Alexey Pajitnov Explained

Alexey Pajitnov
Native Name Lang:ru
Birth Name:Alexey Leonidovich Pajitnov
Birth Date:16 April 1955
Birth Place:Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Alma Mater:Moscow Aviation Institute
Employer:Dorodnitsyn Computing Centre
The Tetris Company
Microsoft
Known For:Creator of Tetris

Alexey Leonidovich Pajitnov (born April 16, 1955)[1] is a Soviet (now Russian) computer engineer and video game designer who lives in the United States. He is best known for creating, designing, and developing Tetris in 1985 while working at the Dorodnitsyn Computing Centre under the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union (now the Russian Academy of Sciences).[2] After Tetris was released internationally in 1987, he released a sequel in 1989, entitled Welltris.

In 1991, he moved to the United States and later became a U.S. citizen.[3] In 1996, Pajitnov founded The Tetris Company alongside Dutch video game designer Henk Rogers. Despite the game's high popularity, Pajitnov did not receive royalties from Tetris prior to this time, with the Soviet government being the only Russians who had made money from it.[4]

Early life

Pajitnov was born to Soviet parents, who were both writers, his father was an art critic, his mother was a journalist who wrote for both newspapers and a film magazine. It was through his parents that Pajitnov gained exposure to the arts, eventually developing a passion for cinema. He accompanied his mother to many film screenings, including the Moscow Film Festival.[5] [6] Pajitnov was also mathematically inclined, enjoying puzzles and problem solving.

In 1967, when he was 11 years old, Pajitnov's parents divorced. For several years, he lived with his mother in a one-bedroom apartment owned by the state. The two were eventually able to move into a private apartment at 49 Gertsen Street, when Pajitnov was 17.[7] He later went on to study applied mathematics at the Moscow Aviation Institute.[8] [9]

Career

In 1977, Pajitnov worked as a summer intern at the Soviet Academy of Sciences. Once he graduated in 1979, he accepted a job there working on speech recognition at the Academy's Dorodnitsyn Computing Centre.[10] When the Computing Centre received new equipment, its researchers would write a small program for it in order to test its computing capabilities. According to Pajitnov, this "became [his] excuse for making games".[11] Computer games were fascinating to him because they offered a way to bridge the gap between logic and emotion, and Pajitnov held interests in both mathematics and puzzles, as well as the psychology of computing.

Searching for inspiration, Pajitnov recalled his childhood memories of playing pentominoes, a game in which the user creates pictures using its shapes. Remembering the difficulty he had in putting the pieces back into their box, Pajitnov felt inspired to create a game based on that concept.[12] [13] Using an Electronika 60 in the Computing Centre, he began working on what would become the first version of Tetris. Building the first prototype in two weeks, Pajitnov spent longer playtesting and adding to the game, completing it on June 6, 1985.[14] [15] This primitive version did not have levels or a scoring system, but Pajitnov knew he had a potentially great game, since he could not stop playing it at work.[16]

The game attracted the interest of coworkers like fellow programmer Dmitri Pevlovsky, who helped Pajitnov connect with Vadim Gerasimov, a 16-year-old intern at the Soviet Academy. Pajitnov wanted to make a color version of Tetris for the IBM Personal Computer, and enlisted the intern to help. Gerasimov created the PC version in less than three weeks, and with contributions from Pevlovsky, spent an additional month adding new features like scorekeeping and sound effects. The game, first available in the Soviet Union, received international releases through Mirrorsoft and Spectrum Holobyte in 1988.[17]

Pajitnov created a sequel to Tetris, entitled Welltris, which has the same principle, but in a three-dimensional environment where the player sees the playing area from above.[18] [19] [20]

Tetris was licensed and managed by Soviet company ELORG, which had a monopoly on the import and export of computer hardware and software in the Soviet Union,[21] and advertised with the slogan "From Russia with Love" (on NES: "From Russia with Fun!").[22] [23] Because he was employed by the Soviet Academy of Sciences, Pajitnov did not receive royalties.

Pajitnov, together with Vladimir Pokhilko, moved to the United States following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and in 1996 founded The Tetris Company with Henk Rogers, which, in combination with the rights reverting to him in 1995[24] [25] or 1996,[26] [27] finally allowed him to collect royalties from his game. He helped design the puzzles in the Super NES versions of Yoshi's Cookie and designed the game Pandora's Box, which incorporates more traditional jigsaw-style puzzles. Pajitnov and Pokhilko founded the 3D software technology company AnimaTek, which developed the game / screensaver El-Fish.[28]

He was employed by Microsoft from October 1996 until 2005. While there, he worked on the , MSN Mind Aerobics and MSN Games groups. Pajitnov's new, enhanced version of Hexic, Hexic HD, was included with every new Xbox 360 Premium package.

