Wilco, the startup that provides software engineers with a training platform intended to encourage upskilling through simulations that mirror real-life scenarios, today announced the release of its Quest Builder.

Wilco’s Quest Builder allows any company to construct engaging quests in which their own software development tools are put to use to overcome realistic, everyday development challenges. 

“Software engineering is a very complex profession,” said On Freund, co-founder and CEO of Wilco. “So, we really wanted to open things up and democratize it to allow developers from all experience levels and all walks of life to contribute their content and what they think would be good ways for engineers to practice.”

According to Wilco, with the Quest Builder, companies are enabled to recreate a certain development circumstance that highlights the specific pain point that the tool addresses. 

This allows for teams to experience first-hand the benefits that the tool provides in real-life settings. 

Freund went on to explain that for customers of Wilco, the Quest Builder is highly customizable for the specific needs and workflows of the organization. He went on to say that companies can even preserve the organization’s knowledge by creating quests based on actual scenarios that have happened in the team.

The Quest Builder also has several benefits for the community, according to Freund. He explained that individuals are enabled to show off their skills not just by playing, but also by contributing quests. 

“This could work for companies that want to brand themselves as employers… When [candidates] are done they can send back the output to see if they’re a good fit,” he said. “Or this could be for companies that cater to developers and want developers to have hands-on experience with their product.”

Further, Freund explained that developer-facing companies are already spending a good amount of time and money on advocacy.

Wilco’s Quest Builder helps these companies go beyond just blog posts, videos, and the like by providing a tool that offers more practical experience. 

“They can get the product in the hands of other developers in a way that showcases all of the complexities of the product,” said Freund. “All of the advanced scenarios and best practices rather than just the basics behind it.”

The Quest Builder can be used to offer interactive tutorials and provide product education to new customers. The company stated that early users of the Quest Builder include developer companies such as CircleCI, Armory and Permit.io. 

Additionally, four observability-focused quests by one of Wilco’s design partners, New Relic, have already been completed by several developers.

To get started using Wilco’s Quest Builder, visit the website. To register for the company’s upcoming quest building hackathon, click here.