[rnimmer]

neuroevolution strategies are another approach to games, for what it's worth (since you said 'only').

[Jagerbizzle]

For those of us like me who are unfamiliar, can you recommend any useful reading on the topic?

[rnimmer]

Yes, take a look at Ken Stanley's web presence:

NEAT: https://www.cs.ucf.edu/~kstanley/neat.html

HyperNEAT: http://eplex.cs.ucf.edu/hyperNEATpage/HyperNEAT.html

There are explanations, links to the research papers, and links to implementations.

Here is a working example that runs in your browser using Javascript: https://liquidcarrot.io/example.flappy-bird/