Who and when invented Tetris. How the creator of tetris fought with the USSR for income from the invention The programmer of which country created the Tetris game
Who Invented Tetris?
Man!! but seriously
THE INVENTOR OF TETRIS
You will hardly meet such an inhabitant of the Earth, except perhaps in the tribes of inner Africa, who would not play Tetris at least once in his life. But not everyone is aware that its inventor is the pride of Russia, a former employee of the Computing Center of the USSR Academy of Sciences Alexei Pajitnov. The year was 1985, the beginning of "perestroika", and young scientists languished in the laboratories from boredom. Many of them later became useful, for example, Evgeny Veselov was already at that time working on the E-9 multi-window text editor, later renamed Lexicon.
And Alexey Pajitnov specialized in problems artificial intelligence and speech recognition. The latter required the creation and solution of various kinds of puzzles. Pajitnov's favorite puzzle was the classic Pentomino Puzzl. In it, it was necessary to create figures from various elements consisting of five squares.
Inspired by Pentomino, Pajitnov also initially developed a computer puzzle in which, under the influence of gravity, similar five-square squares changed their position. But the capabilities of computers at that time were such that the task had to be simplified - there were four squares (hence - Tetris), and the figures made up of them only fell down.
A record short time has passed - only two weeks, and the whole of Moscow has already gone crazy for Tetris. Colleagues contributed to the transfer of the game to the IBM PC, which was possible in such an advanced office as the Computing Center of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Tetris penetrated the Iron Curtain thanks to the Hungarian brothers in the socialist camp, who created the Apple II and Commondore 64 platforms for it.
The history of patenting, licensing, and getting Tetris into the West is dark and confusing. According to one version, a certain Robert Stein, the head of the British company Andromeda, was the first to try to acquire the rights to the game from Alexei Pajitnov himself. At the same time, the nimble companies Microsoft and Spectrum Holobyte launched the first foreign versions of Tetris on the market. The game captured the attention of millions. Stein contributed to the show of Pajitnov on CBS, where it turned out that the author of the super popular computer game did not receive a penny for his invention. The Western audience was extremely perplexed, and the Soviet authorities finally realized that it was possible to make money on falling squares, and connected the enterprising Robert Stein with the Electronorgtekhnika foreign trade association. This did not prevent them from further distributing the rights to replicate Tetris separately, and they never had any agreement with Pajitnov.
But the author of the hit puzzle has an excellent reputation. He organized Anima Tek, which was soon invited to cooperate with Microsoft itself. In 1991, Pajitnov moved to the United States and finally created the Tetris company, after which part of the proceeds from the release of the game flowed into the pocket of its author.
Since 1996, Alexey Pajitnov began to officially work for Bill Gates. Moreover, on the Microsoft product, created with his participation, there is a special note that there is a share of the work of “the same person who invented Tetris.
Anastasia ASKOCHENSKAYA
All conflicts are cumulative. In addition, over time, the details are forgotten, only feelings remain: betrayal, distrust, dissatisfaction, sadness, loneliness.
Learn to discuss everything, even the smallest misunderstandings, immediately after they have occurred - in a calm atmosphere, without shouting and insults.
2. Talk if anger and irritation have not yet subsided
As we said before, you need to give yourself time to cool down. Talking about what happened after a while is normal. If emotions get the better of you, there is a risk of only aggravating the situation and transferring the quarrel to new level(even more complex, of course).
3. Trying to make amends with sex
A very insidious way that looks beautiful only in the movies, but in reality it only makes it worse. Firstly, this method leaves the problem at the same point, the partner’s resentment does not disappear, and understatement will corrode your relationship for a long time to come. And secondly, sex subsequently risks becoming a less pleasant activity, causing associations with quarrels, resentments and negative emotions.
4. Engage in "settlement of accounts"
The phrase “I agree, I was wrong, but you ...” must be forgotten once and for all.
Pointing out the flaws of a partner, and at the same time listing everything that brings (or brought) discomfort for a long time in order to look better against her background, is an extremely unsuccessful technique.
You can and even need to express your dissatisfaction, but in time. It is worth learning to discuss problems in everyday life as they arise, without conflict and in a polite manner. Now is not the time to bring up past hurts.
5. Gnawing on yourself (long and painful)
To admit that I was wrong - yes, to drive and think only about it - no. Inner torment can play a cruel joke on you.
Firstly, you may feel that you have already “suffered” enough, so it’s as if you don’t need to apologize (in fact, no).
Secondly, during the torment, anger and irritation can flare up with renewed vigor, and the conflict will resume.
Thirdly, it often happens that the offender is so upset because of his intemperance that the partner already has to console him: “Well, I’ll forgive you, it’s okay.”
In fact, this situation is manipulation in its purest form. Of course, it is pleasant for the aggressor himself, but it has a destructive power for relationships. Agree, the injured party (and in this case it's not you) should still receive consolation and compensation.
Ways
A great way to make peace is to cook a romantic dinner for your wife and tell her how much you love her, ask for forgiveness
If there was a quarrel in your family and the only thing that is on your mind now is “I want to make peace”, then you should choose a method that will be successful in your particular case.
- The right thing to do. If the wife is positive about surprises, then you can invite musicians who will give a small concert right in front of your windows. Fireworks can be set off in her honor in the night sky.
- Arrange a romantic dinner for your spouse, where you will present your apologies. If you can cook it with your own hands, you will delight your beloved even more.
- You can finally find the path to reconciliation by doing what the wife has been asking for a long time. For example, to make repairs that have long been promised. Or buy a slow cooker, which she dreamed of for so long.
- If the wife loves soft toys, you can come to put up with a big teddy bear. I would definitely melt at the sight of such a gift.
If the spouse does not speak
If the wife does not want to listen to anything and does not talk, send a courier to her with a large bouquet of flowers and a note with apologies and words of love
Let's look at ways to make peace with your beloved wife if she is silent and does not make contact.
- You can write a letter. It will be especially pleasant to receive a romantic message that contains a poem, catch phrases. No need to think about what to write so that the wife can definitely forgive. Just convey your feelings, ask for forgiveness, you can list the reasons why you love her so much. Do not skimp on compliments, on sincere words.
