game-design-brainstorm-methods

Game Design Brainstorm Methods

Use named brainstorming methods, not generic idea spray.

This skill helps choose and run a well-known ideation methodology that fits the design problem. The goal is not to mention frameworks for show. The goal is to use the right method to unlock better game design options, surface hidden assumptions, and produce a practical shortlist worth exploring next.

Read references/method-selection.md when choosing a method. Read references/method-patterns.md when you need the exact structure for a method output.

What to produce

Produce:

1. Problem frame - what the team is trying to solve
2. Method choice - which brainstorming method is best and why
3. Method run - the actual brainstorm output in that method's format
4. Idea clusters - themes, repeated patterns, or promising directions
5. Shortlist - strongest candidates to pursue next
6. Next move - recommendation, prototype, or follow-up question

Process

1. Frame the ideation problem

Clarify:

• what design problem, feature, or system is under discussion
• whether the need is divergence, reframing, critique, or narrowing
• what constraints matter most
• whether the user wants novelty, structure, speed, or alignment

2. Choose the right method

Pick one primary method. Use a second method only when it adds clear value.

Typical fits:

• SCAMPER - improve or mutate an existing feature
• How Might We - turn fuzzy problems into opportunity prompts
• Crazy 8s - force fast variation and volume
• Six Thinking Hats - structure discussion across multiple lenses
• Brainwriting 6-3-5 - generate many ideas without one dominant voice
• Worst Possible Idea - break fixation by inverting bad ideas into useful principles
• Forced connections - inject novelty through random or adjacent stimuli
• Lotus Blossom - expand one central idea into adjacent branches
• Morphological matrix - combine dimensions systematically into new concepts

3. Run the method properly

Do not collapse the method into generic bullets. Preserve the logic of the method. For example:

• SCAMPER should actually walk through substitute, combine, adapt, modify, put to other use, eliminate, reverse/rearrange
• Six Thinking Hats should clearly separate hat modes
• Brainwriting should show rounds, seeds, or parallel idea contributions
• Morphological matrix should define dimensions before combining them

4. Extract the design value

After the method run, identify:

• repeated themes
• strongest directions
• strange but interesting outliers
• weak ideas worth discarding
• what should be prototyped, discussed, or parked

5. Convert brainstorm into action

End with one of these:

• best 3 candidates
• one recommended direction and why
• next prototype question
• follow-up method if the first method created useful ambiguity but not enough convergence

Response structure

Problem Frame

• ...

Chosen Method

• Method: ...
• Why this method fits: ...

Method Run

• ...

Idea Clusters

• ...

Strongest Candidates

1. ...
2. ...
3. ...

Recommended Next Move

• ...

Fast mode

• What kind of ideation problem is this?
• Which method fits best?
• Run that method clearly.
• Pull out the 3 strongest design directions.
• Recommend what to do next.

Working principle

Different brainstorming problems need different tools. Do not default to freeform ideation when a specific method would produce better thinking.

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Part of the Game Design Skills Bundle by Stanislav Stankovic. Licensed under PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 — free for personal, academic and nonprofit use. Commercial use requires a licence, sold as skill packs. See https://github.com/Stanestane/game-design-skills-bundle for terms.

Required Notice: Copyright Stanislav Stankovic (https://www.stane-island.net/)