every game and necessary for everything to work as the designers intended.

This doesn’t just include huge games like Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor and its enemy-generating Nemesis system.

Even Pac-man employs math to decide how the enemy ghosts move, how long they take to regenerate after being eaten, etc.

Even Pong, arguably one of the simplest games ever made, uses math to dictate the speed of the paddles and movement of the ball.

Math is the Foundation of Game Design

In the same way that math doesn’t work unless you learn and apply the rules, a video game can’t have rules without math. When you think about it, video games are essentially virtual worlds with lots of rules that keep everything working as intended.

No math means Mario keeps floating up after jumping, bullets in Call of Duty shoot in random directions, and even your favorite character in Angry Birds move in inconsistent ways if it moves at all.

Most of the time the math you learned in high school and college is no different than what was used to design a game.

To name a few, some of the common branches of math utilized in game development include:

• Trigonometry
• Linear Algebra

Discrete Mathematics

• Applied Mathematics
• And more …

More specific elements of math almost always used in games include:

• Unit and scaling vectors
• Dot and cross products
• And scalar manipulation

Math In Programming

While math is useful even in the art side of game development, it’s the programmers who make use of it to create the characters, mechanics, and more.

Without math, programmers wouldn’t be able to make objects in the game do even the simplest of things, including movement.

Game code combined with variables, vectors, and more is what tells Sonic to run slowly when the player barely presses the D-pad, runs faster when at a full dash, stops completely when he runs into a solid object, and run move differently when underwater.

It’s not hard to see why a game without programming and math would just be a bunch of pretty, useless art.

Together they allow games to simulate our worlds, such as moving water and physics, as well as to deliver something outside real-world possibilities.

Only in Portal can we know what it feels like to step through portals, while only in Halo can we dash at ridiculous speeds to impale a foe with an Energy Sword.

Lifelike water, pathfinding, procedurally generated levels, critical hits, AI that reacts to player input, and even the game engine architecture itself– all of these are not possible for a programmer to do without math.

If you’re considering a career as a game programmer and even designer, expect math to be your greatest tool for creating worlds that players will enjoy thanks to addicting gameplay that not only works as intended but is fun as well.

Does Programming Require Math?

Yes, to a certain degree.

If you want to have a strong sense of control over programming basics, it’s wise to have at least the basic knowledge of math concepts like logic, algebra, and more. You won’t be required to answer complex math problems while coding, but there will most likely be example problems using math equations, and logic.

How Much Math Do I Need To Know To Code?

This depends because not everything in code needs the programmer to take part in the mathematical process. You won’t be solving equations and going into detail. If you are hung up on numbers and problems, the computer can usually figure out those details.

Math in Video Games

Video games and math are basically interchangeable in how enmeshed they are with each other. Every action you do in-game is due to a math calculation of some sort.

Luckily for us, we harness the power of computer programming to cut away all the complicated math that would take hours to complete by hand. Without math, games wouldn’t be what they are.

Running, jumping, flying, diving, surfing, and basically, any physical activity is governed by some sort of school of mathematics.

Everyone knows numbers; they’re what makes our society push onward. The same goes for math in video games. If it weren’t for all of those 1’s and 0’s, we wouldn’t be able to program and create games properly.

Discreteness

This refers to the limits in which certain aspects of gaming have. Discreteness is the opposite of continuous, meaning a neverending set of numbers. In games, we need discreteness to contain and build our game.

Geometry, the field of math that questions the properties, shape, and size of things in a given space, is vital for math in video games. It’s based on right-angled triangles. The geometry makes up nearly all we see in our video games.

Coordinate Systems

You need to have a concept of where an object is in space and time. We do this by using different numbers to label the coordinates, where the object will take space.

This is all about computers repeating themselves. This is a crucial function during the game development process. You can’t have long pauses in gameplay, so you need to split up different portions and make sure they’re all working correctly.

Another huge area of gaming, physics, is the broad field of math in video games. Whether your character is hitting a baseball, jumping over a hedge, or shooting at a target, physics plays one of the most prominent roles in games.

No, these aren’t video game cheat codes. Cheating refers to using shortcuts in the programming process to make our lives a little easier. This is using mathematical functions to simplify hard functions.

Intelligent Motion

Intelligent motion is the many different algorithms used by enemy characters to undertake specific actions in reaction to the player’s presence. Things like acceleration, velocity, and position all affect how enemies react to a target.

As you can probably guess, pitfalls refer to anything in the coding process that can mess up your code and your game. These are accidental mistakes or bugs within the code.

Questions About Math in Programming

What math do you need for video game design.

It’s recommended that you know the basic concepts of geometry, algebra, some trig, and logic. However, this is different for most people and shouldn’t dissuade you from trying if you don’t know more advanced math.

Is coding harder than math?

It depends entirely on the capabilities of the coder. Some find it much more comfortable.

Can you be a programmer if you’re bad at math?

Yes. Coding isn’t as dependent on harder math concepts as you might think. Many examples used in tutorials and books use these more difficult concepts to illustrate how to do something, which could prove to be an issue.

Being better at math helps you understand more advanced concepts and what they represent.

Books About Math and Programming

Math for programmers.

By Paul Orland

This more recent book is filled with fantastic exercises, examples, and helpful math designs to help you net a career in programming.

Orland’s book focuses on exactly what you need to be a successful programmer, data scientist, and machine learning.

Mathematics for Machine Learning

By Marc Peter Deisenroth

This book is geared towards introducing the reader to what mathematical functions are essential to getting the hang of machine learning. These include calculus, algebra, and analytic geometry.

This book aims to more easily blend different flavors of mathematics into one to teach a programmer or computer science student better the basics of machine learning.

A Programmer’s Guide to Computer Science

by Dr. William M Springer II

Dr. Springer sets out to ensure the reader knows their basic math for programming and computer science. You’ll get a crash course in some of the most critical topics, including graphs, problem-solving, complexity theory, and graphs.

Grokking Algorithms: An Illustrated Guide for Programmers

By Aditya Bhargava

This more casual and lighthearted guide will be great for visual learners out there. It sets out to easily convey common problems in programming and how to solve them. This, of course, includes a healthy dash of discrete mathematics.