- You can ask for forgiveness using SMS or write a message to social network. The main thing is to choose the right words and be sure to ask to be forgiven.
- Some men include children. So you can ask the child to come up and ask his mother to forgive his father.
- You can order a bouquet of flowers, remembering to attach a note with words of love and a request for forgiveness. Let the courier deliver them to where the wife will be - home or work.
path of reconciliation
Restoring relationships after a quarrel is necessary only when you calm down and can think clearly.
Step 1 - Take your time to put up
Each person needs a different amount of time to “recover” after a conflict. While your opponent is on edge, it is useless to try to discuss the reason for the quarrel with him. Even if you admit that you are wrong, and he agrees with this, seething emotions will prevail, and the conflict will escalate with renewed vigor. To prevent this, wait until the “heat of passions” subsides, and then calmly tell your loved one that you want to talk. If the conflict was serious, then it is better to move reconciliation from home to a public place. In this case, a change of scenery will be beneficial.
Step 2 - Don't insist on being right
Do not get hung up on the details of the conflict, do not find out who is right and who is wrong. From your point of view, you will always be right, even if you are wrong. Try to focus on understanding the feelings of the person with whom you had a fight. A loved one is offended just like you, and also believes that he is right.
Step 3 - put yourself in the other person's shoes
When trying to make up after a fight, let your opponent know that you understand his feelings, and if you were in his place, you would feel the same way. Focus on his hurt. Do not be afraid to admit out loud that you are to blame for something before your loved one. Try to start the reconciliation with the phrase: "I'm sorry I upset you." During the conversation, try not to use the union "but". It can ruin all your initiative.
Step 4 - do not be offended by a loved one for his reaction
Sometimes it happens that you apologized to him for your words or deed that caused the conflict, and he replied that you really did something bad. Such a reaction of a partner can cause you resentment and provoke a new quarrel. Pull yourself together, take a deep breath and nod your head in response. The main goal of reconciliation is to take responsibility for the fact that because of you the other person felt bad.
Know when to be quiet
Men don't like being interrupted. Sometimes it is better to listen to a man and do as he wants, because he is the head of the family. If you do not reckon with him, you will not have a family.
Do not criticize your loved one in front of relatives, friends, acquaintances. This hurts the pride and brings the couple to parting. Even if you have complaints about your husband, express them personally and in a calm tone.
Learn to forgive his mistakes
There are no ideal people. If you sincerely want to improve relations with your husband, you will have to understand him and forgive him for mistakes and misunderstandings. When you treat your spouse with understanding, you will see reciprocity on his part.
Remember that constantly reminding your spouse of his mistakes, you do not give him an incentive to become better. Instead, you alienate him from you and destroy the family.
Don't jump to conclusions
Often women are disappointed in the companion and think that it is better to break off the relationship. There is no need to rush to make a decision. Not the fact that the next marriage will be better. Perhaps it won't exist at all.
Don't Demand Immediate Decisions
If the marriage is on the verge of destruction, do not shift all responsibility for the relationship to the spouse. Don't rush him to make a decision. It is likely that he will want to leave the family where it is easier. Then he will repent, but the relationship will be destroyed. Give yourself and your spouse time to calm down and figure out how to move on with your life.
Don't deny reality
If the couple has problems, do not try to run away from them or shut up. Instead, face challenges and resolve to deal with them. Think about how good it will be if you work hand in hand through all your differences.
Sometimes troubles only strengthen the marriage, so you should not be afraid of them. If you want to understand how to improve relationships in the family, remember why you are together, how strong your love is. Realize that you can overcome obstacles if you overcome them together.
If I'm to blame
If you understand that you yourself are to blame for the conflict, you will have to change tactics. It is unacceptable to let the situation take its course, otherwise even a small quarrel can lead to discord in the family. Mutual reproaches and resentment accumulate, so over time the conflict will be more and more difficult to resolve.
Romantic evening with a transition to an erotic continuation
The signal for reconciliation on your part will be the preparation of a delicious dinner with romantic overtones. For the sake of such a moment, children can be taken to their grandmother. Write an SMS with a hint that you are really looking forward to when your loved one returns from work. Before his arrival, put yourself in order and dress up. Put on soft music that you both love. Light candles to create an atmosphere of romance and tenderness.
This is a proven method of how to calm down after a quarrel, which will not leave a man indifferent. He will be glad that you decided to leave the conflict behind, and will forget about his offense. You will spend a great evening together, which will benefit further relationships.
A pleasant surprise
If you do not know how to make peace with your husband after a major quarrel, give him a gift that will make him happy. The gift doesn't have to be expensive.
It is important that he call positive emotions. It could be a T-shirt with the logo of his favorite computer game or tickets to a concert of a band he likes.
Let the spouse understand that you are ready to make peace, he is not indifferent to you. It would be better if, in addition to the gift, you apologize so that there is no trace of the unpleasant aftertaste after the quarrel.
You hurt him a lot
If you hit your man hard, forget about pride. In this case, you need to know exactly how to make peace with your husband, even if he does not make contact
It is important here not only to apologize, but also to explain that you realized the mistake, quarreled with him because of nervous tension and will not allow this in the future. Explain that you consider him the best man, and everything that happens is temporary difficulties that you can easily resolve together
You can ask your spouse about what he does not like about your behavior. Then he will make contact and tell you how he would like to see you. If a woman is to blame, she should be ready to calmly accept criticism from him. Say that you will listen to his wishes and try to put them into practice. Delicious dinner and female affection will be a good addition to the apology.
Husband wanted to leave you for a long time
If it came to a divorce, and the quarrel seemed like a good reason for your spouse to break off the relationship, returning love will be more difficult. Remember how the man behaved in last days. Perhaps he allowed himself to spend the night not at home, showed coldness and irritation towards you. All this gives reason to think about whether another woman is the cause of your quarrels.
