It was created in 1984 by a Soviet Programmer and has since become a worldwide phenomenon. They were once only available on Nintendo’s but have since grown to become available to every possible gadget such as Blackberries, Facebook, and Iphones.[1]
No matter who you are or what background you come from, we have all enjoyed a good game of Tetris. Alexey Pajitnov who was 29 at the time worked at the Moscow Academy of Sciences when he created the game. He claims that all his life he enjoyed puzzles, mathematical riddles and diversion and that is how the creation of Tetris came along.[2]
Tetris has been such a big part of popular culture that there have even been scientific experiments done to further understand the game. The Massachusetts Instituted of Technology concluded in 2002 that the potential combinations are so varied that not even a computer could calculate the different combinations.[3]
Tetris has had a long and tumultuous business life, with Pajitnov not gaining licensing rights until 1996. It has expanded to every possible technological medium and has sold 125 million copies.[4]
Personally, I enjoy Tetris very much but like a fellow player stated in the article you grow to have a love-hate relationship with the game. You love it because it provides hours of entertainment and motivation, however, if your not careful it can easily drive you to insanity! The need to win and outsmart the computer is so powerful and is so rarely done it can drive anyone to craziness. What I most enjoy about tetris is the simplicity. No fancy music, graphics, controls or other gaming gimmicks. All it consists of is a box, shapes randomly dropping, and three controls (left, right, down). I think it’s going to continue to be a staple in everyone’s house and will always outshine the never ending flashy, complicated games that are produced nowadays.
We all have memories of playing Tetris, whether it’s winning or losing, playing with a parent or a friend, playing during your free time or sleeping time, to playing on your couch to on the train with your phone. It’s something that so many people have in common and gives so many of us some of the greatest moments.
Like the creator said “Technology changes a lot, but I can't say people change a lot." [5] There is no doubt Tetris will be around for a long time and is receiving a well deserved celebration, happy birthday!
Source for [1]- [5]
“Tetris Turns 25 and Becomes a Gaming Icon” CTV.CA. The Associated Press. June 2nd, 2009. June 10, 2009
< http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090602/Tetris_25_090602/20090602?hub=SciTech >
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