Through over 400 drawings of detailed walkthroughs, you will be better at math programming by the end.

Doing Math with Python: Use Programming to Explore Algebra, Statistics, Calculus, and More!

By Amit Saha

This is the perfect starting point for those who want to explore the kind of math for programmers with Python. It gives you projects to work on, emphasizing algebra, probability, and calculus.

Math Adventures with Python: An Illustrated Guide to Exploring Math with Code

By Peter Farrell

This fun book on math programming will show you how to best harness the power of math for programming. You will explore mathematical concepts by using the coding language Python.

Foundation Mathematics for Computer Science: A Visual Approach

By John Vince

John Vince dives right into the nitty-gritty of understanding mathematical concepts to better succeed at computer science, and nail math for programming. He blends how it all applies to math, programming, and the real world, illustrating its importance.

Mathematical Structures for Computer Science

By Judith L. Gersting

In this hefty tome, readers will be introduced to the exciting and multifaceted relationship of math programming. With a gentle pace through the chapters, you will feel familiar with the material by the end.

Mathematical Programming: Theory and Methods

This book covers everything from linear programming to its implementation in our daily lives. Readers will get a clear picture of what the marriage of math and programming is like. There are detailed and challenging proofs for you to explore and hone your skills.

Mathematics & Physics for Programmers

This guide is aimed at programmers who want to make the most out of mathematical education. This also includes physics for game developers. This is an excellent resource for math programming and has further use for game developers.

Introduction to Applied Linear Algebra: Vectors, Matrices, and Least Squares

By Stephen Boyd

This intro text to algebra is perfect for math programming. Although it may be a starter text, this outlines all you need to know when programming while using mathematical concepts.

By Gary Chartrand

Chartrand makes the topic of discrete mathematics more accessible. With knowledge of discrete mathematics, calculus, and algebra, you can better apply it to programming. It’s a relaxed and casual read about a denser subject.

An Introduction to Formal Languages and Automata

By Peter Linz

What better way to enhance your programming math skills than by going in-depth with the pillars of computer science? Peter Linz goes smooth on the reader here, not bogging you down with mathematical jargon.

Algorithms Illuminated: Part 1: The Basics

By Tim Roughgarden

Familiarizing the reader with the very essence of computer science, Tim Roughgarden aims to make the reader a better programmer through his excellent guide through algorithms and technical skills.

The Art of Doing Science and Engineering: Learning to Learn

By Richard W. Hamming

This is a more conceptual text aimed at tailoring your thought process towards different problems in logic, math, and programming. This is a fantastic resource to gain scientific inspiration from.

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Learning problem-solving through making games at the game design and learning summer program

• Development Article
• Published: 22 August 2014
• Volume 62 , pages 583–600, ( 2014 )

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• Mete Akcaoglu 1  

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Today’s complex and fast-evolving world necessitates young students to possess design and problem-solving skills more than ever. One alternative method of teaching children problem-solving or thinking skills has been using computer programming, and more recently, game-design tasks. In this pre-experimental study, a group of middle school students ( n  = 18) with an age average of 12.6 attended a game-design summer program for 10 days. Students were assessed in their problem-solving skills, specifically in system analysis and design, decision-making, and troubleshooting domains, at the beginning and end of the program. The results indicated that there were significant improvements in students’ problem-solving skills after attending the summer program, Wilks’ Λ  = .258, F (3, 15) = 14.397, p  < .001, η 2  = .742. For system analysis and design, and decision-making follow-up t-tests pointed to large and medium effect sizes, while for troubleshooting the gains were not significant. This study is a contributes to the growing body of literature investigating the benefits of designing games for young children by adding that game-design activities can be suitable venues for young children to learn and practice problem-solving skills.

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Design and implementation of the game-design and learning program.

Teaching systems thinking through game design

A case study of educational computer game design by middle school students

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Acknowledgments

This paper was based on the author’s doctoral dissertation, completed at Michigan State University in 2013 under the supervision of Matthew J. Koehler, and with support from Cary J. Roseth, Carrie Heeter, and Christina Schwarz. I also would like to thank Matthew D. Boyer, Kristen DeBruler, and Tyler DeBruler in running the GDL programs.

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Akcaoglu, M. Learning problem-solving through making games at the game design and learning summer program. Education Tech Research Dev 62 , 583–600 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-014-9347-4

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Game Design for Learning to Solve Problems in a Collaborative Environment

Gamification has become a central focus in education and training due to its perceived potential to make learning more motivating and engaging. The reason for this shift in focus is that, unlike traditional pen and paper assessments, those presented in the form of games are not only designed and encoded with enjoyable game playing mechanisms, but is also capable of capturing salient information about the problem solving processes that individuals use when they work through a problem with another individual. The Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills (ATC21S TM) project focused its research on assessing the processes with which a problem is solved in a collaborative environment. This paper draws on the ATC21S TM study, outlining its approach to assessment design and providing justifications for choices made to achieve participant engagement and maintain a learning flow through a game mechanic that preserves learning outcomes. The game design included false leads to encourage students to explore the space and learn through trial and error. These were part of an instructional technique that allows students to learn problem solving skills in steps or through patterns when one or more of the steps are incorrect. This paper provides a consolidated view of the design process of the assessments used in ATC21S TM and shows that learning can occur through exploratory as well as collaborative participation in problem solving within the game environment.

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Game-based Learning Across the Disciplines

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This study examined whether a 3D collaborative gave can be used as a midterm examination method and investigated the impact of this game on students&#39; attitude towards collaboration. A total of 89 students and one coordinating professor participated in this study. The intervention lasted five weeks and took place in a computer science department. The game that was used as a treatment was dynamic and therefore the educator was able to customize its content for the examinations using an administration panel. A mixed method of quantitative and qualitative data collection was used. The results indicated that there was a statistically significant correlation between the performance of the students on the game and their performance on the final paper-based examination. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the attitude of the students towards collaboration before and after the use of the game.

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Everyone can agree that people love playing games! One of the earliest games created is Checkers, first invented over 5,000 years ago, and still going strong today!