There is an effective way to make peace with your husband after a strong quarrel. When your spouse is about to divorce, talk to him. Although there are few chances to keep him, they still exist. Make a promise that you will listen to the requirements of your spouse and try to become the ideal woman for him.
It's not worth it to go over the top with an apology. If your husband openly laughs at you or dismissive attempts to talk, let him go. Perhaps it's time for you to think about relationships apart from each other or open yourself up to new love.
How to reconcile with your husband after a strong quarrel
There are no married couples who would avoid disagreements, scandals and quarrels. But the wife has the wisdom to understand that strong emotions can offend, and forgiveness must be asked for peace in the house.
It would be correct to avoid a situation where each of the spouses is waiting for the initiative to put up with the other. In order to properly reconcile with her husband, the wife must be able to admit her mistakes and talk about them.
A woman should be able to admit her guilt and get rid of the eternal desire to be right. Stereotypes, pride, excessive discontent and aggression create conflict situations and quarrels.
Tips on how to make peace with your husband if he does not make contact
Even if the spouse is very offended and does not want to talk, the problem can be solved by the wife by deciding to apologize first.
Follow the advice of a psychologist on how to easily avoid a protracted quarrel and quickly reconcile with your husband:
Words of apology are very difficult for some individuals, however, these are productive words, sometimes it is enough to say even only them (subject to sincerity) and admit one's guilt or mistake.
Remember romance, put a note in a folder with documents, write an SMS, bake a cake with the inscription “Let's live together”, women's imagination has no limits.
Don't be silent. A heart-to-heart conversation is worth weighing, it will either completely solve your quarrel, or pull out those pitfalls that are better to forget about. But in any case, the problem needs to be discussed. Your partner is not a telepath, therefore, all your thoughts, feelings and desires must be voiced. But be as tactful as possible.
Let the quarrel cool down, do not make decisions "on a hot hand", do not make sudden decisions and do not succumb to resentment and all kinds of emotions.
How to reconcile with your husband if it came to divorce
Divorce as an extreme measure to resolve conflicts in marriage can be a mistake if both rush to extremes.
Life is full of tough problems in the family too: inattention to each other, misunderstanding, betrayal, a major quarrel, financial factors, etc. These reasons can aggravate the precarious situation of marital relations, but should not be an obstacle if the wife herself wants to save the marriage
These reasons may exacerbate the precarious situation of marital relations, but should not be an obstacle if the wife herself wants to save the marriage.
- Make a conscious decision to save your marriage.
- Try to find your own fault in the ongoing everyday difficulties.
- Treat your partner's wishes with the utmost respect.
- Ask someone close for help.
- Find out the true cause of the conflict. Very often quarrels between spouses occur because of mere trifles. However, sometimes these trifles hide other, significant, problems. For example, a wife is jealous of her husband for his work colleague, but does not speak about it directly, but finds fault with him because he scattered socks in the bedroom. Naturally, in this situation, the true cause of the conflict is not socks, but jealousy. So try to get to the bottom of your conflict and think about how to resolve it. If you hide the reason for disagreements with your husband, even from yourself, your quarrels will never stop and over time it will be more difficult to return a good relationship.
- Don't stoop to insults. No matter how angry and offended you are with your spouse, never go over to insults. Remember that any quarrel is temporary. You will make peace, but harsh words will remain in your memory and will imperceptibly worsen your relationship. In addition, mutual insults will not help resolve the conflict, but will only move you away from reconciliation, so behave with dignity even in a fit of anger.
- Learn to apologize. Some women are never the first to reconcile, even if they understand that they themselves are to blame for the quarrel. Their pride does not allow them to admit their guilt and apologize. This is wrong, because the husband is the closest person to you, so there is nothing humiliating to approach him and ask for forgiveness.
- Let the man cool down. Do not try to make peace with your husband when he is in a state of strong emotional arousal. Wait until the man calms down and only then approach him with a conversation and attempts to improve relations. Or maybe you don’t have to do anything - the husband will cool down and want to talk himself. Often there are situations when, after a quarrel, the husband does not spend the night at home, but returns the next morning and is the first to go to reconciliation. Some men, when angry, will even take off their wedding ring to show their wife how offended they are. All this is a manifestation of emotions.
- Make your husband happy. If you have already apologized, but the final reconciliation has not happened yet, try to appease your spouse with something. For example, cook him a delicious dinner or give him a gift. By doing this, you will show the man that you are ready to try for him and your relationship. Having understood this, a man will forgive the offense more easily. However, this method is only appropriate if the preliminary conversation between you has already taken place, but the husband has not yet forgiven you. If he does not want to talk to you at all, then such methods will not help.
- Never threaten divorce. Some women are very fond of manipulating their husbands in this way and threaten to file for divorce at every quarrel. If you really value your family, never start a conversation about divorce, because at one point your spouse may agree to your attack and it will really come to a divorce.
- Don't drag other people into the fight. The conflict between husband and wife is a matter that concerns only the two of them. Do not ask someone else to reconcile you, such as your mother, mother-in-law, children, or girlfriend. This will only make your husband angry. The ideal option is not to tell anyone at all that you had a fight with your spouse.
Reconciliation by photo
The ritual will require a photograph in which a person is depicted alone, a green cloth (tablecloth, scarf) and a candle bought in the church. Cover the table, put on the tablecloth in the middle the image of the person with whom you want to quickly reconcile. Light a candle, take it with your right hand and, looking at the photo, drive over it against the movement of the clock. During the manipulations, read the words of the conspiracy nine times:
After that, leave a candle near the photo. When it burns out, wrap the remaining cinder with the photo in a green tablecloth. Put it in a place where no one will accidentally find it.
Prevention
In order not to bring things to scandals, psychologists give advice on how to avoid quarrels in relationships:
- communicate: talk to each other daily so that there are no unexplored spots on the map of your relationship;
- spend leisure time together: go out of town, go to the cinema, visit exhibitions, make a general circle of acquaintances - there will be no time or energy left for quarrels;
- study each other, ask questions about what someone likes and vice versa - you need to do this throughout your life;
- do not hesitate to show love to each other, make gifts more often and say compliments;
- be honest, even if the truth is unpleasant;
- when a serious problem is brewing, it is better to seek help from a third party (the best option is a psychologist).