In August 2005, WildSnake Software announced that Pajitnov would be collaborating with them to release a new line of puzzle games.[29]

Personal life

Pajitnov moved to the United States in 1991, was naturalized as a U.S. citizen and now lives in Clyde Hill, Washington.[3] [30] He has a wife, Nina, with whom he had two sons named Peter and Dmitri.[31]

Political views

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Pajitnov issued a statement condemning the war and stating that he was "sure that Putin and his hateful regime will fall down and the normal peaceful way of living will be restored in Ukraine and, hopefully, in Russia".[32]

Games

Title Year Platform(s) Role(s)
Tetris 1985 Original concept
(with Vadim Gerasimov & Dmitry Pavlovsky)
Muddle1989Electronika 60, IBM-PCDesigner (Published by JV Dialogue)[33]
Welltris 1989 Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, Macintosh & ZX Spectrum Designer
(with Andrei Sgenov)
Faces 1990 Amiga, DOS, Macintosh Original concept
(with Vladimir Pokhilko)
Hatris 1990 TurboGrafx-16, Arcade, Game Boy & NES Original concept
Knight Move 1990 Famicom Disk System (Japan) Idealist
Wordtris 1991 Designer
Yoshi's Cookie 1992 Puzzle Designer
El-Fish 1993 DOS Original concept
(with Vladimir Pokhilko)
Knight Moves 1995 Idealist
Ice & Fire 1995 Windows, Macintosh Original concept
(with Vladimir Pokhilko)
Tetrisphere 1997 Contributor
1997 Designer
Microsoft Pandora's Box 1999 WindowsDesigner
Microsoft A.I. Puzzler 2001 Windows Designer
Hexic 2003 Windows Original concept and design
Hexic HD 2005 Original concept and design
Dwice 2006 Windows Designer
Hexic 2 2007 Designer
Marbly 2013 Original concept and design

Awards and recognition

In 1996, GameSpot named him as the fourth most influential computer game developer of all time.[34] In March 2007, he received the Game Developers Choice Awards First Penguin Award. The award was given for pioneering the casual games market.[35]

In June 2009, he received the honorary award at the LARA - Der Deutsche Games Award in Cologne, Germany.[36] In 2012, IGN included Pajitnov on their list of 5 Memorable Video Game Industry One-Hit Wonders, calling him "the ultimate video game one-hit wonder."[37] In 2015, Pajitnov won the Bizkaia Award at the Fun & Serious Game Festival.[38] [39]