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Common Problems And Challenges Game Designers Face

Problems Game Designers Face

As exciting and delightful as video game design can be, it can also be frustrating and comes with its own set of challenges. Before embarking on your career as a game designer, consider these common designer challenges and brainstorm ways you may be able to prevent them or deal with them when they come. 

Some of the most common problems game designers face include:

• Balancing story and game design elements.
• Keeping design documentation up-to-date. 
• Underestimating time and money costs. 
• Key decision makers only having production skills. 
• Unnecessary rigidity in the design process. 
• Restricting designer access to tools.
• Too little gameplay time in the production schedule.
• Too little outside gameplay testing. 

If you’re designing a game and you want to avoid these issues, let’s examine each one in more depth so you know what changes you can make now to save you trouble in the long run.

1. Prioritizing the Story Over the Game Design

While the majority of video games include some aspect of a story, they’re still called games for a reason. The story is a part of the game, but the way the game is played is more important. Historically, many video games based on movies have been canceled during the production phase because too much focus has been placed on the story rather than the best way to set the game up to be played.

When designing a game , it is best to use the story as a springboard for the game, and then keep the story in the back of your mind while you focus on creating a game that will be fun to play by incorporating interesting challenges with rewarding goals and rules that make sense.

2. Keeping Design Documentation Up-to-Date

In a fast-paced environment of a game design team with so many moving parts, it’s necessary to keep documentation about exactly what the expectations are for each area’s contribution to each project.

But over time, as one thing or a few hundred others inevitably change, it can be challenging to keep all the documentation up-to-date. Especially if documentation is being printed every time something new is added.

The tedium of keeping design papers up-to-date can result in individuals asking their head of department directly what they are supposed to do for a certain feature. When verbal instructions are given, there’s no record of it. And what that team member creates will be based on his or her memory of what their department head instructed, which may or may not be accurate. And whatever instructions the head of department gave them are only based on his or her memory of the documentation they read.

This messy method of communication may result in the final feature being designed differently in the way that the original plan had specified, and it may not work with other original features or features whose designs have also changed over the course of the overall design process.

One way to help with this would be to only use digital documentation that is automatically updated to every team member’s device or account in real-time. And to enable a feature to automatically label any document that hasn’t been edited in two weeks “out-of-date” until a higher-up can reapprove them as being current.

3. Underestimating Time and Money Costs

Every creative process ends up taking longer to complete and costing more than expected . That’s just how it goes. So when planning the budget for a new project, consider building in some buffer finances for those unexpected things that come up.

And when planning when to release a new game, build buffer time into the schedule at every step in the process. If you must have the game done by a specific date and you can’t do so with the buffer time in your schedule, then your team won’t be able to get it done because life happens and technology glitches and people get injuries and some delay will inevitably happen. You can remedy this by adding another person to the team or looking closely at the process and finding some way to improve the efficiency so that reaching that final deadline will be possible to do with a finished and polished product.

4. Decision Makers Only Having Production Skills

Oftentimes, those who lean more toward content creation tend to stay there. And those who lean more toward administrative duties get promoted to decision-maker roles. But the problem with this is that the content creators don’t have as much say in how things should be. Their insight is valuable but too easily overlooked in favor of the individuals with statistical conjectures and impressive-looking spreadsheets.

While both these roles are important in the process, problems arise when their contributions aren’t given equal weight. This kind of problem is likely to cause issues like the following.

5. Unnecessary Rigidity in the Design Process

Game design is a creative activity, after all. We can try to wrangle all the various aspects into an ideal calendar, and while we should try to stick to a deadline as much as possible because video game creation is a business, it’s still a creative process.

Too often a designer is assigned the same amount of time to create a game level on paper as in 3D rendering. The problem with this is that during the 3D programming process, the designer might discover something exciting that couldn’t have been imagined at the paper phase. But due to rigid practices, this change would be considered a mistake in the original paper plan and would require approval from a committee and could cause complications in the rest of the production schedule because of that long and arduous process.

If designers were allowed a little more freedom in their job, they could take advantage of these kinds of exciting happenstances and create truly incredible things from their discoveries. Whenever excellence bottlenecks can be removed from the creation process, their removal should be considered.

6. Restricting Designer Access to Tools

Along the same lines, keeping designers from having any access to programming capabilities in their design role can be a big mistake. Yes, the more features a designer has access to, the more ways they have to mess up. But if a designer has to bother a programmer for new code every time they need a new functionality, their rhythm will be thrown off and they’ll never get anything done.

If instead designers are allowed to have some programming access, they will be able to help themselves to small programming functionalities and get back to work on their design much more quickly than if they had to interrupt their flow to interrupt someone else for help.

7. Too Little Gameplay Time in the Production Schedule

Why wait for the players to find all of the bugs in the game and plot holes in the story ? It seems that design teams often designate less time than is needed—if any at all—to trialing the game themselves before sending it out into the world.

The entire team should have a chance to play the finished result of all their hard work. Not only so that everyone can be satisfied and excited with what you’ve all accomplished together, but also because someone in the story writing department might catch something that’s been missed by the graphic design team, and so on.

Take advantage of your team’s vast array of specialties and experiences to find as many problems with the game as possible before releasing it, and gift your team the unique experience of interacting with their finished product before sharing it with the rest of the world.

8. Too Little Outside Gameplay Testing

You can’t have too much pre-launch gameplay testing . No matter how much you test and recheck and update, there will still be imperfections that players will find and complain about.

However, the majority of these can be found and fixed before launch. And the more you perfect the game before launching, the happier your players will be with your final product and the more they will play with it and the more likely they will be to buy your DLCs and the next generation of the game when that comes out.

So in addition to having every team member play every game, why not enlist some outside players for pre-launch testing as well?

This process will most likely take the form of doing a beta launch to a limited number of people who have to pre-apply.

Consider all of these difficulties and strategize ways to prevent them or remedy them before getting started on your next big project.

