Alexey Pazhitnov
Encyclopedia
Alexey Leonidovich Pajitnov is a Russia
n computer
engineer, residing in the United States
, who developed the popular game Tetris
while working for the Computing Center of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, a Soviet government
-founded R&D center.
Despite being the developer of Tetris, Pajitnov did not receive royalties from his creation, as rights were owned by his employer, the Soviet government, which distributed it throughout the USSR and Eastern Europe. He only started to get royalties from his creation by 1996 when he and Henk Rogers
formed The Tetris Company.
in 1985. The game, first available in the Soviet Union, appeared in the West
in 1986.
Pajitnov also created the lesser known sequel to Tetris, entitled Welltris
, which has the same principle but in a three dimensional
environment where you see the "board" from above. Tetris was licensed and managed by Soviet company Elorg which had been founded specially for this purpose, and advertised with the slogan "From Russia with Love" (on NES: "From Russia With Fun!"). Because he was employed by the Soviet government, Pajitnov did not receive royalties. Pajitnov, together with Vladimir Pokhilko
, moved to the United States
in 1991 and later, in 1996, founded The Tetris Company with Henk Rogers.
He helped design the puzzles in the Super NES
versions of Yoshi's Cookie
and designed the game Pandora's Box, which incorporates more traditional jigsaw-style puzzles
.
He began working for Microsoft
in October 1996. Pajitnov worked for the Microsoft Entertainment Pack: The Puzzle Collection
, MSN Mind Aerobics and MSN Games
groups. Pajitnov's new, enhanced version of Hexic
, Hexic HD, was included with every new Xbox 360
Premium package. He left Microsoft in 2005.
On August 18, 2005 WildSnake Software announced Pajitnov will be collaborating with them to release a new line of puzzle games.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
engineer, residing in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, who developed the popular game Tetris
Tetris
Tetris is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union. It was released on June 6, 1984, while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...
while working for the Computing Center of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, a Soviet government
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
-founded R&D center.
Despite being the developer of Tetris, Pajitnov did not receive royalties from his creation, as rights were owned by his employer, the Soviet government, which distributed it throughout the USSR and Eastern Europe. He only started to get royalties from his creation by 1996 when he and Henk Rogers
Henk Rogers
Henk Rogers is a video game designer and entrepreneur. He is known for producing Japan's first major turn-based role-playing video game The Black Onyx, securing the rights to distribute Tetris on video game consoles where the game found popularity, and as the founder of The Tetris Company which...
formed The Tetris Company.
Biography
Alexey Pajitnov created Tetris with the help of Dmitry Pavlovsky and Vadim GerasimovVadim Gerasimov
Vadim Gerasimov is an engineer at Google. In 1994-2003 Vadim worked and studied at the MIT Media Lab. At age 16 he was one of the original co-developers of the famous video game Tetris: he ported Alexey Pajitnov's original game to the PC architecture and the two later added features to the game....
in 1985. The game, first available in the Soviet Union, appeared in the West
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
in 1986.
Pajitnov also created the lesser known sequel to Tetris, entitled Welltris
Welltris
Welltris is a puzzle video game, developed by Doka and licensed to Bullet-Proof Software. Adaptations were made by Sphere, Inc for Spectrum Holobyte, and by Infogrames. It was originally released for DOS in 1989...
, which has the same principle but in a three dimensional
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
environment where you see the "board" from above. Tetris was licensed and managed by Soviet company Elorg which had been founded specially for this purpose, and advertised with the slogan "From Russia with Love" (on NES: "From Russia With Fun!"). Because he was employed by the Soviet government, Pajitnov did not receive royalties. Pajitnov, together with Vladimir Pokhilko
Vladimir Pokhilko
Vladimir Pokhilko was a Russian academic who specialized in human-computer interaction and an entrepreneur. Along with Alexey Pajitnov, he played an active role in the development and marketing of the popular video game Tetris. After suffering financial difficulties at his software company,...
, moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1991 and later, in 1996, founded The Tetris Company with Henk Rogers.
He helped design the puzzles in the Super NES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
versions of Yoshi's Cookie
Yoshi's Cookie
is a puzzle video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, and SNES. It was re-released for the Virtual Console.- Overview :...
and designed the game Pandora's Box, which incorporates more traditional jigsaw-style puzzles
Jigsaw puzzle
A jigsaw puzzle is a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of numerous small, often oddly shaped, interlocking and tessellating pieces.Each piece usually has a small part of a picture on it; when complete, a jigsaw puzzle produces a complete picture...
.
He began working for Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
in October 1996. Pajitnov worked for the Microsoft Entertainment Pack: The Puzzle Collection
Microsoft Entertainment Pack: The Puzzle Collection
Microsoft Entertainment Pack: The Puzzle Collection is a collection of 10 puzzle computer games developed by Mir - Dialogue and published by Microsoft Games. The creator of Tetris, Alexey Pajitnov, designed some of the games featured in the pack. It was released on CD-ROM for Windows 95...
, MSN Mind Aerobics and MSN Games
MSN Games
MSN Games is an online games site devoted primarily to casual games, both stand-alone and multi-player online games. Games are available in free on-line versions, trial versions, and full feature pay-to-play versions...
groups. Pajitnov's new, enhanced version of Hexic
Hexic
Hexic is a puzzle game where the player tries to rotate hexagonal tiles to create certain patterns. The game was designed by Alexey Pajitnov, best known as the creator of Tetris. It was developed by Carbonated Games and is available online as part of MSN Games, as well as a downloadable deluxe...
