Nintendo President Satoru Iwata and Shigeru Miyamoto, who needs no introduction, had an interesting conversation about the nature of Mario, readable on Wii.com.

This is the fourth in a series of transcribed queries by Iwata regarding Super Mario Galaxy. The game is released in Japan, and the North American release is only four days away. On a side note, such transparent production is an increasingly popular trend used to build community interest.

The two Nintendo gods discussed co-op play, new technology, the significance of Super Mario Galaxy and the “Essence of Mario.” Miyamoto described this essence as “form around function,” unique and original objects and obstacles that look like what they are.

“If you look at the Boos for example, and their peek-a-boo reaction when you turn the other way, you’ll see that they’re very shy, and they blush too. I think it’s aspects like these that point out the importance of designing things with functions that can be easily understood,” he told Iwata.

Even the now ubiquitous turtle was developed this way. “I remembered an experience I once had when I was working on Mario Bros. [Gunpei] Yokoi-san asked me, ‘What’s something that wouldn’t be able to move if I hit it from underneath?,’ and I replied, ‘A turtle, of course,’” said Miyamoto.

Miyamoto’s definition of Mario does not include the cutesy art style that’s become so common. Instead, this art style is the result of his attempts to make things in the game simple and easy to understand.

“Because people believe that the characters should be that way, they make assumptions on their own, like how the eyes should be always big and bright. But I don’t really draw my characters like that,” Miyamoto said. “I think it’s perfectly OK for Mario to be drawn in a cool way, and by that I don’t mean drawing him specifically to be cool, but that the overall design treatment turns out looking cool. So in the past, I’ve always tried to not design anything that looks childish, and change the design depending on the game.”