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The 5 Stages in the Design Thinking Process

Design thinking is a methodology which provides a solution-based approach to solving problems. It’s extremely useful when used to tackle complex problems that are ill-defined or unknown—because it serves to understand the human needs involved, reframe the problem in human-centric ways, create numerous ideas in brainstorming sessions and adopt a hands-on approach to prototyping and testing. When you know how to apply the five stages of design thinking you will be impowered because you can apply the methodology to solve complex problems that occur in our companies, our countries, and across the world.

Design thinking is a non-linear, iterative process that can have anywhere from three to seven phases, depending on whom you talk to. We focus on the five-stage design thinking model proposed by the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford (the d.school) because they are world-renowned for the way they teach and apply design thinking.

What are the 5 Stages of the Design Thinking Process

The five stages of design thinking, according to the d.school, are:

Empathize : research your users' needs .

Define : state your users' needs and problems.

Ideate : challenge assumptions and create ideas.

Prototype : start to create solutions.

Test : try your solutions out.

Let’s dive into each stage of the design thinking process.

• Transcript loading…

Hasso-Platner Institute Panorama

Ludwig Wilhelm Wall, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Stage 1: Empathize—Research Your Users' Needs

Empathize: the first phase of design thinking, where you gain real insight into users and their needs.

© Teo Yu Siang and the Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.

The first stage of the design thinking process focuses on user-centric research . You want to gain an empathic understanding of the problem you are trying to solve. Consult experts to find out more about the area of concern and conduct observations to engage and empathize with your users. You may also want to immerse yourself in your users’ physical environment to gain a deeper, personal understanding of the issues involved—as well as their experiences and motivations . Empathy is crucial to problem solving and a human-centered design process as it allows design thinkers to set aside their own assumptions about the world and gain real insight into users and their needs.

Depending on time constraints, you will gather a substantial amount of information to use during the next stage. The main aim of the Empathize stage is to develop the best possible understanding of your users, their needs and the problems that underlie the development of the product or service you want to create.

Stage 2: Define—State Your Users' Needs and Problems

Define: the second phase of design thinking, where you define the problem statement in a human-centered manner.

In the Define stage, you will organize the information you have gathered during the Empathize stage. You’ll analyze your observations to define the core problems you and your team have identified up to this point. Defining the problem and problem statement must be done in a human-centered manner .

For example, you should not define the problem as your own wish or need of the company: “We need to increase our food-product market share among young teenage girls by 5%.”

You should pitch the problem statement from your perception of the users’ needs: “Teenage girls need to eat nutritious food in order to thrive, be healthy and grow.”

The Define stage will help the design team collect great ideas to establish features, functions and other elements to solve the problem at hand—or, at the very least, allow real users to resolve issues themselves with minimal difficulty. In this stage, you will start to progress to the third stage, the ideation phase, where you ask questions to help you look for solutions: “How might we encourage teenage girls to perform an action that benefits them and also involves your company’s food-related product or service?” for instance.

Stage 3: Ideate—Challenge Assumptions and Create Ideas

Ideate: the third phase of design thinking, where you identify innovative solutions to the problem statement you’ve created.

During the third stage of the design thinking process, designers are ready to generate ideas. You’ve grown to understand your users and their needs in the Empathize stage, and you’ve analyzed your observations in the Define stage to create a user centric problem statement. With this solid background, you and your team members can start to look at the problem from different perspectives and ideate innovative solutions to your problem statement .

There are hundreds of ideation techniques you can use—such as Brainstorm, Brainwrite , Worst Possible Idea and SCAMPER . Brainstorm and Worst Possible Idea techniques are typically used at the start of the ideation stage to stimulate free thinking and expand the problem space. This allows you to generate as many ideas as possible at the start of ideation. You should pick other ideation techniques towards the end of this stage to help you investigate and test your ideas, and choose the best ones to move forward with—either because they seem to solve the problem or provide the elements required to circumvent it.

Stage 4: Prototype—Start to Create Solutions

Prototype: the fourth phase of design thinking, where you identify the best possible solution.

The design team will now produce a number of inexpensive, scaled down versions of the product (or specific features found within the product) to investigate the key solutions generated in the ideation phase. These prototypes can be shared and tested within the team itself, in other departments or on a small group of people outside the design team.

This is an experimental phase, and the aim is to identify the best possible solution for each of the problems identified during the first three stages . The solutions are implemented within the prototypes and, one by one, they are investigated and then accepted, improved or rejected based on the users’ experiences.

By the end of the Prototype stage, the design team will have a better idea of the product’s limitations and the problems it faces. They’ll also have a clearer view of how real users would behave, think and feel when they interact with the end product.

Stage 5: Test—Try Your Solutions Out

Test: the fifth and final phase of the design thinking process, where you test solutions to derive a deep understanding of the product and its users.

Designers or evaluators rigorously test the complete product using the best solutions identified in the Prototype stage. This is the final stage of the five-stage model; however, in an iterative process such as design thinking, the results generated are often used to redefine one or more further problems. This increased level of understanding may help you investigate the conditions of use and how people think, behave and feel towards the product, and even lead you to loop back to a previous stage in the design thinking process. You can then proceed with further iterations and make alterations and refinements to rule out alternative solutions. The ultimate goal is to get as deep an understanding of the product and its users as possible.

Did You Know Design Thinking is a Non-Linear Process?

We’ve outlined a direct and linear design thinking process here, in which one stage seemingly leads to the next with a logical conclusion at user testing . However, in practice, the process is carried out in a more flexible and non-linear fashion . For example, different groups within the design team may conduct more than one stage concurrently, or designers may collect information and prototype throughout each stage of the project to bring their ideas to life and visualize the problem solutions as they go. What’s more, results from the Test stage may reveal new insights about users which lead to another brainstorming session (Ideate) or the development of new prototypes (Prototype).

It is important to note the five stages of design thinking are not always sequential. They do not have to follow a specific order, and they can often occur in parallel or be repeated iteratively. The stages should be understood as different modes which contribute to the entire design project, rather than sequential steps.

The design thinking process should not be seen as a concrete and inflexible approach to design; the component stages identified should serve as a guide to the activities you carry out. The stages might be switched, conducted concurrently or repeated several times to gain the most informative insights about your users, expand the solution space and hone in on innovative solutions.

