- Super Mario Maker producer Takashi Tezuka

The Super Mario Maker team wanted to make a free-form, creative, and open game -- and so put in "stranger elements" to draw players in and loosen them up.

A new Polygon feature interview with some of the Nintendo developers behind the title -- including longtime Mario producer, director, and designer Takashi Tezuka -- reveals some of the process behind the game's development.

For example, the team experimented with real-world toys to identify types of play that might be new to Mario but fun for Super Mario Maker. The full article is a brief but interesting look into the creative process behind one of the most significant first-party Nintendo titles in years.