Step by step instructions for everyone
To improve relations after a quarrel, you need to build the right line of behavior. If you don’t behave right away, you can ruin everything completely. Psychologists advise taking several steps towards reconciliation.
Step 1: Don't Run
Even after a serious quarrel, do not run away from a person, even though at that moment you can literally hate him. The maximum that is allowed to be done is to go to another room. Otherwise, leaving can be regarded as a point in the relationship.
Step 2: Calm down after a fight
There are lots of ways to calm down. For example, drink water or do some simple breathing exercises. Or open a window and take a deep breath of fresh air.
Step 3: Ask for forgiveness
Apologize for being guilty, for shouting, misunderstanding your opponent, behaving inappropriately, offending. There is always something to apologize for. It just needs to be done sincerely. And then, regardless of the answer, smile.
Step 4: Keep your distance
Only after that it will be appropriate to leave if you do not live together (but having previously explained that you really need it), or do housework (offering help to an opponent). Do not return to the topic of the quarrel. Take a break from several hours to 3 days to calm down and objectively assess the situation.
Step 5: Restore Good Relationships
At this stage, it's time to appease the person with whom the quarrel occurred, especially if you are to blame. The methods of reconciliation will be discussed below.
Step 6. Solve the problem to the end
After reconciliation, have a frank but calm conversation and discuss the keystone that caused the quarrel. Try to find a compromise, make concessions. The voice should be soft, calm the interlocutor, think over your arguments in advance so as not to accidentally offend him. And most importantly, keep yourself in control. If you feel that the conflict is flaring up again, stop the discussion and pause again.
Many skip the last paragraph, afraid to return to a sore subject so that a new scandal does not flare up. This mistake then comes out sideways: the problem, along with the remaining resentment, does not disappear anywhere, but grows like a snowball. And next time, she might ruin the relationship. Therefore, in a timely manner, solve all the difficulties that cause conflict situations with loved ones.
Alexey Pajitnov, the author of Tetris, has not received a penny for a brilliant game for ten years. Money flowed into the state budget and into the accounts of American companies. Why did the development turn out to be unprofitable for the creator?
Pajitnov could do nothing to change the situation. However, the scientist continued to fight. The confrontation ended in 1996, when Alexei took over as co-founder of Tetris.
How did the scientist's life change after the creation of the famous game, and why didn't he make money on the popular invention? Faktrum imbued with serious problems of a frivolous puzzle.
Russian"Tetris" - a happy accident
Alexey Pajitnov did not develop the game purposefully. An ordinary engineer of the Computing Center of the USSR Academy of Sciences was checking the power of a new Soviet computer - Elektronik 60. The tests were carried out using the program. During the test, text characters popped up on the display, which quickly filled the free space. "Spent" lines Pajitnov deleted. Then he came up with the idea of a brilliant puzzle.
Aleksey was inspired by the Pentomino Puzzle game for four-block figures. True, the elements in the puzzle consisted of five cubes. And this was a significant drawback of the game: the computers of that time could not cope with the processing of information. The Soviet engineer dealt with the problem masterfully.
He reduced the number of blocks to four. Also, unlike the Pentomino Puzzle, the pieces only fell down. From that moment on, the puzzle began to spread like a virus. The first players were Pajitnov's colleagues. A couple of weeks later, the puzzle left the walls of the Academy of Sciences. About "Tetris" started talking in the USSR.
A few months later, Comrade Pajitnova transferred the puzzle to the IBM PC (American personal computers). The game became interested in the United States, it became clear that the puzzle was a source of huge profits. However, Aleksey Pajitnov saw a profit only ten years later. The Soviet Union did not immediately realize the uniqueness of the game, the American companies almost appropriated the puzzle.
The history of "Tetris": the struggle for rights
In the USSR, they woke up only after the number of players exceeded one million. Microsoft Corporation and Spectrum Holobyte made good money on someone else's idea by releasing own versions"Tetris" to the world market. The absence of a patent and license made appropriation of the idea legal.
The Academy of Sciences drew attention to the puzzle in time. However, the financial situation of Alexei Pajitnov has not changed. The direct buyer - Robert Stein, the owner of the Andromeda company - directly interacted with the Elektronorgtekhnika company. The real inventor of Tetris did not seem to exist. The patent, which was finally issued in the USSR, also belonged to the state.
The first profit of the game creator
Pajitnov officially worked for the Academy of Sciences, which meant that all developments belonged to the state. For the appropriation of the results of intellectual work, the engineer received a job and a salary. By the way, in one of the interviews, Pajitnov admitted that the conditions at the Academy were specific. In offices designed for five people, sometimes 18 engineers worked.
The creator of Tetris received the first profit from his idea in 1996. After emigrating to the United States in 1991, Pajitnov set about obtaining a license for the game and creating the Tetris company. Now the income partially fell on the account of the real developer of the puzzle. In 1996, Pajitnov began his career at Microsoft and created a set of logic games called Pandora's Box. Puzzles brought the developer a good profit.
Everything ingenious is simple. Rarely, very rarely, such simplicity becomes a world property, and that is exactly what happened with Tetris - a program that changed the life of one particular person, influenced the history of the gaming industry and brought happiness to millions of people. Its creator, Alexey Leonidovich Pajitnov, needs no introduction.
Unfortunately, far from all compatriots know the “world” history of the formation of Tetris, but meanwhile it is a real detective story, not inferior to any “Santa Barbara” in terms of intensity of passions.
In fact, the graphic and logical idea of Tetris was not invented by Alexei. In the late 70s and early 80s, puzzles by the American mathematician Solomon Golomb were successfully sold all over the world (including the USSR), the most famous of which was called the Pentomino Puzzle. Their idea was quite simple and painfully familiar to any contemporary - from several figures that had now familiar (see the figure below) forms, it was necessary to assemble the given figures. Aleksey's fateful acquaintance with this game took place in the early 80s, when such puzzles were still a curiosity.