, Hexic HD, was included with every new Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
Premium package. He left Microsoft in 2005.
On August 18, 2005 WildSnake Software announced Pajitnov will be collaborating with them to release a new line of puzzle games.
Works
| Game Name | First Released | System Name(s) | Pajitnov's Role(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tetris Tetris Tetris is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union. It was released on June 6, 1984, while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic... |
1985 | Electronica 60, IBM-PC | Original Concept (with Vadim Gerasimov & Dmitry Pavlovsky) |
| Welltris Welltris Welltris is a puzzle video game, developed by Doka and licensed to Bullet-Proof Software. Adaptations were made by Sphere, Inc for Spectrum Holobyte, and by Infogrames. It was originally released for DOS in 1989... |
1989 | Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, Macintosh & ZX Spectrum | Designer (with Andrei Sgenov) |
| Faces | 1990 | DOS, Macintosh | Original Concept (with Vladimir Pokhilko) |
| Hatris Hatris Hatris is a puzzle video game developed by Alexey Pajitnov for Bullet-Proof Software. It was also released as a standalone arcade console.... |
1990 | TurboGrafx-16, Arcade, Game Boy & NES | Original Concept |
| Knight Move Knight Move Knight Move is an action puzzle game created by Alexey Pajitnov for the Famicom Disk System in 1990. A similar but notably different game by the name of Knight Moves was released in 1995 for Microsoft Windows.- Gameplay :The game is based around the concept of how a knight piece is moved in the... |
1990 | Famicom Disk System Famicom Disk System The was released on February 21, 1986 by Nintendo as a peripheral for the Family Computer console in Japan. It was a unit that used proprietary floppy disks for data storage. It was announced, but never released, for the North American Nintendo Entertainment System... (Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... ) |
Idealist |
| Wordtris Wordtris Wordtris is a Tetris offshoot designed by Alexey Pajitnov and published by Spectrum Holobyte in 1991 for the IBM PC platform. The title was later released for the Game Boy and Super Nintendo game console in 1992.... |
1991 | DOS DOS DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related... , Game Boy Game Boy The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on... , Mac OS Mac OS Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface... , SNES |
Designer |
| El-Fish El-Fish El-Fish is a fish and fish-tank simulator developed by Russian game developer AnimaTek, with Maxis providing development advice. The game was published by Mindscape and later by Maxis in 1993 on 5 diskettes.... |
1993 | DOS | Original Concept (with Vladimir Pokhilko) |
| Wild Snake | 1994 | Game Boy & Super NES | Designer |
| BreakThru | 1994 | PC Personal computer A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator... & Super NES |
Designer |
| Knight Moves | 1995 | Microsoft Windows Microsoft Windows Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal... |
Idealist |
| Ice & Fire | 1995 | Windows, Macintosh & PlayStation | Original Concept (with Vladimir Pokhilko) |
| Tetrisphere Tetrisphere Tetrisphere is a falling block puzzle video game for the Nintendo 64 console. Developed by Canadian company H2O Entertainment, a nearly-complete version of the game was originally slated for release on the Atari Jaguar in early 1995... |
1997 | Nintendo 64 Nintendo 64 The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil... |
Contributor |
| Microsoft Entertainment Pack: The Puzzle Collection Microsoft Entertainment Pack: The Puzzle Collection Microsoft Entertainment Pack: The Puzzle Collection is a collection of 10 puzzle computer games developed by Mir - Dialogue and published by Microsoft Games. The creator of Tetris, Alexey Pajitnov, designed some of the games featured in the pack. It was released on CD-ROM for Windows 95... |
1997 | Windows & Game Boy Color Game Boy Color The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than... |
Designer |
| Microsoft Pandora's Box | 1999 | Windows | Designer |
| Microsoft A.I. Puzzler | 2001 | Windows | Designer |
| Hexic Hexic Hexic is a puzzle game where the player tries to rotate hexagonal tiles to create certain patterns. The game was designed by Alexey Pajitnov, best known as the creator of Tetris. It was developed by Carbonated Games and is available online as part of MSN Games, as well as a downloadable deluxe... |
2003 | Windows | Original Concept and design |
| Hexic HD | 2005 | Xbox 360 Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles... (Pre-loaded on every Xbox 360 hard drive) |
Original Concept and design |
| Dwice | 2006 | Windows | Designer |
| Hexic 2 Hexic 2 Hexic 2 is the sequel to Alexey Pajitnov's puzzle game Hexic, developed by Carbonated Games. It was released on August 15, 2007.-Gameplay:... |
2007 | Xbox 360 Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles... (Sold through Xbox Live Arcade) |
Designer |
Awards and recognition
- On March 7, 2007, Alexey Pajitnov received the Game Developers Choice Awards First Penguin Award. The award was given for pioneering the casual games market.
- On June 24, 2009, Alexey Pajitnov received the honorary award at the LARA - Der Deutsche Games Award in Cologne, Germany.
External links
- Alexey Pajitnov profile at MobyGamesMobyGames-Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...
- Tetris - From Russia with Love, BBC documentary (website).
- Video Interview with Alexey Pajitnov at GameZombie.tv
- Tetris Creator Claims Free and Open Source Software Destroys the Market.