Since its initial release and success Tetris has become one of the most successful and enduring games in history. While it continues to be a major form of entertainment, we are now learning the positive effects the game has on the human mind, which Henk brought up "There was a study that they announced earlier this year in Oxford where Tetris helps alleviate post traumatic stress syndrome.
"I think the way it works is when you're sleeping, what your actually doing is processing the audio/visual images of the day before and storing them away, and what playing Tetris does is it scrambled that. In other words you're thinking about Tetris pieces instead of your traumatic experience, whatever it was. I think that is how it interferes with the trauma of a horrible experience, and I think that's a very useful thing going forward."
As we move forward and learn more about the game, neither Alexey nor Henk are planning on slowing down. Now that the rights have reverted back to Alexey, the two continue their partnership in upgrading Tetris to match with the future of technology.
Henk explains that "Tetris is 10% of all games sold on mobile phones in this country. We haven't gotten there on the online side, were just getting started, but I fully expect, because it's a casual game played by everybody, and it's sort of an evergreen title, that we will end up at that same 10% of the casual game market.
"The way we will achieve this is Tetris will go from just being a game to becoming a virtual sport, and that will happen when we have professional players, we'll have a Tetris Cup, and we'll find who the best players in the world are and we'll pay them. And what happens then is Tetris in the eyes of parents, won't be such a waste of time, you can aspired to be a professional Tetris player or something. And why not. The first virtual sport."
"Unfortunately not too much money involved with this, otherwise I would become professional." Alexey jokingly interjects.
Alexey and Henk are making their dream of online competitive Tetris gameplay a reality with the WiiWare game Tetris Party with 18 different game modes, including online battles and multiplayer modes, but it doesn't stop there. Currently they are undergoing an open beta of TetrisFriends.com, mixing an online community with the most addictive game in the world with numerous versions of Tetris, online competitions, leaderboards and social interactions with friends and other Tetris fanatics.
(Note: The above article is based on an interview with Alexey Pajitnov and Henk Rogers, conducted by Aaron Rigby and D.S. Cohen)