This is one of the main benefits of the five-stage model. Knowledge acquired in the latter stages of the process can inform repeats of earlier stages . Information is continually used to inform the understanding of the problem and solution spaces, and to redefine the problem itself. This creates a perpetual loop, in which the designers continue to gain new insights, develop new ways to view the product (or service) and its possible uses and develop a far more profound understanding of their real users and the problems they face.

The Take Away

Design thinking is an iterative, non-linear process which focuses on a collaboration between designers and users. It brings innovative solutions to life based on how real users think, feel and behave.

This human-centered design process consists of five core stages Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype and Test.

It’s important to note that these stages are a guide. The iterative, non-linear nature of design thinking means you and your design team can carry these stages out simultaneously, repeat them and even circle back to previous stages at any point in the design thinking process.

References & Where to Learn More

Take our Design Thinking course which is the ultimate guide when you want to learn how to you can apply design thinking methods throughout a design thinking process. Herbert Simon, The Sciences of the Artificial (3rd Edition), 1996.

d.school, An Introduction to Design Thinking PROCESS GUIDE , 2010.

Gerd Waloszek, Introduction to Design Thinking , 2012.

Hero Image: © the Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.

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Problem Solving Games, Activities & Exercises for Adults

By: Angela Robinson | Updated: February 13, 2024

Here is our list of the best problem solving games, activities and exercises for adults.

Problem solving games are activities that require players to use critical thinking skills to solve puzzles. Example activities include escape rooms, Sudoku, and murder mysteries. The purpose of these exercises is to sharpen reasoning and decision-making skills in group settings and to do team building with employees.

These activities are a subset of remote team games , found in problem solving books , and are similar to team puzzles , team building brain teasers and team riddles .

This article contains:

• team building problem solving activities for employees
• free problem solving games for adults
• virtual problem solving activities for students
• group problem solving activities
• problem solving team builders

Here we go!

List of problem solving games & activities

From word and number puzzles to role-playing games, here is a list of inexpensive and free problem solving team builders that help groups practice the art of critical thinking and compromise.

1. Espionage! (Team Favorite)

For an exciting game of social deduction, check out Espionage! This thrilling experience will put your team’s wits and instincts to the test.

Espionage! offers the following:

• a 90-minute session led by an experienced host
• undercover teams of agents and spies
• challenging puzzles, tasks, and maneuvers
• team conversations to help uncover secret identities

The best part is we will bring all the necessary game materials to your preferred location. If you are interested in boosting communication and critical-thinking skills within your team, then consider Espionage!

Learn more about Espionage!

2. Art Heist: The Vanishing of Van Gogh (Hosted)

You can turn your team into skilled detectives with Art Heist: The Vanishing of Van Gogh! In this captivating mystery, participants will locate the stolen artwork, The Bedroom .

Key features of this experience include:

• a 90-minute adventure led by a world-class host
• detailed puzzles, clues, and mysteries to unravel
• trails of evidence and hidden secrets
• group discussions to find the art

Additionally, you can include a cocktail kit to spice up your event. Through Art Heist, you will enhance your team’s ingenuity and problem-solving skills!

Learn more about Art Heist: The Vanishing of Van Gogh .

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3. War of the Wizards (Popular)

With War of the Wizards, teams roleplay as minions of powerful wizards to vanquish forces of evil. Participants will play thrilling games and go on a quest to restore harmony to the realm!

War of the Wizards offers the following:

• a 90-minute journey guided by a distinguished host
• immersive storytelling that transports players into a magical realm
• engaging activities like world-building, role-playing games, and storytelling
• opportunities for forming alliances, facing challenges, and going on quests

Through the power of imagination and teamwork, your team can overcome tasks and participate in an epic fantasy battle. To improve communication and bonds, include War of the Wizards in your agenda!

Learn more about War of the Wizards .

Sudoku is one of the most popular free problem solving games for adults. The objective of this game is to fill each box of a 9×9 grid so that every row, column, and letter contains each number from one to nine. The puzzle makes a great team challenge. To play Sudoku on Zoom, screen share the game board. Then, turn on the annotation features. Using the add text functions, participants can fill in the numbers on the grid.

We made a starter puzzle you can use in your next meeting or virtual team bonding session:

Here are more online Sudoku puzzles .

5. Crossword puzzles

Crossword puzzles are word games that ask players to fill in words based on clues. Words interconnect, and players must think critically about the surrounding words to select the right phrase for the space.

You can use an online crossword puzzle maker to create a custom puzzle. Here are a few themes you may want to consider:

• teammates’ tastes and interests
• company knowledge and history
• industry terms and trends

Or, create a miscellaneous puzzle just for fun.

We made a sample puzzle you can use for your game:

To complete puzzles during online meetings, you can use the share screen function and add text through annotations.

Or, subscribers can play the New York Times’ daily crossword puzzle virtually . Dictionary.com also offers a free daily online crossword puzzle .

Check out more vocabulary games .

6. Online Escape Rooms

Escape rooms are timed games that get groups working together to solve puzzles. Traditionally, players enter a locked room and must complete all puzzles in an hour or two to unlock the door. However, groups can also play escape rooms online.

Digital escape rooms typically come in one of two forms: in a Zoom room and led by a host, or in a choose-your-own adventure format via Google Forms or websites. To play escape rooms virtually, enter a video meeting and follow the prompts, or screen share the Google Form and work out the puzzles together.

Check out our full list of online escape rooms .

7. Murder Mysteries

Murder Mysteries are story-based games that ask players to take on the roles of suspects or detectives while trying to identify a killer. These games often involve reading lines from a script, searching for clues, and occasionally solving puzzles to get hints.

These games make participants pay attention to conversations, analyze other characters’ behavior, and search for hidden meaning in the script. Players must use their powers of observation and logic to unravel the mystery.

Check out our list of Zoom murder mystery games .

8. Treasure Hunts

Treasure hunts are scavenger hunts with intention. While virtual scavenger hunts often ask players to collect random items, treasure hunts require participants to locate clues that lead to other prompts and hints. The game typically ends with players finding a treasure or solving a mystery, sometimes both.