Alexey Pajitnov was educated as an ordinary Soviet engineer, like hundreds of thousands of people in the USSR. He worked in those distant years at the Moscow Aviation Institute (from which many talented and famous people subsequently came out). By education, Alexei, like his aforementioned American colleague, was a mathematician, and therefore, just at the beginning of the 80s, he got acquainted with the miracle of computer technology, which was actually inaccessible to people of other professions. As you know, at that time people who were indifferent to computers simply did not exist - either people did not recognize them and did not see them as more meaningful than furniture, or they instantly fell in love. Needless to say, Pajitnov - not without his own pleasure - became an adherent of the second group. According to his recollections, a person left alone with a computer turned into a kind of old Hottabych, and was capable of his own small, local miracle.
As soon as the opportunity presented itself to Alexei, he moved from the institute to the computer center at the Academy of Sciences, killing two birds with one stone: he took up work that was really interesting to him, and gained access to the most powerful computer technology that existed at that time in the Union. At the new place, Pajitnov came to grips with the problems of creating artificial intelligence, computer graphics and issues of computer voice recognition. At that time he was 29 years old. Therefore, there was nothing strange in the fact that in his free time he dabbled in writing small and very simple toys. The moment of his transition to a new place of work, by a lucky chance, coincided with a passion for Golomb puzzles - and in the bright head of a Russian engineer for the first time the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating a computer version dawned. Pajitnov quite strongly supplemented the idea - it was necessary to assemble the “figures in a glass” in real time, and the figures consisted of five elements (Pentamino - from the Greek “Penta” - five), and, according to the idea, had to rotate around their own center of gravity during the fall. Alas, the electronic "brains" of the machines of that time turned out to be too weak to implement the idea of human brains - there were simply not enough resources for the computer "Pentamino". Then Pajitnov decides to reduce the number of blocks that made up the falling figures to four, thus embodying the less resource-intensive "Tetramino" (from the Greek "Tetra" - four). The abbreviated name "Tetris" stuck a little later.
Simple, in general, the idea gave subsequently surprising results. Aleksey wrote the first version of the game quickly - taking as a basis seven figures, which later became the standard set of Tetris, he programmed the backbone of the game in two weeks. In it, not even graphic images of figures fell into the “glass”, but their textual counterparts - consisting of spaces, brackets, etc. It all looked eerily primitive - the game was created on the basis of the "folk" language Pascal, and on the computer "Electronics-60", which did not even have a normal monitor. But the game worked, and how it worked!
At first, Tetris did not go beyond the same laboratory. Pajitnov, having tested the initial version on himself and his colleagues, attracted a comrade-in-arms, sixteen-year-old Vadim Gerasimov, and within two months the first graphic, color version Tetris, which had sane controls and small amenities, like a high score table. An important point was the fact that Gerasimov actually helped to "port" the game to the PC platform, which is gaining popularity every day. Together with the PC, the first 5.25" disk drives also gained popularity, so the issue of the initial "replication" was resolved rather quickly - having copied the resulting fun onto floppy disks, Alexey and his comrades spread it around the sidelines of the research institute. A friend copied from a friend, then gave three more friends to copy, and slowly the electronic “letter of happiness” spread throughout the capital, and slipped out of it. The game became famous in the USSR.
It was 1985, more and more warm reviews came about Tetris, and gradually Aleksey was inclined to think that foreign countries should also get acquainted with his creation. The first foreigners who tasted the delights of the program of the Russian genius were the Budapesters from the Institute for Cybernetics Problems, with whom the Research Institute collaborated at that time on one of the numerous programs of the “fraternal peoples”. The PC version of Tetris was leaked abroad, and already in Hungary, it was adapted to the needs of alternative platforms - Commodore C64 and Apple 2. Luckily for Alexei, at that moment Robert Stein, a Hungarian of English origin, was visiting the Institute, whose advantages did not end with only foreign passport. Stein, by a fatal coincidence, turned out to be the owner of his own game studio Andromeda. An experienced businessman immediately felt the potential of the toy. Without putting things off indefinitely, Stein offers to buy the rights to all versions of the game at once: on Apple 2 and C64 from the Hungarians, and the PC version, respectively, from the Russians. No sooner said than done: Robert telegraphs to the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, and offers the Russians to buy the rights to "Tetris" without any specific amounts announced yet. Who would turn away such a gift of fate? Pajitnov was not one of those who miss his chance, and he agrees.
At this time, Stein returns to London and begins to search for markets for the game, and London is already (by the standards of the mid-80s) the Far Abroad with all the ensuing obstacles for those times. Therefore, due to political delays, the Hungarian receives a historical telex with Pajitnov's answer only after a month and a half. However, instead of waiting for an answer, and then humanly going on a business trip and signing a contract, the Hungarian is not sitting idle, he is frantically looking for someone to fuse the future hit. He first offers a version of Tetris to those who are closer - the English Mirrorsoft. The owner of this company at that time was the media magnate Robert Maxwell, the owner of the British newspaper corporation Mirror Newspaper Group and the American Macmillan. Later, he will still say his weighty word in this story. The gentlemen from Mirrorsoft got acquainted with Tetris, played a little, and ... blasphemously doubted the ability of the product to sell well. The project was sent for an alternative test to their American counterparts at Spectrum Holobyte. Well versed in games and ways to make money out of thin air, the Americans saw considerable potential in the program. The Yankees communicated their opinion to the British, who agreed with Stein. The result of this leapfrog was a contract between Mirrorsoft and Andromeda, which was estimated at a ridiculous amount of 3,000 pounds and a floating percentage of income (7 - 15% depending on the number of copies sold). And Stein did all this, not having rights from Pajitnov himself at that time!
At this time, Alexei Leonidovich was in Moscow, in complete ignorance of what was happening with his offspring. Therefore, when he received a second message from Stein, in which he offered Pajitnov three-quarters of all his income, plus a good amount of cash, his joy knew no bounds. It did not decrease even when the Hungarian "after" offered to pay part of the advance with Commodore computers, since he was in some way the official distributor of this company. Alexey seemed to be disposed to such a development of events, but he has not yet made a final decision. An important point in these negotiations remains that it was only about the PC version of Tetris. In the winter of 1985, Stein comes to Moscow in order to document the relationship, but he never signs anything. The Russians (represented by individual representatives of the Academy of Sciences) tritely ask for more than he offered them in his telegrams. The Hungarian had to leave with nothing.
