35 years of Tetris: an unforgettable classic in our hearts

It is indisputable that Tetris revolutionized the gaming industry since its launch, whether with its complexity in its challenges, its more than captivating and unforgettable soundtrack or even its power to capture the attention of anyone who played it. And just like something that is big these days and has a lot of influence on others, Tetris It also has a very interesting history.

being developed by Alexey Pajitnov, and Dmitry Pavlovsky, both students from Russian Academy of Sciences (Russian Academy of Science) in Moscow, its creators were engineers from Dorodnitsyn Computing Center (Soviet Union Computer Center) when they finished the first playable version of Tetris which was launched on June 6, 1984 for the Electronica 60.

fitting the pieces

Tetris takes its name from the numeric prefix Tetra which means Four (4) in Greek, since all segments present in the game are composed of 4 squares, and also of tennis, the favorite sport of Alexey Pajitnov, one of the game's creators. Tetris was the first software exported from the Soviet Union to the United States, where it was initially published by Spectrum HoloByte for systems Commodore 64 and for the IBM PC.

Tetris was initially thought of by Alexey Pajitnov as a derivation of puzzle (puzzle) russian which was basically piling up blocks and with them mathematical equations or even challenges were assembled using the most different shapes of each of the segments. This puzzle was called pentomino by the Russians, and we in Brazil have something similar, with our unit counter called Gold Material that we use to learn the units, tens and thousands during elementary school.

Alexey was so passionate about this simple unit game that he decided to apply his knowledge to develop a game similar to pentomino on new hardware that he had to inspect during his work at the Academy of Sciences. But seeing that the original puzzle had several different segments and shapes, Alexey decided to put only shapes with 4 segments in their game. And so was born Tetris!

The objective of Tetris is to assemble the segments (pieces) at the end of the screen, the flame of the Well (well) or Matrix. One of the classic lessons that Tetris teaches us is that our mistakes accumulate and we need to succeed in order to progress. The objective of the game is to allocate the segments that decay from the top of the screen to the end, thus forming a line, either vertically or horizontally, making the present segments disappear and you score points!

As the player progresses, the segments that will follow become more random and the music accelerates its rhythm, which makes the player think faster and more agilely so as not to fill the screen with pieces and end up losing in the way. Tetris gained several versions over the years that added animated background images during gameplay, music and themes that could be chosen by the player and even different modes, ranging from color combinations instead of shapes in the segments and even partial blocking of the Matrix, where the player could only play on one side of the screen.

Tetris…EVERYWHERE!

Being released for basically almost every system available on the market, it is undeniable that you probably know Tetris regardless of your age. When thinking about classic games, probably Tetris it must be one of those that comes to your mind, whether it's a vague memory of “playing with the pieces” or that game you spent hours and hours playing and that, for a long time, had your music stuck in your head. Along with the most famous games, being Galaga, Pac-Man e Donkey Kong, Tetris became a staple in the video game industry and continues to do so even today.

Tetris has spread like wildfire across the world, being titled as “easily made and easily addictive”. Tetris started making its name initially through the Commodore 64 and soon after received versions for the Female friend, Apple II, Atari ST, MS DOS, PC 9801, MSX and, of course, a version also for the famous NES (Nintendo Entertainment System), which was already standing out among consumers and opponents as the center of attention in the era of home consoles.

Good for Health and Education

As games became popular and began to be consumed by a large part of the population, several institutions delved into studies on this phenomenon. Games were consumed more and more every day and easily became an addiction for children, teenagers and young adults. But then there's the question, is too much Tetris good for health? The answer is yes!

Um study carried out in New Mexico in 2009 proves that daily consumption of 30 minutes playing Tetris over a period of 3 months increased the cognitive capacity and agility in decision-making of all teenagers who carried out the experiment. The teenagers tested also showed great progress in their studies, being able to concentrate more during classes and also during exams.

Tetris is the representation that not everything that holds one's attention for a long period of time can be harmful to health. Of course, it has its downsides, such as excessive procrastination and constant distraction, but it is undeniable that Tetris it does more than good for health, and he deserves to be decorated for it.

From Russia to the rest of the world

A Nintendo then realized all the potential that Tetris owned and received it with open arms, becoming the developer responsible for the releases of Tetris in the future. This partnership was so powerful, that among all the versions that Tetris had, the most popular of them was the version for portable consoles, and of course we are talking about him, the gameboy.

Not only marking the childhood of many people with the soundtrack and fun that only Tetris de gameboy could deliver, but also becoming one of the most popular games of all time. In 2007, Tetris received the title of “The Greatest Game of All Time”, and in 2019 it won the 7th place in the list of the 100 Greatest Games of All Time. But of course, titles don't make sales, and Tetris sold a total of approximately 170 million copies, with 70 million in physical versions and 100 million on mobile. The title became the second best-selling game in the world, behind the immensely popular, Minecraft.

The popularity of Tetris obviously didn't just stop abroad, and if you had a fun childhood, you probably remember that. In Brazil, Tetris has become a FEVER, as have products and fads from abroad. Tetris was presented through Brick game (bricks/pieces game) for most children at the time, and no matter where you went, there was always someone playing the Brick game with the classic theme of Tetris.

Bringing new concepts to the present day

One of the things that stands out the most in Tetris it's like he never tires of innovating and that continues even today. As it has already been proven that Tetris is more than good for mental health, Tetris has always been synonymous with fun and that is something that has never changed over the years. On February 19, 2019, the Nintendo announced something a little different than what we were used to. announcing Tetris 99 all with Nintendo Switch, Nintendo prove once and for all that Tetris it also works with an online mode, and it's extremely fun!

In 1984, Tetris revolutionized the industry with its gameplay extremely fun and beloved theme by all and he deserves to be consecrated for that, but the point is: he continues to bring fun and innovate even today. Easily one of the most popular games on the market, Tetris is recommended for everyone, regardless of age. Not only with that but also as a great example of how games should behave.

Of course, state-of-the-art graphics, diverse gameplay, stat system, orchestrated soundtrack, character creation and customization are important nowadays, but Tetris proved before everyone else that a good game didn't need to have any of those things, it just needed be funny. This is something that all games today should put above any sort of priority. Of course, as they are companies that publish games, profit is important, but a fan base (fans, followers) faithful and a game published with all love and care is better than any kind of profit.

For lovers of beautiful graphics and a modern soundtrack, of course Tetris also made a little effort to adapt. being exclusive to the Playstation 4, Tetris Effect was released on November 9, 2018 and it surpasses all expectations they had of it. With breathtaking graphics and an animated soundtrack that adapts to the way the player plays, Tetris Effect breaks all barriers and proves once and for all that the title is a cousin to this day.

With retro graphics, a theme played by the DMG-CPU-03 sound chip from gameboy or with current graphics with support for VR (Virtual Reality) and an orchestrated and electronic soundtrack in Playstation 4, what stays in the hearts of fans is that Tetris is eternal.

Whether it's teaching us that to have fun we don't need something complex or very detailed, that a song can be wonderful without needing so much work and that we don't necessarily need to fit in to move on, Tetris taught us that we must keep winning despite defeats accumulated because we know that at some point they all disappear. Congratulations on 35 years, Tetris! <3