The treasure hunt can have a specific theme such as secret agent missions or a hunt for pirate treasure, or you can run a more general hunt. Teammates can either compete simultaneously via Zoom call, or can play the hunt on an app individually and compete to beat each other’s scores.

Check out our list of treasure hunt apps .

9. Poem or story challenge

Most team building problem solving activities for employees revolve around science, math, and logic. Poem/story challenges rely on writing skills and are sure to appeal to the language lovers on your team.

Each player receives a limited word bank to use to create a story or poem. Then, players have a few minutes to craft their pieces. Afterward, everyone reads out or screen shares their creations.

Here are a few word challenge activities you can do remotely:

• Found poems or stories : Participants make poems or stories out of words they find by visiting websites, searching emails, glancing out the window, or taking a walk or drive around the neighborhood.
• Random word generators : Teammates use a random word generator to populate a word bank, and must use each word in the poem or story.
• Poetry magnets : Group members make poems using poetry magnets. You can send poetry magnet sets to employees and assemble the verses on a cookie pan during a Zoom call. Or, teammates can play with poetry magnets online .
• Page poems: Participants receive one page of a book or magazine, and must make a poem or story by blocking out other words so only the chosen text remains visible. This activity is part storytelling, part art, since story crafters can illustrate the pages as part of the design.
• Ransom note stories or poems : Players cut out letters from magazines and must form new words to make poems and stories. Or, players can receive a mix of random letters, form words, and run the text through a ransom note generator .

These activities are suitable for teams and individual players.

10. Moral challenge

Some problems are ethical rather than factual. Moral judgment plays just as important a role in the decision-making process as technical prowess. Players can flex their moral problem-solving skills by tackling ethical dilemmas or social puzzles.

Here are some social problem solving games online:

• Moral machine
• Scruples – the game of moral dilemmas
• Morality play

To play these games, either download the apps, or pull up the website and then screen share the prompts. These games are best played when discussed as a group, because the more belief systems and opinions, the harder an issue is to resolve. These exercises provide practice for real-life conflict resolution.

You can find similar challenges on our list of online personality tests .

11. Frostbite

Frostbite is a group game that hones team leaders’ communication skills while sharpening teammates’ listening and cooperation skills. The premise behind the game is that a group of explorers gets caught in a snowstorm and must build a shelter. Frostbite has paralyzed the leaders’ hands and snow-blinded the rest of the team. The leader must give the team instructions to build a tent that can resist arctic winds.

To play Frostbite, each teammate wears a blindfold. Then, the leader gives directions. Once the structures are complete, players turn on a fan to test whether tents can withstand the wind.

Frostbite is usually an in-person game, however you can also play virtually. In the remote version of the game, teammates construct tents out of cards and tape, while the leader surveys the scene on screen.

This exercise demonstrates the challenges of leading remotely, as teams need to operate with minimal oversight or supervisor observation. Therefore, instructions need to be clear and direct to be effective.

Check out more team building games .

12. Virtual Hackathons

Hackathons are events where participants have a set amount of time to design and pitch a new product or solution. This type of event originated in the programming world and is often used to create new apps, however you can apply the game to any industry or school subject.

Virtual hackathons are online versions of the event. Teams enter the competition, then work with each other via virtual meeting software or remote work communication platforms to design the solution. At the end of the competition, teams pitch ideas to a panel of judges and a winner is decided.

To run a virtual hackathon, first announce the theme of the event and collect sign-ups. So that no teams work ahead, hint at the general idea of the issue, and only explain the precise problem when the event begins. Then, give teams anywhere from a few hours to a few days to complete the project.

Discover more virtual hackathon ideas .

13. Improv games

Improv games are excellent problem solving activities. These exercises force participants to think and respond quickly to keep scenes moving in a logical and entertaining way.

Here are some good problem solving improv games:

Banned words : Performers cannot say certain words. Scene partners will conceive of situations that encourage the actors to use those words, and the actors must find alternatives, such as using synonyms or taking the scene in a new direction.

Scenes from a chat : Audience gives a suggestion for a scene, and players act the scene out. Though it’s a fictional and often ridiculous scenario, actors must react to the situation and solve the problem in order for the scene to end.

Miracle cure : Miracle cure is a quick-moving exercise that follows a simple format. One player declares, “I have a problem.” Another player responds, “I have a….[random object.]” The first player then replies, “great! I can use the [random object] to….” and describes how they will solve the problem.

Check out more problem-solving improv games .

14. Spaghetti Tower

The spaghetti tower is a classic team building game. Participants gather uncooked spaghetti and marshmallows, and must construct the tallest freestanding tower.

During the in-person version, players must construct one tall freestanding tower. However, for the virtual version of the game, players construct individual towers. You can send groups to breakout rooms for the build, then reconvene in the main room for judging. Teams are judged on three main factors: number of towers, height, and uniformity.

This version of the game not only tests the structural integrity of the tower, but also consistency and quality control. This exercise teaches teams to align and collaborate remotely, and produce a consistent product even when far apart.

15. What Would You Do?

What Would You Do? is a simple situational game that challenges participants to react to different circumstances. To play this game, read prompts one by one, and then ask participants to respond with gameplans. You can use the polling or raise hand feature to vote for the best option.

Here are some problem solving scenarios for adults or kids to use in the game:

• Zombies attack and you have to find a place to hide.
• You are at the zoo and the animals escape. Which one do you try to corral back into the pen first?
• After waiting in line for hours, someone cuts in front of you last minute. The person appears to be visually and hearing impaired, and doesn’t notice your protests. An official announces that due to diminishing supply, this individual will be the last in line to be served.
• You are eating a meal with important clients and/or your partner’s parents, and you want to impress. The individuals make you a dish that does not fit within your dietary restrictions, but you do not speak the same language and cannot explain why you do not want to eat.
• An imposter has infiltrated the organization, who looks, speaks, and behaves exactly like you. How do you convince your peers that you are the original?

For similar dilemmas, check out this list of Would You Rather? questions.

16. Desert Island Survival

Desert Island Survival is a game that challenges players to prioritize. The premise is that players have been stranded on an island, and must decide what order to perform survival steps.

