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Seventeen Years of Tetris

Posted by michael on from the thumbs-hurt-just-thinking-about-it dept.

thefalconer writes "It all happened 17 years ago on a whim and an addiction of sorts. Alexey Pazhitnov created the one game that has caused so many people around the world to just about go nuts trying to win a game that has the ability to slowly drive you to insanity one small misshappen block at a time. Since the creation of the original Tetris game on an Electronica 60, there have been dozens of different incarnations of Tetris that have dazzled the eyes, boggled the mind, frustrated the emotions, and fried more than their fair share of braincells. There is also a very interesting history of tetris online that details its evolution from innocent game to insane addiction. Plus it's one of those games that never grows old. :D"

3 of 375 comments (clear)

  1. The site for the people who did it... by billbaggins · · Score: 4, Informative
    ...for the record, it was Brown university, and the seemingly official site is here.

    Enjoy.

    --
    "The best argument against democracy is a five minute chat with the average voter."
    --Winston Churchill
  2. Re:Interesting quote by mav[LAG] · · Score: 3, Informative

    "Doom Music" is superb - I bought a copy for myself and a friend a few years ago. Easily worth the $15 or so it cost - plus I got a nice personal letter from the Man himself when he shipped my order.
    If you want a nice selection of Bobby Prince tracks, including some from that album you can go here.

    --
    --- Hot Shot City is particularly good.
  3. my Alexey story by casemon · · Score: 3, Informative

    working at Microsoft (ugh i know) as a Game Designer in the mid 90's, i had the pleasure of working with Alexey.

    at the time, he was a jovial guy, despite the sorted legal histories, with a thick Russian accent and loud, boisterous laugh.

    i was tasked with designing a game that would popularize Windows as a gaming platform (a concern at the time, Win95 was just released) and was thinking about different ways to achieve this. i asked myself about why certain other games were hugely popular, and of course Tetris was on the list. i'd deemed the reason to be that in Tetris, the player does something that they do nearly every second of their waking life; recognizing and sorting information.

    not long after, a new hire was announced in a separate games division. he was really the only other Game Designer at MS at the time, so naturally i sought a rapport; it was Alexey afterall!. we chatted about various things, men of similar ilk (on paper anyway), when one day, i just flat out asked him...

    "Alexey, why do you think Tetris is so popular?"

    he thought about it for a moment, me in silent anticipation realizing the absurdity of the situation; i'm once again talking with the designer of arguably the world's most popular game, when he finaly answered in his Russian-lined English accent...

    "You know Joe, I think it's because it is...something that people do everyday."

    i've been an even bigger fan of Alexey ever since ;)