Darwin's demons—better video games through natural selection

If you've played a video game you know what I'm talking about. Getting past the first levels is all about memorizing the landscape, remembering where the extra lives are hidden, and where enemies pop out to get you. Trial and error, and lots of quarters, eventually will get you through the beginning levels. Some understanding of predictable enemy behaviors will help you find your way through the rest. Every level is essentially a memorization and muscle-memory problem to be solved. But for Dr. Barrie Robison, his collaborator Dr. Terrence Soule, and his team of students at University of Idaho, this memorization isn't very interesting at all.

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