“I try to insure that nothing I make wastes the players’ time by having them do things that aren’t productive or creative.”

– For Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto, designing engaging games starts with respecting the player experience. 

As noted in the opening paragraphs of The New Yorker’s recently published interview with Shigeru Miyamoto, its not often that the elusive designer sits down for a candid conversation like the one captured in the story.

In it, Miyamoto shares a rare look at how moments with his family reflect what’s important to him as a designer, offering fellow game makers a peek at how kindness, respect, and warmth inform the design of some of Nintendo’s most iconic games.

Following his own experiences as a parent, Miyamoto muses on the designer’s responsibility to create an engaging game without demanding too much of a person’s life. For him, creating that experience boils down to designing to provoke a player’s innate curiosity without taking advantage of it.

“It’s kind of hard to build a game where the player can quit anytime. Human beings are driven by curiosity and interest. When we encounter something that inspires those emotions, it’s natural to become captivated,” Miyamoto tells The New Yorker.

“That said, I try to insure that nothing I make wastes the players’ time by having them do things that aren’t productive or creative. I might eliminate the kinds of scenes they’ve seen in every other game, or throw out clichés, or work to reduce loading times. I don’t want to rob time from the player by introducing unnecessary rules and whatnot.

“The interesting thing about interactive media is that it allows the players to engage with a problem, conjure a solution, try out that solution, and then experience the results. Then they can go back to the thinking stage and start to plan out their next move. This process of trial and error builds the interactive world in their minds. This is the true canvas on which we design—not the screen. That’s something I always keep in mind when designing games.”

Find the full interview on The New Yorker for more from Miyamoto on his leadership style, design considerations, and desire to foster kindness in the world.

Following a rough launch fraught with bugs, digital storefront drama, and reports of borderline mutiny within a crunch-laden studio, CD Projekt Red announced a staggering 13 million units sold of Cyberpunk 2077, the company said Tuesday.

The latest figures represent numbers as of December 20, or 10 days after launch and put the game in the upper echelon of successful game releases when it comes to sales.

The 13 million figure is up from the 8 million preorders the company announced earlier this year, and includes physical and digital refunds of the game, which were prompted by issues players encountered soon after launch.

CDPR’s statement said it disclosed the latest milestone “due to its potential impact on investment-related decisions,” showing the company is keen to point out the game’s financial success to investors thus far.

Since the game’s launch, the CDPR has had to address the game’s bugs, performance issues (particularly on ubiquitous last-gen consoles), and navigate its relationship with Sony, which pulled the game from the digital PlayStation Store post-launch, in an unprecedented move.

24/12/2020 | Skype Blogs | Holidays on Skype

The holidays are upon us! Skype has traditionally played a key role keeping people connected during the holiday season, and this year that’s more important than ever. To that end, Skype has gotten all dressed up with your favorite holiday emojis, expressions and new background designs to help make it a magical, memorable season. We like to call it the “Holidification” of Skype!

Express yourself in the spirit of the season with friends and family

There’s so much more to a conversation than speaking. A smile, a wink, a hand signal, the nod of the head, or even a quiet little chuckle: it deepens, enriches, and engages. Did the story your Uncle John just told make you sentimental? Pop a holiday tree emoji in the chat window. Talking with your cousin in London about whether reindeers really know how to fly? Give her Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer emoji with a blinking red nose! Get a sweet message from your Mom in the chat window? Respond to her comment with a holiday-themed reaction. Skype puts seasonal-themed emojis at your fingertips as you type!

“It’s all about creating more authentic connections,” says Sam Cundall, Animator and Principal Designer for Skype, Seattle, USA. “People should be able say something like, ‘wow, that sounds exactly like my friend Sam, he’s expressing himself the same way he would if he were in front of me.’ That’s the legacy of Skype’s quirkiness and humor: our emojis and expressions help make it as authentic as possible.”

© Capcom

The announcement of Ghosts ‘N Goblins Resurrection certainly came out of the blue. While the franchise was once one of Capcom’s most famous efforts, it has fallen by the wayside in recent years, so it was a nice surprise to see the Japanese veteran dust this one off for another adventure.

The hosts of the Japanese Capcom TV channel got chance to see the game in motion recently, and while we’re still not 100% comfortable with the new visual style, it would seem that Ghosts ‘N Goblins Resurrection has lost none of the series’ penchant for challenging gameplay.

Sure, Arthur can take three hits now before he dies, but the level designs appear to be as demanding as ever. calling for pixel-perfect jumps and precision attacks. Expect to hurl a few controllers at the wall if you’re planning on picking this one up early next year.

You can watch the footage below, and the segment in question starts from around 1 hour, 17 minutes in. Prior to that, footage of Capcom Arcade Stadium is also shown.

