Tetris Online Evaluation

Student Name Maja Perez

Today’s Date 10/29/10

Game Title Examined Tetris

Year of Publication 1984

Game Publisher Various

Game Developer Alexey Pajitnov

Game Genre (e.g. shoot-em-up, racing, sports, puzzle, MMORPG, ‘sandbox’, music sequence following game (e.g. DDR, guitar hero)
Puzzle game

Type of game ‘world’ or environment (e.g. flat environment, puzzle/maze space, 3D world?)
Tetris is a flat, 2D environment, usually displaying a black background.

Perspective taken by player (e.g first person, third person perspective, top down, isometric) in relation to main player controlled character.
The player sees the game screen on its side, with 2D blocks coming from above and hitting the floor, which is the bottom of the screen.

Gameplay – what does the player have to do?
The player must rotate each falling piece to fit the stacked pieces on the bottom. When the player fits the blocks in a whole row, the corresponding row disappears. This gives the player points and progresses through the game, increasing the speed at which the blocks descend.

Is the gameplay intuitive? (i.e. is it easy to understand what to do without instructions?) describe.
The gameplay is extrememly intuitive, which makes it one of the most successful games of all time. Due to the simplicity of the gameplay, Tetris has a broad demographic.

Is the gameplay patterned (game does the same thing over & over) or is it random (happens differently every time?)
The gameplay is patterned in which the player is always expecting a piece falling from the center. This is actually essential to the gameplay, since the player can think ahead to implement where the next piece will be placed. The sequence of the block types are, however, random. The gradual increase of speed is also patterned, but the player may not know exactly when the speed increases.

What does the type of graphic approach used as well as the audio tell you about the limits of the technology at the time the game was published?
The game was released during the mid-1980s, so the game technology was extremely limited. The audio was a simple electronic beat that looped. The graphics were 8-bit, which was not a complete limitation since all the pieces were simple shaded blocks. Tetris could not have released at a better time. The game is simple.

Describe your views about the game from the point of view of
a) ease of play
Tetris is a very easy game to play, and it caters to casual and core gamers, and young and old alike. The rules are simple and self-explanatory, so the player can just jump right in.

b) enjoyability
Tetris is a highly enjoyable game. There is no definite end to beat the game. The game ends when the player loses. The gameplay reflects our innate human psychology of wanting to organize and categorize chaos so we are able to identify and manage these blocks. I believe that is one of the reasons why Tetris is a memorable and effecive game, easily enjoyed by so many types of people.

c) level of engagement/immersion
It is difficult to pry oneself away from Tetris. The player is more willing to start over and achieve a higher score. A high level of concentration is required to play, especially when the rate at which the blocks fall increases.

Had you played this game prior to this time? If so, when?
I have played this game since the early 1990s, when I was an adolescent. I have played it on a couple of handheld devices, including the Nintendo Game Boy and a TI-83 Texas Instrument Calculator. I have played it on the personal computer.

Describe other games it reminds you of. How does it do this?
I cannot think of any other game that reminds me of Tetris. This may be that Tetris is a definitive and widely known game, and this is one of the first games I have been exposed to.