I came across this interview with Shigeru Miyamoto, ‘the father of modern video games’, this morning and just have to share! This man gave the work Donkey King, Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Star Fox, and more. 

An Interview with the Creator of Super Mario Bros on Vox.com Link

His basic design principles:

  1. Story First – the mechanics come after the purpose and narrative of the game. 
  2. Simplicity – teach the rules game and how to play while playing. This reminds me of the gamification principle that players don’t read the instructions. 
  3. Immersiveness – controls and mechanics must act in such a way that the player feels they are in the game; that they are part of the game universe.

So much to think about!