In the meantime, events are developing according to an unpredictable scenario. The Americans from Spectrum Holobyte, who had a version of the game from the British from Mirrorsoft, for which they allegedly owned the rights sold to them by Stein, seriously took up the program. Events unfold during the years of the consequences of the Cold War, the confrontation between capitalism and socialism is noticeable to the naked eye. And against this background, the game from the Russians already looked indescribably attractive, regardless of the content. It is in accordance with their ideas about the Russians that the Americans reshape the design of the game, leaving the mechanics unchanged. The black background is changed to lubok screensavers, “Kalinka-Malinka” and “Eh, uhny!” sound as ambient, military elements appear here and there, portraits of Yuri Gagarin flicker, and the apotheosis becomes a screensaver in which in front of the cathedral Basil's Cathedral, Matthias Rust lands in his famous Cessna plane! In a word - the game changed and from a program created by an enthusiast, it turned into a full-fledged commercial product, albeit a Western one.
Stein had no choice but to quickly get a contract from the Russians. It was already 87 years old, and in the West they were preparing to release a revised version of Tetris, believing that they had every reason for this (the rights bought from Stein). And there were just no reasons. The owner of Andromeda was tossed between a rock and a hard place - he still did not have rights from the author, and at the same time he had no idea how to inform his Western colleagues about the need for a delay of almost finished game. As a result, cowardice won, and in 1988 a release struck in America and England.
Tetris immediately gained popularity and began to be sold in very good circulation, gradually gaining more and more popularity. In less than a year, Tetris will be awarded several major awards from the American Software Developers Association. In particular, as the best consumer software, the best original development and the best entertainment program.
Aleksey, meanwhile, left the Academy of Sciences and joined the newly formed company Electronorgtechnika (ELORG). There he was explained what he was doing wrong, and why his product was released in the West without his participation. Pajitnov agrees with the weighty arguments of more experienced colleagues. Needless to say, after that, they literally piled on Stein, demanding to resolve the situation that got out of control. Pressure from Russia was aggravated by similar actions on the part of Stein's compatriots. Especially after the game raked in so many awards, and the ubiquitous CBS journalists unearthed the Russian Genius and interviewed him, clarifying many things. The dishonest Hungarian had no choice but to sign the damned treaty in May 1988 on the terms of the Russians. And again, only on the PC version of the game. Meanwhile, events did not stand still. Western Tetris acquired fame and awards, and moved further around the world. At the same time, technological progress was also moving - the concept of "game" and the computer began to delimit, and the era of the first consoles was slowly advancing in the world ...
Sensing where the wind was blowing, Mirrorsoft demanded that Stein purchase the rights to the console and arcade versions of Tetris from the Russians, and in the meantime she herself sold the rights to the arcade version (without any reason at all) to Atari, a fairly well-known company in certain circles, which immediately resold them to the Japanese Sega. How! It is also worth mentioning that Stein, who tried to acquire the coveted rights from ELORG, did not achieve anything. Meanwhile, the PC version of Tetris is being released in Japan, as well as (more importantly) its Famicom version on the console from Nintendo, which eventually diverges in the Land of the Rising Sun in more than two million copies! In order to explain how this became possible, it is necessary to dig a little deeper into the past.
A few words should be said about the prefix "tycoon". In the late 70s, Nintendo begins to gain momentum, and launches a product that was revolutionary at that time - a Game & Watch pocket toy (later we had its analogue - “Just you wait!”), Which immediately becomes a bestseller. A little later (84), Nintendo releases the GameBoy product, which is even more significant for its development, and is just looking for a game that can bring super popularity to the pocket console. At the time Tetris spread around the world, the relationship between Nintendo and Atari was like a cat and a dog due to some major "setups" in the American market, and subsequent protracted litigation. And again (for the umpteenth time!) His Majesty chance intervenes in the game. In June 88, the president of the American division of Nintendo, Minoru Arakawa, accidentally saw a computer with Tetris installed at some home appliances exhibition. He immediately felt the charm of entertainment, and was inflamed with a desire to acquire the rights to a portable (console) version of the toy. He began to find out who they belonged to at the moment, and went to Atari, where they quite sincerely believed that all the rights belonged to them, since they “honestly” bought them from Mirrorsoft. The goose is not a friend to the pig, Arakawa understands that it is useless to talk to Atari. However, a stroke of luck knocks on the door again, and pits Arakawa against Hank Rogers.
Hank Rogers is one of the key figures in this whole story. The owner of a small Japanese firm, Bullet Proof Software, was the person to whom Spectrum Holobyte sold the rights to publish Tetris in the Japanese market. True, only for its PC version, since Atari had all the other rights at that time. But the enterprising Yankee knew how to knock on doors. Very soon, he manages to squeeze out of Atari the rights to the console version for the same market. And almost at that moment, he meets Arakawa!
Mr. Arakawa immediately took the bull by the horns. He needed Tetris. The release of the Famicom version was a landmark event in the company's history, but at the time of the unfolding events, the portable version of the game was much more valuable to Arakawa, as the most suitable candidate for the Gameboy expansion. Moreover, he was ready to pay exorbitant prices for the rights to this option. Rogers was by nature not a stupid person, and suspected that the situation was not clean with the rights, so he decides to trace the entire chain of copyright holders, starting from the source. In February 1989 he went to Moscow. Stein, from whom Rogers had begged for the rights to a portable version not long before, felt that he smelled of fried food, and urgently headed there. The third person to travel to Moscow is Kevin Maxwell, the son of the media mogul who owned Mirrorsoft and (a priori) Spectrum Holobyte.
