In the second half of the eighties of the twentieth century, young people in almost all countries turned a Rubik's cube in their hands. Soon, this hobby was replaced by a new game, which required a personal computer.
The abnormal popularity of Tetris and its causes
Mass psychosis that accompanied the emergence of a new toy is difficult to describe. Both young lovers and gray-haired scientists with the same excitement clanged keys, trying to reach a new level. It seemed that their future depended on success. It happened that, having worked a full shift at a computer center, the operating engineer or programmer remained “playing a little” and sat in front of the monitor for several hours in a row.
At that time, ordinary people could not buy personal computers; they were purchased for the needs of organizations and departments. Most often, these were Robotron machines manufactured by the GDR with information characteristics that are significantly inferior to some modern mobile phones. The first "Tetris" was created for such computer technology. The game was simple, and this was precisely the reason for the unique popularity that it enjoyed.
Historical background
The Soviet Union, with the beginning of perestroika, was experiencing a systemic crisis that arose in the sixties and seventies of the XX century. A contradiction was accumulating between the high average intellectual potential of the engineering and technical personnel, the excellent qualifications of the workers and the meager material and living conditions, which were also constantly getting worse. There was an outflow of labor resources into the non-productive spheres of the national economy and private-cooperative trade.
The prestige of higher education has plummeted. World-class programmers toiled in numerous research institutes, trying to survive on a beggarly salary, the purchasing power of which was constantly declining due to avalanche-like inflation. One of these unclaimed intellectuals was Aleksey Pazhitnov, who worked at the Computing Center of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.
The secret weapon of the Russians
In the USSR, many devices and technologies were invented that were used in countries that were considered much more advanced in technical terms. Inventors often remained unknown, and their copyrights were seized by more energetic and legally literate people who profit from the introduction of these innovations. The question of who invented Tetris, unlike many other similar cases, has a very specific answer. This is Pazhitnov, a citizen of the USSR, who, by the will of fate, has become a symbol of the intellectual potential of our country.
He was even half-jokingly-half-seriously accused of undermining the United States defense. Pentagon officers, instead of dealing with nuclear safety, intelligence, and world strategy, turned around the grouped squares in an effort to put them in even rows and spending most of their time on it. The question of where the Tetris was invented did not arise, they called it “the secret weapon of the Russians”.
Why was invented "Tetris"
Knowing the history of the appearance of this game, we can conclude that its development was almost the goal of the life of an outstanding scientist. This is not entirely true. In fact, Pazhitnov, the inventor of Tetris, did not specialize in making toys. He dealt with more serious issues. His scientific work was related to the creation of cyberintelligence. Puzzles like Pentomino Puzzle were made by him to illustrate various logical processes characteristic of the human mind and logical thinking.
He developed other visual aids for explaining mental algorithms. Computing then had extremely limited capabilities, far more modest than now, so Tetris (in which the figures consist of four “cubes”) became widespread, and not “Pentomino” (where there were five elements). The game can also serve as the simplest scheme of the body's fight against aging. It shows that the efforts of the regenerative system are not always enough to replace the damage that occurs in the process of life, and entropy wins.
Tetris in the West
The one who invented Tetris, namely Aleksey Pazhitnov, did not immediately begin to receive dividends from his product. This became possible only after international licensing and patenting. The Andromeda company from Great Britain was the first to wish to acquire copyright and contacted the author directly. The game has already leaked to the West and found its fans there, and therefore, many entrepreneurs have a desire to earn money on it.
Andromeda’s director Mr. Stein brought Pajitnov to a television show where he introduced him live on CBS to let everyone know who invented the Tetris game. In the course of the interview, it turned out that the author and owner of all intellectual property rights had not yet received a cent for his popular puzzle, although Microsoft and Spectrum Olobite had already presented it on the market as their own products.
Invention and reward
The monopoly of the Soviet state on foreign trade in this case also had sad consequences. The leadership of the Electronorgtehnika association finally realized that such a seemingly stupid little thing as falling figures could become a source of quite serious money, and concluded a contract with Stein. At the same time, no one thought to sign an agreement with Pazhitnov himself. From the point of view of the command and administrative system, it was completely unimportant who invented the Tetris, the main thing is that the Soviet citizen did it (no one argued with this), and therefore the profits should go to the bureaucratic machine.
The fate of the inventor
Aleksey Pazhitnov’s career has developed quite safely, at least in material terms. This talented programmer has been working at Microsoft for eighteen years, where he has created all the opportunities for self-realization. The tasks that he performs are incomparably more complicated than the puzzles that glorified him, but in order to increase the attractiveness of the product he developed, they mention for advertising purposes that the author is the one who invented Tetris, Alexey Pazhitnov himself.
In the nineties there was a joke about the “new Russian” (there was such a popular comic image in a purple jacket and with a gold chain around his neck), which was bought by the most expensive and modern computer. At the same time, he set the seller a very strict condition: “If Tetris does not work, you will answer me!” It is possible that the talented programmer Alexei Pazhitnov will be remembered after many decades only as the inventor of this uncomplicated toy. It’s sad ...