Technabob » tetris

Study Finds Playing Tetris Could Treat PTSD

Shane McGlaun — Wed, 02 May 2012 21:00:59 +0000

A study has been published by a research team from Oxford University that claims playing Tetris can help soldiers deal with flashbacks caused by post-traumatic stress disorder. The researchers believe that playing the game may prevent the brain from forming memories that lead to flashbacks.

These flashbacks are one of the worst symptoms for many people who suffer from PTSD. Research team leader Dr. Emily Holmes concluded that when played soon after exposure to trauma, Tetris served as “a cognitive vaccine” that seemed to “inoculate against the build-up of flashbacks.” I guess in the future if you have a bad day and there something you would prefer to not recall, try playing some Tetris.

The study into using the game to treat PTSD followed 60 participants and exposed them to a movie showing scenes of injury and death. The participants were then divided into three groups. One of the groups sat quietly and did nothing, the other group took a computerized trivia quiz, and the third group played Tetris. The Tetris playing group reported fewer flashbacks according to the study. I’ve never been through anything like soldiers go through in the field, but it would seem to me being next people you know and care for who get gravely injured or killed would be much more likely to cause traumatic flashbacks than watching a movie.

I’m also not sure it would work for me if I had to be treated with Tetris because the game really drives me crazy at times.

[via Wired]

MIT Students Play Tetris on a Building

Conner Flynn — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 18:00:48 +0000

Remember way back when Tetris was first released? We had to play on small TVs. Eventually we were able to play on larger HDTVs, but it turned out that a 60″ flat screen still isn’t big enough for some people. That’s why some students from MIT decided to play a game of the arcade and console classic using an entire building as a display. It’s not the first time this has been done, but it’s always fun to see an entire building used to play a game.

They turned the outside of MIT’s Green Building into a super-size Tetris screen and then proceeded to move, rotate, and drop all of the familiar blocks, but there was a unique twist as the player progressed through the levels. When the player hit the second level, the blocks became more pale in color, making it more difficult to to see.

The third level made the colors on the screen shift, making it even more difficult. The people inside of the building now know what it feels like to be inside of a video game.

[Bostinno via Hack A Day via Geekosystem]

Ecstasy of Order: The King of Kong of Tetris

Technabob — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 00:00:34 +0000

When I first heard there was a movie about Donkey Kong a few years back, I thought it was a strange idea. But The King of Kong was actually an awesome movie, loaded with strange characters, and a great study of passionate (and obsessive) personalities. So if DK can inspire a film, why not Tetris? Well, ask, and you shall receive.

Director Adam Cornelius’ Ecstasy of Order: The Tetris Masters is a documentary about the world’s best Tetris players, equally dedicated to their game in the way that Billy Mitchell and Steve Wiebe were in Kong. The film explores the intense and obsessive relationship between players and the classic brick-stacking puzzler, and the return of Tetris master Thor Aackerlund, who trounced the game back at the 1990 Nintendo World Championship. Here’s a trailer for the film – it’s worth a watch.

The film has been making the rounds at various fests, and looks pretty great from the trailer. There’s no word on a wider theatrical or digital release date, but the film’s website indicates that it’s “set for release in 2012.” You can also check for updates on their Facebook page. I’ll definitely be looking for this one when it comes out.

Tetris Desk Lamp: You Light up My Life

Conner Flynn — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 23:00:52 +0000

Check out this awesome Tetris desk lamp. It beats any other geek lamp out there. This officially licensed lamp is not only made up of Tetris blocks, but each tetromino lights up when stacked on top of one that is already lit. How cool is that?

You can arrange and re-arrange the pattern anyway you like, as often as you like. This desk lamp is scheduled to launch in September 2012 for $50(USD). That’s not bad at all for a lamp this cool. I’d pay twice that. No, not really, but it’s a great price – assuming it includes all of the bricks shown.

If you use this in the office everyone will be gathering at your desk to play with it, so you probably won’t get much work done. The only thing missing here is the Tetris music, which I’m sure you can provide easily.

[via Chip Chick via Gizmodo]

Tetris Leggings Attract Geeky Attention to Your Legs

Jack Kieffer — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 21:00:55 +0000

Tetris is a wonderful retro game that has been recreated throughout the ages. There’s real life Tetris, Tetris Soap, and even Tetris Furniture! These Tetris Leggings are just another manifestation of the love that we geeks have for the first truly addictive puzzle game invented.