What was the surprise of Rogers (who came to Alexei and showed him the Japanese version of Tetris for the Famicom as a presentation) when he found out that no one had sold any rights to anyone, and they had never heard of Nintendo here! A complete analogue of the Famicom, known as Dendy, will appear in Russia much later, while no one knows anything about miracle consoles in the USSR. However, Pajitnov had much more reasons to be surprised: it turns out that his game is already “walking” all over the world and in all variants, but he still hasn’t received anything from it. Taking advantage of the moment, Rogers signs a contract to transfer the rights to the portable version of the game to him, and promises to return with a representative of Nintendo, who was powerful by that time, for the sake of genuine rights for the console version.
Stein, who arrived a little later, was briefly explained who he was, and showed the contract signed with him at the very beginning, where it was clearly said about the transfer of rights only to the PC version. The Hungarian did not prove that he was not a camel and agreed on all charges. Since the credibility of his comrade had already been undermined, all he could get from the visit was to transfer the rights to the arcade version of the game to him (for slot machines), and for "very expensive". With that he left.
A little later, Maxwell's son appears in ELORG. Comrades shove a cartridge with a game under his nose, where it is understandable English language the name of the game and the name of the distributor company are read: "Mirrorsoft". Then they ask the question: “On what grounds does this cartridge exist?”. The boy, who did not own all the information, cannot give clear explanations, and leaves home in a dumbfounded state. As soon as he arrives in England and informs his father about the results of the meeting, pressure begins against ELORGE. Realizing that the positions of Mirrorsoft and Atari are under threat, Robert Maxwell uses the full power of the information network he created, raises a fuss, and with this brings the problem to the level of the government. According to information unconfirmed by officials, the government of Great Britain and the USSR decide to help Maxwell, for the purpose of which the pressure on ELORG from the fatherland is increasing. However, the Russians never "cave in" - and here's why.
Because Rogers didn't cheat. While Maxwell was unwinding his affair, Rogers - incognito, in the strictest secrecy (so that competitors from Atari would not sniff out) brings Arakawa and his legal adviser Howard Lincoln (who became the future president of Nintendo) to Moscow. In the capital, they sign the most important contract. On March 21, 1989, the largest player in the electronic entertainment market lost all rights to Tetris (for the video market) for an amount that independent analysts estimate in the range of 3-5 million dollars. Along the way, after long litigation, serious damage was inflicted on Nintendo's competitor, Atari. Far-sighted businessmen killed two birds with one stone.
Pajitnov himself received very little from this money. True, there were rumors that the government of the USSR gave Alexei "For Services to the Motherland" such luxurious things as the 286th computer and an entire Moscow apartment.
Tetris has become a super hit of all times and peoples. Thanks to him, in the first few years of its existence, GameBoy sold more than 30 million copies, and about 15 million cartridges with the program were sold. Subsequently, GameBoy became the most successfully sold console in the history of electronic entertainment (more than 100 million officially sold consoles) . Tetris itself brought Nintendo, according to various estimates, from 2 to 3 billion dollars in net profit, taking into account all ports, versions and royalties. For 20 years of existence, all types of "Tetris" (including official statistics, electronic devices and illegal sales) have spread around the world in a fantastic circulation, which is estimated at a quarter of a billion copies. Needless to say, no other game has been able to achieve such popularity. Yes, and it is unlikely that it will ever be possible.
The further fate of Pajitnov was not easy, but interesting. Realizing that you can earn a living doing what you love, in 1989 he, together with his friend Vladimir Pokhilko and with the participation of the same Hank Rogers, founded the AnimaTek studio, the main activity of which is the development of various computer puzzles and artificial intelligence problems in games. At first AnimaTek's clients were such well-known Russian firms as Paragraph, Doka, Dialog and a number of smaller companies. In total, by 1991, Alexey and his comrades had developed or taken part in the development of more than three hundred games! AnimaTek's work was subsequently used in such well-known projects as Microsoft's Age of Empires and Final Fantasy Tactics (Square).
However, in the early 90s, the post-Soviet market for games was non-existent, and in order to receive adequate pay for his work, Pajitnov moved to America. AnimaTek's headquarters are relocated to San Francisco and continue to focus on the gaming business. Vladimir Pokhilko did not leave his friend, and also moved to the United States, where he remained the manager of AnimaTek for a long time. By the way, a little later, another character in our history moves to America - Vadim Gerasimov, through whose efforts Tetris once got on the IBM PC. However, Gerasimov renounced his rights to Tetris back in 1987, so his further fate had nothing to do with the game.
Aleksey left the management of the company at Pokhilko, and in the same 91 (and again with the participation of Rogers) he created a campaign with the telling name "Tetris", where he developed various kinds of puzzles, including those based on the classic Tetris. And it is at this stage that Pajitnov finally begins to receive money from the games he developed. The fate of AnimaTek in America is not easy. The Russians publish games of different genres one after another, but none of them manage to sell in large numbers. In particular, society completely ignores the pioneering El-Fish project (something like a computer aquarium), which, in fact, was the company's first computer animation. And then the heyday of the electronic entertainment market begins, and the Pajitnov company, which is not able to compete with professional game developers, switches the arrows to the rails of 3D graphics modeling programs. In particular, the company produced such products as World Builder (a program for modeling three-dimensional landscapes) and Caviar (working with voxel technologies).
Pajitnov himself in 1996 goes "under the wing" of the almighty Microsoft in order to do what he likes the most - puzzles. From now on, he becomes a game designer-consultant, and under his leadership is a small close-knit team of a dozen people. The first result of their joint activity was the release in 1997 of The Puzzle Collection, which is a set of puzzles of a very different nature. If some of them involved exclusively gray brain cells, then others were designed for a certain reaction speed, the ability to quickly make the right decisions, and so on. And in September 1999, Pandora Box was released - a collection of seven puzzles with an intriguing title, a kind of storyline and beautiful visual performance. Different time periods (from Ancient Egypt to modern skyscrapers), high-quality photographs, and reproductions of famous artists and sculptors - all this served as a backdrop for excellent, smart games. Moreover, in both the first and second cases, Microsoft did not hesitate to resort to additional PR - the games contained the line “from the creator of Tetris” ...
