Tetris is as ubiquitous as blue jeans and as addictive as jelly beans. But did you ever wonder where it came from? Probably not: Most computer programs have fairly undramatic origin stories. Not Tetris. In 1984, Alexey Pajitnov, a computer scientist working for the USSR government, created a fun little game that became a smash hit among the computer literate population of Moscow. Before long, it was discovered by a British software firm. The rest, as they say, is history...But it's a history full of high stakes business shenanigans and some fundamental questions about the nature of play. Box Brown, author of Andre the Giant: Life and Legend, blows open the secret history of the game that saved Nintendo and delves into what makes puzzles and games so irresistible to human beings.
About the Author :
Brian "Box" Brown is an Eisner Award-winning author whose comics have appeared in the New York Times, Playboy, and New York magazine. His books include the New York Times-bestselling Andre the Giant: Life and Legend, Tetris: The Games People Play, Is This Guy for Real?: The Unbelievable Andy Kaufman, Cannabis: The Illegalization of Weed in America, Child Star, and Accidental Czar (with writer Andrew S. Weiss). boxbrown.com
Review :
Included in NYPL's "Notable 50 Best Books for Teens" list.
"The story never stops moving until its final pieces are in place."--New York Times
"One of gaming's most intriguing tales...A book to watch." --Nerdist
"[A] look at the creation of Alexey Pajitnov's enduring classic and the drama that ensues when people with big bags of money try to cash in the game's popularity." --Kotaku
"A rich read that provides valuable context for the rise of video games in the late 20th century." --A.V. Club
"This is a work about the bittersweet dissonances of artistic creativity and commercial greed and the ephemeral yet crucial joy we get from making things fall into place." --io9
"Against the backdrop of the Cold War, the saga of Tetris played out like a spy thriller--tragic deaths, corporate conspiracies, the prestige of nations hanging in the balance." --Boston Globe
"A clean and engaging visual style supports a story that sustains narrative drive, humanizing the characters and making readers care about every development. " --Kirkus, starred review
"Simply illustrated in a sequential panel format, the charming black-andwhite drawings convey high-concept ideas in a clever, succinct manner." --Booklist
"Tetris is a remarkably spare work, cleanly and effortlessly introducing countless real-life characters and companies that intersect and tangle together in a game of tug-of-war." --GQ
"It also cleverly mimics the structure of Tetris itself: straightforward and engaging, without any extra bells and whistles." --School Library Journal, starred review
"The blocky paneled illustrations are reminiscent of early video game graphics, and the compact text uses dialogue effectively to break up narrative sections and keep the unfolding drama personal rather than historically distant." --Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