Created by Black Milk Clothing, (I don’t know which supermarket they go to), these leggings are covered in the iconic colorful blocks, and even have score and level data up near the waist of the leggings. You’ve been trying to marry rich? Get the right kind of guys staring at you, and then take the opportunity to get to know some of us geeky men. These leggings are a potentially amazing conversation starter. “So… umm… I like your pants.” Hey – it’s not perfect, but it will have to do.

The Tetris Leggings are made in Australia, and cost $80 (USD). They may seem far away, but thanks to the inter-web, this new-fangled thing, everyone is connected at high speeds via dial-up computing devices! So, just hop-skididdly-doo on over to the Black Milk website and get your hands on a pair of these leggings before they sell out.

If you’re looking for more Tetris goodies, check out the Tetris Cufflinks and the Tetris Wedding Cake.

Contributor Jack Kieffer owns Cool Gizmo Toys, a blog that rants about random geeky products.

Robots Dance in the Chinese New Year

Conner Flynn — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:00:38 +0000

Celebrating the Chinese New Year is a big deal in China. They go all out like it’s Christmas and New Years rolled into one, and millions of Chinese citizens tune-in to watch the Big-Show on TV. This year is the Year of the Dragon, so the show really poured it on with a fully robotic dance troupe.

It was a stunning performance. Fourteen robots danced to a re-mix of the Korobushka, a traditional Russian song. You might recognize it from the game Tetris. The highlight of the show was said to be how the robot army entered. The screen behind the stage showed a bunch of ‘bots walking in formation and with each step they took towards the audience a new level of risers popped up with a different part of the robotic troupe.

Robots dancing is always a good way to celebrate anything. Preferably with explosions and flashing lights. What’s truly amazing about this show is the synchronicity that they achieved with these robots all doing crazy moves.

[via Giz-China via Geek]

Tetris Soap Set Clears Dirt and Stench

Lambert Varias — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:00:36 +0000

The line piece is not as desirable as a soap as it is in the game. It’s not as unwieldy and pointy as the other Tetriminos, but in Soap Tetris the most coveted piece is the cube. Using the Z Tetromino must hurt.

These stackable soaps were made by Digitalsoaps and come in three different scents and colors, including “The Executive”, a set made of black, gray and white pieces. Because nothing says you’re a person of authority like owning video-game themed soaps.

Head to Digitalsoaps’ Etsy shop to get your own Tetris Soap for $9.50 (USD) per set of eight.

Tetris Cufflinks Geek Up Your Formalwear

Conner Flynn — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 20:00:22 +0000

Tetris is one of those classics that will always be around in one form or another. It’s available on the NES, the Game Boy, nearly every other console, and now your wrists. These officially-licensed accessories will compliment your shirt sleeves with just the right amount of geekiness.

You get the “J” and “T” shapes. Too bad you can’t drop more from each shirt sleeve and play a game on your arms, but I’m sure that someone is working on that dream. We might need a special shirt for that, though.

These official Tetris cufflinks are available now for about $14(USD) from Firebox. After wearing them for that special occasion you will likely feel a sudden urge to play the game again and try to beat your high score.

[via Ubergizmo]

Tetris Sideboard Concept Needs More Colorful Bricks

Technabob — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:00:24 +0000

I guess Tetris-themed furniture works well because of all of its straight geometric pieces. I’ve come across a few Tetris furniture items over the years, and here’s another one to add to the block-building collection.

Pedro Machado’s T@tris concept looks like an ordinary sideboard – until you look more closely, and you realize that it’s made up of a bunch of perfectly-stacked Tetris bricks.

What I really like about it is that the Tetris pieces aren’t simply decorative, but that they slide out to transform the piece into a small dining table for two, and also serve as storage drawers.

I could actually envision an entire series of furniture that works using the interlocking block idea like this. It would work particularly well for a desk, or maybe even bedside tables or a media center. For now, the T@tris appears to be just a series of concept renderings, but if Machado ever does produce this furniture, I hope he offers the option to get them in authentic Tetris block colors too.

Also, now that I think about it – if you did stack your Tetris blocks this well, your furniture would cease to exist, right?

[via Behance]

Minecraft Meets Game Boy Tetris

Technabob — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 00:48:08 +0000

As we already know, Minecraft is an amazing tool for building intricate worlds and other fun digital playthings. The latest creation… Minecraft Tetris. But not just any old Tetris, this is the classic greyscale Nintendo Game Boy version many of us grew up with.

