![tetris shapes tetris shapes](https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/pink-blue-tetris-shapes-motion-effect-pixel-background-d-illustration-background-texture-large-number-doves-geometric-188346264.jpg)
The goal becomes not only fitting shapes together and packing them onto the screen but also causing as many lines to disappear as possible. When a horizontal is filled with tetromino segments, leaving no gaps from left to right, that row simply vanishes in a puff of virtual smoke, opening the downward path for the next set of pieces to fill. His brilliant solution would become the one single element of Tetris that has remained constant throughout hundreds of sequels, variations, and knockoffs in the more than thirty years since. Alexey stared at the display, hating to see dead, wasted space on his newly improved gameplay field. Once all the spaces along a horizontal row in the new narrow playing field were filled, any area underneath that was permanently out of reach.Īgain, the game ended too quickly, leaving little reason to play it again. But there was still a problem with the game. Just as he originally trimmed the shapes from five segments to four, Alexey narrowed the playing area from nearly the entire screen to a narrow channel that started at the top and ran to the bottom in order to focus on making fast, accurate choices. This small innovation changed the feel of the game. What if you didn’t need the entire computer screen? Just because the monitor was square didn’t mean everything displayed on it needed to be. A strictly enforced design minimalism led to a breakthrough idea.
![tetris shapes tetris shapes](https://st2.depositphotos.com/3317997/6876/v/950/depositphotos_68760255-stock-illustration-seamless-colorful-abstract-background-made.jpg)
![tetris shapes tetris shapes](https://st4.depositphotos.com/6852928/24009/i/1600/depositphotos_240099078-stock-photo-abstract-construction-wooden-blocks-tetris.jpg)
He knew there must be a way to translate these ideas from the squares on his desk to the computer screen, even without access to the high-end (for the time) graphics powerhouses used to power Pac-Man and other arcade-style games.Īlexey continued to work on his programming assignments, taking time here and there over the next several weeks to pare his new game to its most basic elements. He spent hours fitting the pieces together, trying to bridge the connection between these simple geometric designs and the programmatic, predictable computer platforms he worked on. It was a simple plastic set of pentomino puzzle pieces, and before he knew it, the set had made its way into his hands and soon sat on his desk at the Russian Academy of Sciences. When he searched the store shelves, something familiar caught his eye.
![tetris shapes tetris shapes](https://i.stack.imgur.com/lGFKR.jpg)
In this exclusive excerpt, we learn how the game's creator, Russian computer scientist Alexey Pajitnov, first conceived of the computer game that would change the world by playing with children's toys.Ĭonsumed by the idea of re-creating game experiences on his Electronica 60 and the other machines he worked on at the academy, Alexey found inspiration in the sprawling aisles of Children’s World, the most famous toy store in Moscow. While many fierce rivals fought tooth and nail to secure the rights, it ended up as the killer app for Nintendo's Game Boy. In the new book The Tetris Effect, available September 6, veteran tech journalist Dan Ackerman presents the definitive telling of one of the most fascinating stories in videogame history: How the world's most popular, enduring, perfect videogame escaped the Iron Curtain.