This was contributed to my by Devin Monnens. It's a link to an interview with the head of Nintendo, Iwata-san, where he discusses Miyamoto-san's definitions of "idea" and goals for "design". I'll include a snippet, but it's worth chasing the link. Shigeru Miyamoto created Donkey Kong, all of the Super Mario Titles, and all of the Legend of Zelda titles for Nintendo. Miyamoto-san has made some of the most important and the most fun videogames in history. When he speaks, game designers listen:

Itoi: Remember talking about the definition of "idea" before?

Iwata: The words of Mr.(Shigeru) Miyamoto, right?

Itoi: He said that ideas are "something which solves multiple issues at once". This notion seemed eye-opening to my staffs. Can you explain us a bit more about the intention of his words, and your analysis of it?

http://www.1101.com/iwata/2007-08-31.html