Pajitnov was portrayed by Russian actor Nikita Yefremov in the 2023 movie Tetris, a dramatised retelling of the licensing bidding war for Tetris in the late 1980s.[40]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Corporate Bio . . April 17, 2021.
  2. Web site: Tetris video game Britannica . 2023-04-19 . www.britannica.com . en.
  3. News: Sapieha . Chad . March 23, 2006 . Tetris' Alexey Pajitnov . en-CA . The Globe and Mail . February 20, 2023.
  4. Web site: Tetris: a history . Atarihq.com . May 6, 2012.
  5. Book: Sheff, David. Game Over: How Nintendo Zapped an American Industry, Captured Your Dollars, and Enslaved Your Children. Random House. 1993. 9780679404699. 1st. New York.
  6. Book: Goldberg, Harold. All Your Base Are Belong to Us: How Fifty Years of Videogames Conquered Pop Culture. Three Rivers Press. 2011. 9780307463555. New York.
  7. Book: Ackerman, Dan. The Tetris Effect: The Game that Hypnotized the World. PublicAffairs. 2016. 9781610396127. 1st. New York. Alexey Leonidovich Pajitnov.
  8. Web site: . Alexey Pajitnov, Creator of Tetris. August 5, 2018. tetris.com. tetris holding. "He received his Master's degree in Applied Mathematics from the Moscow Institute of Aviation".
  9. Web site: History of Computers and Computing, Birth of the modern computer, Software history, Tetris of Alexey Pajitnov. March 10, 2019. history-computer.com.
  10. Book: Ichbiah, Daniel. La saga des jeux vidéo. Pocket. 1997. 9782266087636. 1st. French. The saga of video games. Tetris: l'infernal casse-tête qui venait du froid. Tetris: the infernal puzzle that came from the cold.
  11. Web site: Hoad. Phil. June 2, 2014. Tetris: How We Made the Addictive Computer Game. live. September 3, 2021. The Guardian. en. https://web.archive.org/web/20140603040236/http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/jun/02/how-we-made-tetris . June 3, 2014 .
  12. Web site: Romo. Vanessa. June 6, 2019. Happy Birthday, Tetris. 35 Years Later You're As Addictive And Tetromino-y As Ever. live. September 3, 2021. NPR. en. https://web.archive.org/web/20190607020250/https://www.npr.org/2019/06/06/730408514/happy-birthday-tetris-35-years-later-youre-as-addictive-and-tetromino-y-as-ever . June 7, 2019 .
  13. Web site: Meet the men who built the only perfect video game: Tetris. April 25, 2016. Digital Trends. February 12, 2015 . en-US.
  14. News: 2004-02-12 . Tetris: A chip off the old bloc . en-GB . 2023-04-19.
  15. Web site: shmuplations . 2022-01-11 . Tetris – 1993 Developer Interview - shmuplations.com . 2023-04-19 . en-US.
  16. Web site: Johnson. Bobby. June 1, 2009. How Tetris Conquered the World, Block by Block. live. September 3, 2021. The Guardian. en. https://web.archive.org/web/20140122132414/http://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2009/jun/02/tetris-25anniversary-alexey-pajitnov . January 22, 2014 .
  17. Book: Kent, Steve L. . The ultimate history of video games : from Pong to Pokémon and beyond : the story behind the craze that touched our lives and changed the world . 2001 . Roseville, Calif. : Prima Pub. . Internet Archive . 978-0-7615-3643-7.
  18. Web site: Screenshots from Welltris, retrieved 31-10-2007 . Mds.mdh.se . November 20, 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20060422232106/http://www.mds.mdh.se/~frv95pen/game/tetris/welltris/ . April 22, 2006 .
  19. Web site: WELLTRIS GAME A SEQUEL THAT'S JUST AS ADDICTIVE AS ORIGINAL . Chicago Tribune . November 17, 1989 . February 20, 2024.
  20. News: Reid . T.R. . PERESTROIKA, A PROGRAMMER AND A PC CREATE AN ADDICTION TO TETRIS . Washington Post . September 9, 1991 . February 20, 2024.
  21. McCluskey . Megan . The True Story Behind Apple TV+'s 'Tetris' Movie . TIME . March 31, 2023 . February 20, 2024.
  22. Web site: Robarge . Drew . Tetris: Fun in the Cold War? . National Museum of American History . November 6, 2014 . February 20, 2024.
  23. Web site: Prisco . Jacopo . Tetris: The Soviet 'mind game' that took over the world . CNN . November 1, 2019 . February 20, 2024.
  24. Web site: Sapieha . Chad . Tetris' Alexey Pajitnov . The Globe and Mail . March 23, 2006 . February 20, 2024.
  25. Peckham . Matt . Tetris at 30: An Interview with the Historic Puzzle Game's Creator . TIME . June 6, 2014 . February 20, 2024.
  26. Web site: Frost . Caroline . Tetris: A chip off the old bloc . BBC NEWS . February 12, 2004 . February 20, 2024.
  27. Web site: Burton . Jamie . Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov feels Russia is now "hopeless" . Newsweek . March 29, 2023 . February 20, 2024.
  28. Book: Marc Saltzman . Game Programming 5.0 Starter Kit . February 5, 2013 . May 1, 2002 . Pearson Education . 978-1-57595-555-1 . 431 .
  29. Web site: WildSnake newsletter 18 August 2005, retrieved 31-10-2007 . Wildsnake.com . August 18, 2005 . November 20, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20091112184900/http://www.wildsnake.com/newsletter/2005-08-18/. November 12, 2009 . live.
  30. News: Cornwell . Paige . July 13, 2023 . Tetris founder — and Eastside resident — reflects on iconic game's legacy . The Seattle Times . July 13, 2023.
  31. News: Marriott. Michel. September 16, 1999. Creator of Tetris Looks for New Ways to Dazzle and Beguile. en-US. The New York Times. September 3, 2021. 0362-4331.
  32. Web site: March 23, 2022 . Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov condemns Russian invasion of Ukraine . February 20, 2023 . VentureBeat . en-US.
  33. High Stakes Math . . 1 . 4 . . 1991-01-09 . 2023-07-04 . en.
  34. Web site: February 21, 2005. The Most Influential People in Gaming of All Time: Alexey Pajitnov. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20050221115412/http://www.gamespot.com/features/15most/html/mi_04.html. February 21, 2005. May 6, 2012. GameSpot. CNET Networks.
  35. Web site: 2007 Game Developers Choice Awards To Honor Miyamoto, Pajitnov . . February 12, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070307054731/http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=12732. March 7, 2007 . live.
  36. Web site: News report on Deutsche Games Award 2009 . June 24, 2009 . Heise.de. June 25, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090626082322/http://www.heise.de/newsticker/Games-Award-ehrt-Tetris-Erfinder-Paschitnow--/meldung/141061. June 26, 2009 . live.
  37. Web site: Luke. Reilly. 5 Memorable Video Game Industry One-Hit Wonders - Games Feature at IGN . IGN. April 29, 2012 . May 6, 2012.
  38. Web site: F&S 2015 BIZKAIA AWARD . April 26, 2022 .
  39. News: El inventor del Tetris desvela su exito . Elmundo . July 8, 2019.
  40. Web site: Apple Original Films unveils trailer for "Tetris" new thriller starring Taron Egerton . Tetris. April 10, 2023 . April 10, 2023.