The guys at MinecraftA2Z built this Tetris level using the Minecraft engine, but they did cheat a little bit. That’s because the video below was put together using stop-motion animation, and it’s not actually a playable level.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Still, it’s pretty impressive and worth checking out if you have a minute. Plus, I can never get enough of that original Tetris theme… Especially this version…

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Tetris Game Controlled with DDR Pads, DDT is Born

Conner Flynn — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:00:58 +0000

Tetris is a classic game, so why not merge it with another classic? One that forces you to bust a move in order to rotate that Tetris piece and drop it in place. I’m talking about a six foot tall Tetris game controlled with a Dance Dance Revolution dance mat.

This combo was created by three MIT students who had an urge to play an LED matrix game of Tetris in a new way. Acrylic tubes were laser cut into pieces and attached to a frame. The LEDs inside the tubes then light up and create the game in front of your eyes.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

You can play by yourself or against friends, just like the original DDR. Want to try your hand at this project? If so, you can find the code here. This may lead to a new Dance TV show called “So you think you can Tetris?”

[via Technobuffalo]

Tetris Hits Android Market for Free!

Shane McGlaun — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 21:49:15 +0000

Tetris is one of those video games that just about everyone is familiar with. The game spawned more copycats than you can shake a stick at. I used to get so frustrated at that game when the wrong parts would tumble down the screen and I couldn’t place them correctly.

If you are on the Android platform and like Tetris you can hop over to the Android Market right now and get a copy of the game for free. The free version of the game has the familiar music you remember from the original and features the marathon game mode as well.

The game uses touchscreen controls where you rotate and slide the parts around using your fingers. Tetris Free also stores your scores so you can compete against yourself and others online.

Tetris Sticky Notes: Post-it Puzzlers

Technabob — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 02:01:52 +0000

Retro gamers, here’s a great way to take notes, while at the same time playing a round of Tetris. These sticky notes come in Tetris-inspired shapes, letting you create puzzles as you write. Although I’m not sure completing a row of these actually makes them disappear from your wall.

The note pads are officially being sold as “Block Notes,” presumably so as not to offend the makers of Tetris or Post-It® notes – or at least to avoid the ire of their lawyers. Either way, I’m still gonna call them Tetris Post-Its®, because that’s what they are to me.

They come in sets of 8 pads for £7.50 (~$12 USD) , including a variety of block shapes and colors, courtesy of our friends over at SUCK UK.

[via all things cool via Colossal Art & Design]

Say “I Do” with a Puzzling Tetris Wedding Cake

Hazel Chua — Mon, 30 May 2011 21:07:09 +0000

It’s almost June and the wedding season is high up in the air. My sister and her longtime boyfriend of ten years just tied the knot a couple of weekends ago and I’m still weaning myself off the wedding bug (which makes me want to lie down in bed all day eating wedding cake. Pathetic, I know.)

But anyway, while at the reception, I overheard a conversation between some guests who were arguing about the state of marriages these days. The conversation ended with one of the women saying that she finds it puzzling as to why people still get married when a lot of them end up in messy divorces or prolonged separations.

So when I saw this Tetris Wedding cake, my thoughts went right back to those two women who were arguing the merits of marriage. I would love to have met or seen more of the wedding of the couple who decided that their wedding cake should pay homage to one of the greatest classical video games of all time. It seems like the couple went for a more literal take on the conversation that those women had at my sister’s wedding: puzzling but it’s not something you can’t figure out with time and a little practice.

The road to tying the knot can be long and arduous (as my sister’s was) or it can be quick like a whirlwind romance (like some of my other sister’s early twenty-something friends getting married after 2 or 3 months of knowing each other.) Whatever pushes people to finally take the plunge and make a lifetime commitment is, indeed, puzzling. But frankly, I don’t think that would matter much if you’re saying “I Do” (and not “I Do?”) to the person who you know you want to spend the rest of your life with.

Note bene: Excuse the writer for coming up with a sappier than usual blog post about a Tetris-inspired wedding cake. She blames it all, once more, on the wedding bug. *Achoo!*

Tetris Skull & Cross-bones T-Shirt: Pirates of the Game Boyean

Range — Sun, 15 May 2011 13:09:14 +0000

Sure, skull and bones designs are a dime a dozen, but this t-shirt has something special going for it. If you look at the t-shirt from afar, you’ll notice something pixel-like about the design. Once you look closely, you’ll see the intricacy of the design, and realize that it’s made from Tetris blocks.

