There’s a fair chance that you’ve played Tetris at some point of time in your life, and even if you haven’t, you’ve definitely had the theme music stuck in your head. Loved by children of all ages, this simple puzzle game takes barely seconds to learn, but you’ll definitely have to burn countless hours to get good at it.
“Tetris” Is A Combination Of Greek And The Creator’s Favourite Sport
The name Tetris’ is a portmanteau, where the meanings and sounds of two words are combined to form a new word. It comes from the Greek word ‘tetra’ (meaning four) and tennis, that is Pajitnov’s favourite sport. Each Tetris piece has exactly four blocks. Its similarities with tennis are not very apparent, except its addictive attributes.
Tetris Was Developed In 1984 By A Russian
Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov created it in 1984 while working as a computer programmer at the Soviet Academy of Sciences’ Computer Center in Moscow. Assigned the task of programming computer games that would judge the capabilities of the U.S.S.R. ‘s computer equipment, he spent his free time dreaming about puzzle games.
There’s A Name For Those Weird Pieces
Pajitnov was influenced by pentominoes puzzles when developing this game. Pentominoes are basically the shapes created by combining five blocks and have been used in math games for quite a long time. There are 12 shapes. However, just seven of them are used in Tetris. In a pentominoes puzzle, players have to fit the shapes into a rectangular box without any overlap or gaps.
Tetris Was Designed Or Order To Make Computers Seem Less Intimidating
Pajitnov was trying to show people that computers could be easy to learn. In an interview in 2014, Pajitnov said that Tetris was like a messenger for early customers of the computer. It’s not just a sophisticated thing to deal with spreadsheets but also a fun toy to play with. It was essential for people to feel better about the computer.
The Game Originally Spread Through Piracy
When Tetris was designed, Pajitnov was working with the Russian government for building computer programs. He initially wanted to publish it but didn’t know how and was worried that he would be punished by the government for doing so. A copy was smuggled to Hungary and unauthorized versions began popping up. Without piracy, Tetris might have remained an oddball anomaly on a Soviet computer.
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