If you’re like me, you love those TLDR; overviews to grasp the big picture quickly. Here is mine about Python’s compile() function:

Python’s built-in compile() method returns an executable code object as an “Abstract Syntax Tree” represented as an ast object. By passing this code object into the exec() or eval() functions, you can run it dynamically in your Python code. This way, you can programmatically create source code and execute it at runtime. To use the function, pass the string code to be executed, the filename, and the execution mode. For example compile('print("hi")', '<string>', 'exec') creates a code object consisting of one line print("hi").

This article shows you how to use Python’s built-in compile() method.

Usage compile()

Learn by example! Let’s say, you have a code file with the following content:

# some_code.py file

customers = {"Alice": 40000, "Bob": 33000}

print(f"Bob: {customers['Bob']}")

Here’s an example on how to use the compile() built-in function.

# Read the code from the file or define it explicitly:

code = 'customers = {"Alice": 40000, "Bob": 33000}\nprint(f"Bob: {customers[\'Bob\']}")' # Create the ast code object

code_obj = compile(code, '<string>', 'exec') # Execute the ast code object

exec(code_obj) # Result:

# Bob: 33000

First, you create the code as a string. Second, you pass the string into the compile() function to create an ast object. You can then pass this object into the exec() function and run it dynamically.

Video compile()

Why Using compile() Instead of exec() With a String?

Before you dive into the syntax, you may not be motivated to use the compile() function in the first place. Why? Because you can also use the exec() function on a string instead of a code object.

Python’s exec() function executes the Python code you pass as a string or executable object argument. This is called dynamic execution because, in contrast to normal static Python code, you can generate code and execute it at runtime. This way, you can run programmatically-created Python code.

Here’s the same code without compile():

code = 'customers = {"Alice": 40000, "Bob": 33000}\nprint(f"Bob: {customers[\'Bob\']}")'

exec(code)

# Bob: 33000

The output is the same. However, there are two advantages of using a code object:

• You make it explicit. Without compiling the string explicitly, the exec() method would do the same work implicitly. Thus, if you need to run the same code multiple times, you can save significant compilation overhead by just compiling it once in advance.
• You can use the powerful ast object otherwise. This gives you access to some helper methods and additional information about the code such as the names defined in the code:

>>> code_obj.co_names

('customers', 'print')

You obtain this information from a compiled string which is very convenient!

Syntax compile()

You can use the compile() method with a number of different arguments.

Syntax: 

compile(source, filename, mode, flags=0, dont_inherit=False, optimize=-1) 

Interactive Shell Exercise: Understanding compile()

Consider the following interactive code:

Exercise: Print the number associated to Alice in the dictionary!

But before we move on, I’m excited to present you my brand-new Python book Python One-Liners (Amazon Link).

If you like one-liners, you’ll LOVE the book. It’ll teach you everything there is to know about a single line of Python code. But it’s also an introduction to computer science, data science, machine learning, and algorithms. The universe in a single line of Python!

The book is released in 2020 with the world-class programming book publisher NoStarch Press (San Francisco).

Link: https://nostarch.com/pythononeliners

How to Read and Compile Code from a File

Say, you have the following code in a code file:

# filename.py file

customers = {"Alice": 40000, "Bob": 33000}

print("Bob: " + str(customers['Bob']))

How to read the code from a file, compile it, and execute it at runtime?

Here’s the code:

# 1. Read code from file

f = open('filename.py', 'r')

code = f.read()

f.close() # 2. Compile code string

code_obj = compile(code, 'filename.py', 'exec') # 3. Run the code object (ast)

exec(code_obj)

Alternatively, you can also use the following one-liner to read the code from a file:

code = open('filename.py').read()

Frankly, I don’t see a huge problem with not closing the file if you have a small script and you don’t access the file anywhere else. Python will close it automatically after the code terminates.

Summary

The Python compile() method returns an executable code object as an “Abstract Syntax Tree” that is represented as an ast object.

There are many applications of an ast such as the following: You can pass this code object into the exec() or eval() functions and run it dynamically in your Python code.

This way, you can programmatically create source code and execute it at runtime.

To use the function, you must pass the string code to be executed, the filename, and the execution mode.

For example compile('print("hi")', '<string>', 'exec') would be a valid call that creates a code object consisting of one line print("hi").

I hope you enjoyed the article! To improve your Python education, you may want to join the popular free Finxter Email Academy:

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Where to Go From Here?

Enough theory, let’s get some practice!

To become successful in coding, you need to get out there and solve real problems for real people. That’s how you can become a six-figure earner easily. And that’s how you polish the skills you really need in practice. After all, what’s the use of learning theory that nobody ever needs?

Practice projects is how you sharpen your saw in coding!

Do you want to become a code master by focusing on practical code projects that actually earn you money and solve problems for people?

Then become a Python freelance developer! It’s the best way of approaching the task of improving your Python skills—even if you are a complete beginner.

Join my free webinar “How to Build Your High-Income Skill Python” and watch how I grew my coding business online and how you can, too—from the comfort of your own home.

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