After the release of Pandora's Box, Alexey's eyes turned to online. On the official Microsoft server, there was even a special department of the MSN Game Zone - Mind Aerobics. In fact, this is the same set of static puzzles, but with some innovations, mainly related to game modes. In particular, people got the opportunity to compete with each other on the Internet, move to the top of the podium, or simply follow the “fights” of acquaintances. The game has been very popular for a long time.
Such is the difficult story of Alexei Pajitnov. Now he is a wealthy and respected person, an employee of the famous Microsoft, lives and works in the United States. The Russian genius released his games several more times - mostly puzzles, very interesting and solid products. His Hexic HD is included with Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360, and PC users have just recently been able to check out his latest title, Dwice (described in our Crescent Casuals review). But they were not destined to achieve such success again as with Tetris. However, no other game in the world could even come close to Tetris in terms of popularity.
The most legendary Russian game programmer is, of course, Alexey Pajitnov, the author of Tetris. The legend says that an ordinary Russian programmer created an ingenious game that went around the world, multiplying millions of copies, but did not bring a penny to its creator. You can't say it's not true. Indeed, Tetris won unheard of popularity, and Pajitnov did not receive the full income due to him. However, the history of the spread of Tetris is full of nuances that few people know about ...
Aleksey Pajitnov, an employee of the Computing Center of the USSR Academy of Sciences, peed on simple toys from time to time. As often happens, "Tetris" was not born from a good life - it occurred to Alexei to program the classic "Pentamino" puzzle so that the pieces fall, turning around the center of gravity. However, the power of "Electronics-60" was not enough for such calculations, and it was decided to simplify the task - by truncating the fifth element of the pentomino. This is how Tetris was born - a program written in two weeks in the popular Russian programming language Pascal.
Sixteen-year-old schoolboy Vadim Gerasimov ported the toy to the IBM PC, after which the whole capital, and then the country, learned about Tetris. A year later, Tetris, thanks to the brothers in the socialist camp from Budapest, appears on the Apple II and Commodore 64 platforms. Around the same time, the program gets to the British businessman Robert Stein, a Hungarian by nationality, who from time to time stopped by his historical homeland to watch , didn't the Hungarian coders create something great. Stein is delighted with the toy and, without thinking twice, sells part of the rights to Tetris to Mirrorsoft, owned by British media mogul Robert Maxwell. How exactly this happened is not entirely clear 1. But the fact that Stein came to negotiate the purchase of rights from real copyright holders a few months after the deal was concluded is a historical fact.
The Russians, as expected, "do not give up", refusing to sell Stein the rights to Tetris on his terms. Meanwhile, Maxwell's two companies - the British Mirrorsoft and the American Spectrum Holobyte - are releasing their version of Tetris, loaded to capacity with Soviet flavor.
It is quite possible that no one would have known about Pajitnov if it were not for the cunning of CBS journalists who introduced the real author to the whole world. popular game. After showing an interview with Pajitnov, Stein's position was shaken - it is clear that he did not advertise his trips to Moscow and unsuccessful attempts to negotiate with Soviet organizations. As he did not advertise, to put it mildly, the dubious origin of his rights to this game.
While the court is doing business, Microsoft is selling a license to create console versions of Tetris to Bullet-Proof Software, which is collaborating with Nintendo. In a short time, Bullet-Proof Software manages to sell about two million Famicom cartridges. In Russia, of course, this is not particularly monitored - who cares about the Japanese game consoles. Meanwhile, the situation is heating up. Nintendo is about to release GameBoy cartridges, but it's not entirely clear whether Bullet-Proof Software has the right to make versions of Tetris for handheld gaming devices. Stein, who seems to be completely confused about what rights he owns and which does not, Bullet-Proof Software refuses without comment. The head of Bullet-Proof Software, Henk Rogers, shows up in Moscow to find out what's going on and, it turns out, brief Elektronorgtekhnika officials about his company's progress. The demonstration of a cartridge for the Famicom produces the effect of an exploding bomb - no one has the rights to publish the console versions of Tetris and cannot have it.
At this point, Stein already has the rights to the PC versions (obtained from the Soviet side), and he is also trying to buy the rights to the equally fertile market for video game consoles and arcade machines. The son of Robert Maxwell, Kevin, is also in Moscow, for whom the complicated story also turned out to be news. The result of almost a detective intrigue is a multi-million dollar contract with Nintendo signed by Electronorgtekhnika. Stein and Maxwell are forced to make do with crumbs from the table. However, crumbs, presumably, have accumulated quite enough: according to the most conservative estimates, more than 30 million Game Boys have been sold worldwide, and the number of Tetris sold - including PC versions and specialized handheld gaming devices - is probably in the hundreds of millions.
Alexey Pajitnov, as mentioned above, did not receive any interest from the sale of Tetris. However, he did not remain completely unrewarded. The state, according to rumors, gave him the 286th computer and provided him with an apartment. In 1988, with the support of Rogers, he organized AnimaTek, and in 1991 he moved to the United States with her. Despite the relative obscurity of this company, many players have come across the results of its work: AnimaTek developments have been applied, for example, in the well-known Age strategies of Empires by Microsoft. Rogers, meanwhile, switched almost completely to generating income from Tetris, organizing first the Blue Planet Software company, and then the Tetris company.
In 1996, Alexey moved to Microsoft, where under his leadership the Pandora's Box puzzle set was released, which received several prestigious awards. Pajitnov has not been directly involved in programming for a long time.
BIOGRAPHY:
Graduated from Moscow mathematical school No. 91 and the Moscow Aviation Institute.
He worked at the Computing Center of the USSR Academy of Sciences, dealing with the problems of artificial intelligence and speech recognition. In the same place, in 1984, he developed famous game"Tetris".
In 1988, with the support of Bullet-Proof Software, he organized the company AnimaTek (development of a game software), and in 1991 moved to the United States with her.
In October 1996, he moved to Microsoft, where he developed Pandora's Box puzzles. Left Microsoft in 2005.
On August 18, 2005, WildSnake Software announced that Alexey Pajitnov was joining the company and starting to develop new series games.