It sure brings back some memories. I played Tetris for the first time on the first Game Boy, the one with the green-tinged LCD display. I remember saying to myself, one more game, and hours could pass. Everything seemed simpler back then, especially when it came to gaming. It didn’t take long for greyscale gaming to be left in the dust.

This t-shirt is available from ThinkGeek for $17.99 to $19.99 (USD) depending on the size that you order. The black cotton t-shirt sure looks menacing, but I’d like too see them in a few different colors.

Tetris Bookshelves Fall into Place

Technabob — Thu, 05 May 2011 03:07:49 +0000

Despite the frustration factor, I’ve always enjoyed Tetris. Sure, it’s old-school, but the general puzzle gameplay mechanic led to countless contemporary games, including the insanely popular Bejeweled franchise. So it’s hard for me to pass up a good Tetris post.

This clever stop-motion video uses a bunch of Tetris block-shaped elements, hand-placed into position and gradually forming a complete bookshelf. Here, check it out for yourself:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The only thing better would be to load up the bookshelves with color-coordinated books for each block. I suppose they could have used the official Tetris theme music too. Oh well, maybe next time. Sure, it’s not quite as impressive as the classic Human Tetris, but it’s still a fun video.

[via Dornob]

Tetris Played With Rubik’s Cubes: Fun to Watch But Not to Play

Lambert Varias — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 13:05:33 +0000

The thing about stop-motion videos is that they constantly remind us how time-consuming they must have been to make. Take this video by YouTube user BananaNeil for example, where he plays a game of Tetris using the tiles of Rubik’s Cubes as pixels.

BananaNeil claims that he had to manually configure the Rubik’s Cubes with each shot. Although just thinking about the process is enough to give one a headache I don’t think peeling off the colored stickers would be any easier, especially since they’re not made to be peeled off and re-applied repeatedly.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

So why all go through that trouble? BananaNeil actually made this video to promote his Facebook game, N-Tris. I’m not a Tetris fan but after seeing that video I just had to play the game even just a couple of times. It’s the least I can do.

[via Neatorama]

A Little Bit World: Classic Video Game Characters Make The World Their Stage

Lambert Varias — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 12:14:41 +0000

Made by Jonas and Simon Schwarzer, A Little Bit World sees classic video game characters emerge from a question mark block. It’s practically the low-budget version of Pixels by onemoreprod and Patrick Jean, though I wouldn’t call it a rip-off.

The animation is perfect, and it’s nice to see other games like Worms and Lemmings share the spotlight with the heavyweights:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

If you touch Pac-Man’s mouth, you deserve whatever happens next. You can download the soundtrack at Rams Le Prince’s website. It’s the one called Russian Stealth Fighter Test Flight.

[via Gamefreaks]

Ocarina of Tetris: A Line Piece to the Past

Lambert Varias — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 12:42:35 +0000

I’m quite late to Oliver Taylor’s ocarina party, but even with close to three hundred thousand views his perfect, no-look rendition – via Link – of the Tetris theme in Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a tune that still needs to be spread around.

His deadpan performance makes it all the more transfixing.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

I’d like to think that he was doing some sort of Russian dance with the lower half of his body while he was playing the song.

[via Halolz]

Kinetris: Play Tetris the Way It Wasn’t Meant to Be Played

Lambert Varias — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 13:34:56 +0000

Ever wanted to play Tetris using gestures, Minority Report-style? Me neither. But hacking and common sense don’t always go together; sometimes people love to do things just because they can do it. Case in point, Conan Chen’s Kinetris project. As its name implies, Chen made a game of Tetris that is played using the Kinect.

Unlike the original game, Kinetris is easier in that the next block won’t fall until you want them to, giving you time to position or rotate the block. That advantage is all but necessary, because otherwise it’s quite a tedious way to play the game. Here’s Kinetris in action, complete with a parody of the Tetris soundtrack that you may or may not find funny:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

I got tired just from watching Kinetris being played. I’m not sure if I’d want to play any puzzle game on Kinect, unless we count this one as a puzzle. Still, if you’re interested, just contact Chen and he’d probably be more than willing to share the game or its source code.

[via Le Journal du Geek]