The Tetris Movie
Source: https://openclipart.org/detail/281853/tetris-1986Discover the story behind Tetris, from its origins in Moscow to becoming a cultural icon, and its depiction in the new Tetris movie. Learn about its impact on Nintendo and gaming history.
Tetris: a cultural revolution
How many people know Tetris? You can raise your hand. I'm sure you have played some form of the game at one point in your life. And even if you haven't played, you know what Tetris is and you are probably humming the game theme song right now. But why is Tetris so popular? And how did it impact the trajectory of Nintendo, of its creators and became a cultural phenomenon? Someone even said that it helped end the cold-war in a way.
Well, luckily for you, they made The Tetris movie (you can find it on Apple TV+). I won't lie, the movie takes some 'Hollywood liberties' to make itself more engaging and with a faster pace; at the expense of some details. But it made me think, because it happens that I have watched a lot of videos (and read articles) about Tetris and the platform that made it a success: The Game Boy, Nintendo biggest success in their quest to win over SEGA.
So, before I share what I think are very interesting videos, let me tell you some things about Tetris and The Game Boy:
- Tetris history is far from straightforward. As you can see in the video I linked from The Gaming Historian, Tetris was born from a young university researcher in Moscow, and it wasn't meant to be sold or anything. It was just shared among anybody that had a computer at that time (mostly universities). But then it took a life of its own, and it was noticed by a small entrepreneur that used to work with Eastern Europe.
- Tetris is a very simple game in terms of its dynamics and graphics. And that means that it can be coded almost on any platform. And they developed a version for almost any 'computer' of that time. But maybe the biggest thing is that they packed it with The Game Boy - Nintendo's most famous handheld device. Also being Tetris a family-friendly non-violent puzzle game, meant that it could be played by anybody. I would even go to the length to say that the game is so self-explanatory that you don't even need any written word to understand how it works.
- The Game Boy was a creation of pure genius. Nintendo decided to bet on battery life, putting a very low-res green tinted screen, and that somehow made the SEGA Game Gear look like an evil battery-eater monster (although the screen was way better). But in the videos I linked from the Modern Vintage Gamer, it's explained how The Game Boy graphic worked and what it could achieve with small Video RAM, a small screen and practically no fancy effects.
- And all of this is packed into a very 80s retro atmosphere, giving a sense of fun and lightness for a popcorn movie. The stakes are clear, but what is interesting is the characters that are portrayed, the way we see a light into what their life was and what they did to grasp onto something great like Tetris.
So, without further ado, enjoy the playlist I made for you, hope you'll have some fun.
Published: Monday, May 13, 2024, 12:21 PM - Updated: Tuesday, Jun 11, 2024, 01:26 PM
Fabrizio C.
Fabrizio C. is the founder of AsPlanned, and is a Software Developer with more than 15 years of experience in Software Development. He currently works for Zeeg - The Scheduling App.