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If you didn't get a chance to see it, Extended Play got to interview Shigeru Miyamoto, and it originally aired last Friday on TechTV. Still want to catch it? You can once again this Friday 3/29 at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 6 p.m. All times Eastern. Here's an excerpt...

With Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong, and Link (among others) under his belt, game creator Shigeru Miyamoto doesn't really need much of an introduction. Recently "Extended Play" had a chance to speak with Miyamoto about the importance of artistry in game design.

In the beginning

It all started with a little unassuming game called "Donkey Kong," and it marked the beginning of a shift in how games are made.

Miyamoto: I first entered Nintendo 20, almost 30 years ago. At that time there really wasn't all that much in the way of videogames. Up until that point, pretty much all the videogames that had been seen were made by technical people. But at that point, myself, as an artist working with some more technical people at Nintendo, went on to design our first game, which was "Donkey Kong."

Most important element in a videogame

Say the word "Nintendo," and gamers often think of those classic characters and franchises that have become household name. Interestingly, though he loves them all, Miyamoto believe that in the end it's solid, tried-and-true gameplay that keeps people coming back for more.

Miyamoto: A lot of people ask me if I start designing games with a story in mind, or a particular scenario, or a particular character, but actually I start on a much more basic level. And really what I do is, I start with some basic core experiments, testing out the action on the screen or a specific gameplay style. When we started with Mario, all we had were some blocks on-screen, and we would try to make those blocks bounce around and jump as we intended them to do using the controller. So it's really at that core element that our game design begins.

Of course, putting the graphics in and drawing the background, drawing the characters, and creating the story is a natural part of game design and something that is required. But really, what I think is most important is that core element and getting down to the basics of what is fun. So that's why it's important for me to watch people playing Mario and see them moving the controller in the air as they're playing the game. That's really what exhibits the true fun of the game.

Pitfalls of success

With the number of hit games under his belt, it's clear that Miyamoto is onto something, but these days, with the constant demand for his expertise, such success has its pitfalls.

Miyamoto: Since I am taking on a much larger role in the company, there are a lot of games I'm not directly involved in. What I do with those is I really look at the content and check the content and make comments on that. But the one thing that I think is a real danger when you have one person overseeing all the games is, there's a chance that some of the uniqueness and flavor of those games can be lost.

An increase in fan input

For good or ill, modern technology has brought increased input from enthusiastic fans.

Miyamoto: Now with mass communication and the Internet having the voice that it does, there is much more clamor from the user, and you hear a lot of opinions coming in all around you and a lot of pressure is put on game designers and game producers to really meet the demands of the users and create the games that the users want. I think that almost limits the creativity of the producer, and I would really like to see more producers who are willing to break away from that and be more creative and to create what they really want to create.

The one thing that I can say that I think is very important is that whatever you're creating, you should start by creating what you want to create, and thinking about what you want to create rather than think about who you want to create something for. For me, that is where the importance lies.