That game (and others like it) would probably be much easier if instead of optimising for score they optimised for "game states (pixel arrangements) that the AI

That game (and others like it) would probably be much easier if instead of optimising for score they optimised for "game states (pixel arrangements) that the AI hasn't seen before". This metric should correlate well with moving the player character around each screen, and getting to new screens, as well as picking up objects. I believe some researchers have tried this approach and had some success, but I'd like to see how far DeepMind (for example) could take it.