Here are the possible actions:

• Set up shelter
• Explore the island
• Try to signal for help
• Make weapons for self-defense
• Build a raft to escape the island
• Start a fire
• Choose a group leader
• Search for other survivors

All group members must agree on the order of the steps. Players should explain the reasoning for the order of each step while ranking the actions.

Another version of the game involves players receiving a list of 15 to 20 items, and selecting five or so to bring to the island. You can also vary the location of the game, substituting remote islands for destinations like outer space or the distant past.

17. Choose Your Own Adventure

Choose Your Own Adventure stories enable readers to determine the outcome of the story by making decisions. Each action has a consequence that takes the tale in a different direction. Participants can try to guess how the story may unfold by talking through the different choices. When completing the activity in a group setting, the majority of the team must agree on an action before moving forward in the story.

There are a few ways to facilitate these activities online:

• Play an online role playing video game
• Watch an interactive movie like Black Mirror: Bandersnatch
• Read from a Choose Your Own Adventure book on Zoom
• Click through a Choose Your Own Adventure platform
• Create your own story using a Google Form

Whichever way you choose to do the exercise, you can use the screen share feature in your virtual meeting software so that listeners can more easily follow along.

18. MacGyver

MacGyver is a show where the hero escapes sticky situations by improvising tools out of unlikely materials. For example, in one episode the hero makes a telescope out of a newspaper, magnifying lens, and a watch crystal.

To play MacGyver, you can either list three to five objects participants can use, or challenge players to use items that are within arms reach.

Simply state a desired end result, such as “a way to open a locked door,” or “a getaway vehicle,” and then ask teams to explain what they will build and how they will build it. To make the activity more collaborative, you can give teams five or ten minutes in breakout rooms to strategize and design a prototype.

19. Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons is a roleplaying game where players pretend to be magical figures and creatures. One player serves as the dungeon master, who guides the game, while the other players pick characters and make decisions to move the story forward. Upon choosing a course of action, players roll a twenty-sided die to determine whether or not the plan succeeds. The game is story-based, the possibilities are nearly limitless, and truly creative problem solving options arise. Also, since gameplay is mostly verbal, Dungeons & Dragons is an easy activity to do over Zoom.

Here are the basic rules for Dungeons & Dragons .

20. Pandemic

Pandemic is a game that pits players against the forces of nature in a race to contain and control disease outbreaks. At the beginning of the game, each player receives a role such as containment specialist or operations expert. Participants must carry out the duties of their roles by choosing appropriate actions. Pandemic is a great game for groups because each team member has a clear part to play, and players must collaborate and work together instead of competing against each other.

To play the game online, you can use a Pandemic game app , or talk through the exercise while one attendee moves and displays pieces on the board.

Note: The subject of this game might hit too close to home for some players, considering recent history. You can find games with similar mechanics that deal with different subject matter, such as Forbidden Island.

Check out more team building board games .

21. Model UN

Model UN is one of the best virtual problem solving activities for students. This exercise casts participants in the role of international diplomats who must negotiate to solve realistic problems. Each player assumes the role of a country ambassador and must form alliances and propose solutions to solve crises.

Here are some sample Model UN scenarios:

• Human rights violation by powerful country
• Food shortage
• Disease epidemic
• Technology privacy violations
• Civil war branching into surrounding countries
• Natural disasters

Depending on the size of the group, participants either take on the part of an entire government of a country, or play a certain role within the government. To carry out the activity on Zoom, players can take turns giving speeches, message other countries privately via the chat, meet in breakout rooms to form alliances or have more intimate discussions, and use the polling feature to vote on propositions.

If politics does not resonate with your group, then you can alter the exercise by applying the same activity structure to a different theme, such as the Justice League, movie characters, business board members, or reality TV stars.

The main purpose of the exercise is to research, talk through problems, and compromise. As long as these elements are present, then the specifics of the setup do not matter.

There are many types of problem solving activities for adults. You can do online problem solving games, which require a different skill set than in-person problem solving. For instance, communication must be much clearer and more abundant when group members are far apart and unable to demonstrate or pick up physical cues.

Though many problem solving games include props and in-person elements, there are many games you can play together online. These exercises work well as educational tools as well as team bonding accelerators. Upon completion, participants are likely to feel a sense of accomplishment and increased confidence. These games are also great practice for real life conflict resolution, creative thinking and team building.

Next check out this list of connection games , this collection of crime-solving games , and this post with conflict resolution games .

We also have a list of the best decision making books and a list of team building problems for work .

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FAQ: Problem solving activities

Here are common answers to questions about group problem solving activities.

What are problem solving games?

Problem solving games are challenges that ask players to think critically and use logic to overcome issues or answer riddles. Examples include sudoku, murder mysteries, and spaghetti towers. These games are also known as “problem solving exercises”, “problem and solution games” and “group problem solving activities.”

What are the best problem solving games for groups?

The best problem solving games for groups include online escape rooms, moral challenges, and improv games.

What are some good problem solving team building activities for students?

Some good problem solving activities for students include crossword puzzles, choose your own adventure stories, and model UN.

How do you play problem solving games online?

The best way to play problem solving games online is to join a video call meeting to talk through the issue. Using the screen sharing and digital whiteboard features helps participants visualize the problem more clearly. Breakout rooms give teams the chance to discuss the issue more intimately.

Author: Angela Robinson

Marketing Coordinator at teambuilding.com. Angela has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and worked as a community manager with Yelp to plan events for businesses.

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Marketing Coordinator at teambuilding.com.

Angela has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and worked as a community manager with Yelp to plan events for businesses.

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The Most Important Soft Skill for Developers & How to Get Better at It

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At its core, programming is just solving problems so a computer can execute a task. Or, as one of our engineers Nick Duckwiler aptly put it: “A lot of engineering is just solving headaches.” Indeed, between fixing bugs and dreaming up app ideas that can address real world difficulties, devs need to be enthusiastic about solving problems of all sizes.   

On top of all the technical knowledge that’s required for engineering roles, you also should work on soft skills, which are personal attributes that enable you to work well with others. Problem solving is one of the most essential soft skills to have in technical positions , and luckily, there are plenty of ways to get better at tackling challenges and finding solutions.

