Re: [stella] Real tetris? Was:Tetris brainstorming

Subject: Re: [stella] Real tetris? Was:Tetris brainstorming
From: Erik Mooney <emooney@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 07 Jan 2001 23:51:54 -0500
On Sun, 7 Jan 2001 23:00:58 +0100, you wrote:

>Sorry if this is a bit OT,

Eh, topic drift happens :)

>On 01/07/2001 04:01:14 PM EST Erik Mooney wrote:
>>
>>Real Tetris (arcade and Gameboy) doesn't highlight the falling pieces,
>
>What in fact is "real" (or better: original) tetris?
>I've got a PC DOS text mode program (c)1986 by 2 Russian
>guys, which I always thought of the "original" tetris.
>
>Does anyone know what the first tetris game was?

The original Western version is the PC game by Spectrum Holobyte in 1986,
which had the license from the game's supposed inventor, Alexei Pajitnov.
It runs in CGA, EGA, or Tandy graphics.  Unofficial versions like your
text version were around for a while before that, but Spectrum Holobyte's
was the first boxed retail one.  They also produced the official
(according to Pajitnov) sequels Welltris (1988) and "Faces-tris" (1990).
I still have all three, if anyone wants to see any.

The 1987 Gameboy version ("Game A" of it) is faithful to that PC version
in most respects - the biggest differences being unlimited level speed
increases (the PC version maxes after awhile), and scoring.  That PC
version gives very minimal bonuses for completing multiple lines at once,
while doing that dominates the scoring in the Gameboy and 1988 Atari Games
arcade game.

The Gameboy version is the one most known by the public and later Tetris
knockoff authors, and that scoring system is usually the one other games'
are based on.

(I wonder what happened to Spectrum Holobyte - that's too great a name to
disappear :)  I think I recall them being bought out by Broderbund at some
point...?)

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