A selection of published papers relating to player experience and machine learning by Prof Julien Togelius of ITU in Copenhagen.

Interview with Miyamoto and Iwata. Miyamoto tries to avoid talking about game design but can’t quite manage it.

Miyamoto: Now, a fun game should always be easy to understand - you should be able to take one look at it and know what you have to do straight away. It should be so well constructed that you can tell at a glance what your goal is and, even if you don’t succeed, you’ll blame yourself rather than the game. Moreover, the people standing around watching the game have also got to be able to enjoy it.”

And this…

Miyamoto: There’s always a basic reason why you can’t clear a level: either it’s because the game is really difficult, or it’s because you don’t understand the game properly. For instance, even though you could use a lift and bounce easily to the next stage, you go out of your way to choose a tricky route and that means no matter how many times you try it, you fail.

Iwata: So you’ve ramped up the difficulty level yourself by not choosing the correct route.

Miyamoto: Yes, that’s right. It’s at times like that when watching a skilled player will make you realise: “So that’s what you have to do!” Then you can do it correctly yourself. I thought it would be great if you were able to do that in your own home, which is why we devised the Super Guide.