Next month, we’re hosting an exclusive three-part livestream series all about developing core soft skills: problem solving, planning, setting priorities, and critical thinking. The events will be led by Merri Lemmex, a management and leadership expert who has decades of experience training people who work in tech and business. The first session on November 1 is focused on problem solving approaches and tools. Be sure to register today for the virtual events and read on to learn more about the problem-solving strategies that developers use in their work.

Learn something new for free

Intro to chatgpt, write out the problem.

Your problem won’t always come right out and say: “It’s me, hi. I’m the problem , it’s me.” In fact, something that often gets in the way of solving a problem is that we zero in on the wrong problem.

When pinpointing a problem, you can try borrowing a UX research technique that’s part of the design thinking process. After you’ve done some initial research or information gathering, you delineate your problem space and write a problem statement, which is a concise couple of sentences that succinctly define the task and offer a clear sense of direction. Write out the who, what, where, when, and why of your problem.

Getting to the core of your fundamental issue will make addressing the symptoms much easier. You can learn more about this strategy in our free course Learn Design Thinking: Ideation .

Don’t try to solve it alone

Rather than spinning your wheels trying to fix a problem on your own, consider having other people weigh in. Set up a brainstorming session for the problem you’re trying to solve, see if anyone can pair program with you, or send a Slack message to your team and see what your collective intelligence can accomplish.

It’s easy to get tunnel vision when you’re working on a project and become fixated on one part of it. Getting more people involved in the problem-solving process will enable you to address blind spots, consider fresh perspectives, and ultimately get valuable feedback and validation for your idea. Not to mention, you’ll get experience collaborating with other people, which is a soft skill in and of itself.

Say it out loud

Ever seen a rubber duck on a programmer’s desk and wondered what it’s doing there? There’s a popular debugging technique called “ rubberducking ,” where you describe out loud what your code is supposed to do to the duck. As you verbally articulate your code and thoughts to the silent, non-judgmental duck, you may identify issues or problems that you skipped over before. Though you might have to work up the courage to talk to an inanimate object at your desk, you’ll be surprised how effective and practical rubberducking can be when it comes to pinpointing a problem.

See how other people approached the problem

Remember: You’re probably not the first person to have experienced this problem. There’s a plethora of resources that developers use to ask questions, get feedback, or crowd-source solutions for bugs. Go to Stack Overflow and see if someone else has experienced your issue and created a workaround. Or look through Docs , our open-contribution code documentation for popular languages, to see if you can find a solution. (Better yet, once you figure your issue out, you could take what you learned and contribute a Doc for folks to reference in the future.)

Learn problem-solving skills in our new course

Join us next month for an engaging three-part livestream series dedicated to honing essential soft skills, including problem solving, strategic planning, priority setting, and critical thinking. These skills are your secret sauce for nailing your next job interview, making an impression on your team leader, or feeling confident at a networking event. By the end of the livestream series, you’ll have a soft skills toolkit that you can continue to refine throughout your whole career.

Our first session on November 1 delves into effective problem-solving techniques and tools. Secure your spot for these virtual events today. Quick note: These are only available to Codecademy Pro and Codecademy Plus members, so make sure you upgrade your account or start a free seven-day trial to attend.

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• Troubleshoot unknown charges
• Can't find or install an app
• Can't push an app or game to a device
• Fix problems with apps
• Can't find Microsoft Store app in Windows
• Microsoft Store app doesn't open
• “Unable to Complete this transaction” error
• Consumer and Regulatory Information

Fix problems with apps from Microsoft Store

If you're in Windows 11 and you're having problems with an app from Microsoft Store, consider these updates and fixes.

First, sign in to your Microsoft account . Next, work through these possible solutions in the order presented. 

Make sure Windows is up to date. Select Start >  Settings   > Windows Update  >  Check for updates . If there is an available update, select Install now .

Check for updates

Make sure that your app works with Windows 11. For more info, see  Your app doesn't work with Windows .

Update Microsoft Store. Select Start , then from the apps list, select Microsoft Store . In Microsoft Store, select Library  > Get updates . If an update for Microsoft Store is available, it will start installing automatically.

Troubleshoot games. If you're having issues installing a game, see Troubleshoot game installations on Windows .

Repair or reset your apps. See Repair or Remove programs in Windows .

Reinstall your apps In Microsoft Store, select  Library . Find the app you want to reinstall, and then select Install .

Open Microsoft Store

If you're in Windows 10 and you're having problems with an app from Microsoft Store, consider these updates and fixes.

Make sure Windows has the latest update : Select check for updates now, and then select Check for updates .  Or, select the  Start    button, then select  Settings    >  Update & Security    >  Windows Update    >  Check for Updates . If there is an available update, select Install now .

Make sure that your app works with Windows 10. For more info, see  Your app doesn't work with Windows 10 .

Update Microsoft Store: Select the Start   button, and then from the apps list, select Microsoft Store . In Microsoft Store, select  See more    >  Downloads and updates  > Get updates . If an update for Microsoft Store is available, it will start installing automatically.

Get updates

Troubleshoot games: If you're having issues installing a game, see Troubleshoot game installations on Windows 10 .

Repair or reset your apps:  See Repair or Remove programs in Windows 10 .

Reinstall your apps:  In Microsoft Store, select  See more     > My Library . Select the app you want to reinstall, and then select Install .

Run the troubleshooter: Select the Start   button, and then select  Settings   > Update & Security   > Troubleshoot , and then from the list select  Windows Store apps   >  Run the troubleshooter.

For help troubleshooting game or app installation problems on your Xbox console, go to  support.xbox.com .

If you can't find Microsoft Store, see  Trouble finding Microsoft Store in Windows 10 .

If you're having trouble launching Microsoft Store, see  Microsoft Store doesn't launch .

If you can launch the Microsoft Store but you are just having trouble finding or installing an app, see  I can't find or install an app from Microsoft Store .

Need more help?

Contact Support

For technical support, go to  Contact Microsoft Support , enter your problem and select  Get Help . If you still need help, select  Contact Support  to be routed to the best support option.

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