What would you consider to be the core fundamental of making a good video game? There are many different ways that many different people can answer that question, and all of them are valid in their own way. You could be looking for a compelling story or experience that will make you think about it for days afterwards. You could be looking for a challenge that will push you to your limits, only to then overcome them to gain an unbelievable sense of accomplishment. You could be looking for a way to connect with others on a mass scale to not only make new connections with others, but also make new memories that could last a lifetime.
For me though, there is one thing that I look for in video games more than anything else: fun. No matter what it may be, no matter what content it includes, and no matter what others think about it, if I get a great amount of fun out of a video game, I value that more than anything else. Sure, not all video games have to be fun to be considered good in my eyes, but all video games that I consider my favorites have provided me more fun and great memories than I could possibly describe. And when it comes to making a fun video game, it doesn’t matter what the concept is, or how complex it is, as one can clearly see with today’s subject: Tetris.
If you are even vaguely familiar with Tetris, you would probably already be aware of the reputation that it holds, and how it is considered to be not just one of the greatest puzzle games ever made, but one of the greatest games of all time. I wouldn’t go as far to say that it is one of the best games ever made, but in terms of great puzzle games, it is way high up there. It still holds up extremely well to this day, and while I wouldn’t consider it to be as great as many others say, I can still see why it is still a classic to this day.
The graphics don’t really matter too much for a game like this, but for what we have, it is pretty well done, the music is iconic as hell, and is a certified bop in most cases, the control is extremely responsive and works perfectly for this game, and the gameplay is extremely simple, yet still iconic and fun to this day.
The game is the definition of a classic puzzle game, where you take many different blocks of varying shapes and sizes and throw them down into a column, lining them up to where you can clear lines of the blocks out and get points, continuing to do this until you eventually lose. Once again, this is all extremely simple, and compared to puzzle games that we have nowadays, it could be considered outdated in some circumstances, but again, what makes this type of gameplay work, and why it has endured for so long, is because of its mastery of simplistic fun.
It is a game that anyone can pick up, play, and understand very quickly, and given how many points you can rack up, the music accompanying you the whole time, and how it ramps up difficulty as you keep going, it provides a very satisfying and addicting experience that makes you keep playing. Yes, you can say that plenty of other games before and since have also been able to achieve this, but this one has managed to do the same while reaching many different people on many different platforms, and doing so with no recognizable character for people to connect to, which is pretty impressive. This can further be seen with how many different platforms that the game has been released on, as well as the many different iterations that have been released for Tetris over time, such as Tetris Effect and Tetris 99, not changing the formula too much, but adding enough to introduce many new people to the classic gameplay, and making them fans in their own way.
In terms of my own personal thoughts about the game, I also consider it to be a lot of fun, and a great time waster when the opportunity strikes. However, there is a reason that the game isn’t rated five stars for me, and that is primarily just because… I just prefer other puzzle games over it. There have been many different puzzle games that have been released since that have been able to catch my interest and my attention more often and for much longer then Tetris, as I just find them to leave a more memorable experience. At least for me. Despite that, I still can see why Tetris got as big as it did, and why it used to be the best-selling video game of all time.
Overall, while it may be extremely simple for a puzzle game, its legacy speaks for itself, and it is still very fun to play even all the way to this day. If you haven’t at least tried Tetris at this point in your life, then honestly, I get it, but you should anyway.
Game #148
For me though, there is one thing that I look for in video games more than anything else: fun. No matter what it may be, no matter what content it includes, and no matter what others think about it, if I get a great amount of fun out of a video game, I value that more than anything else. Sure, not all video games have to be fun to be considered good in my eyes, but all video games that I consider my favorites have provided me more fun and great memories than I could possibly describe. And when it comes to making a fun video game, it doesn’t matter what the concept is, or how complex it is, as one can clearly see with today’s subject: Tetris.
If you are even vaguely familiar with Tetris, you would probably already be aware of the reputation that it holds, and how it is considered to be not just one of the greatest puzzle games ever made, but one of the greatest games of all time. I wouldn’t go as far to say that it is one of the best games ever made, but in terms of great puzzle games, it is way high up there. It still holds up extremely well to this day, and while I wouldn’t consider it to be as great as many others say, I can still see why it is still a classic to this day.
The graphics don’t really matter too much for a game like this, but for what we have, it is pretty well done, the music is iconic as hell, and is a certified bop in most cases, the control is extremely responsive and works perfectly for this game, and the gameplay is extremely simple, yet still iconic and fun to this day.
The game is the definition of a classic puzzle game, where you take many different blocks of varying shapes and sizes and throw them down into a column, lining them up to where you can clear lines of the blocks out and get points, continuing to do this until you eventually lose. Once again, this is all extremely simple, and compared to puzzle games that we have nowadays, it could be considered outdated in some circumstances, but again, what makes this type of gameplay work, and why it has endured for so long, is because of its mastery of simplistic fun.
It is a game that anyone can pick up, play, and understand very quickly, and given how many points you can rack up, the music accompanying you the whole time, and how it ramps up difficulty as you keep going, it provides a very satisfying and addicting experience that makes you keep playing. Yes, you can say that plenty of other games before and since have also been able to achieve this, but this one has managed to do the same while reaching many different people on many different platforms, and doing so with no recognizable character for people to connect to, which is pretty impressive. This can further be seen with how many different platforms that the game has been released on, as well as the many different iterations that have been released for Tetris over time, such as Tetris Effect and Tetris 99, not changing the formula too much, but adding enough to introduce many new people to the classic gameplay, and making them fans in their own way.
In terms of my own personal thoughts about the game, I also consider it to be a lot of fun, and a great time waster when the opportunity strikes. However, there is a reason that the game isn’t rated five stars for me, and that is primarily just because… I just prefer other puzzle games over it. There have been many different puzzle games that have been released since that have been able to catch my interest and my attention more often and for much longer then Tetris, as I just find them to leave a more memorable experience. At least for me. Despite that, I still can see why Tetris got as big as it did, and why it used to be the best-selling video game of all time.
Overall, while it may be extremely simple for a puzzle game, its legacy speaks for itself, and it is still very fun to play even all the way to this day. If you haven’t at least tried Tetris at this point in your life, then honestly, I get it, but you should anyway.
Game #148