Tetris is a video game that everyone knows about, but I am willing to bet there are few people who know the history behind one of the most well-known names in video gaming history. Thanks to the youtube known as the Gaming Historian we can easily take a look back at how these games were developed, and the inspirations behind them.
It’s fascinating to hear about Tetris and learn about its roots in the Soviet Union. Tetris was created by Alexey Pajitnov an engineer that worked for the Russian Academy of Sciences. The game was originally called 'Genetic Engineering' but there was only one problem with it, it was boring. The game was made up of several pieces that were similar in shape to the Tetris pieces we know of now but were arrange in a puzzle like fashion and the goal of the game then was to just complete the puzzle. Alexey knew that the game wasn't fun so he went back to the drawing board and re-engineered the game so that the puzzle pieces fell down as the game progressed and the area that you played in was much smaller. Further enhancements to the game made it possible to complete lines and have them disappear making it possible to play the game potentially forever. Without spoiling too much that is just the beginning of the history of the game. How it gained a following, as well as how it left the Soviet Union and got into the hands of the rest of the world is definitely a story worth watching.
This documentary is a little long, but if you are into history, and specifically the history of video games then this is a channel and a video you will definitely want to check out.
