Tetris project

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Early Tetris prototype for the Elektronika-60 computer, running in the SimH emulator.
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Early Tetris prototype for the IBM-PC, running in a modern emulator.

I am working on a web-based digital humanities / media archaeology project tentatively titled “Making Tetris,” which will be comprised of:

  • My research into the unofficial development history and design evolution of Tetris;
  • A curated “haunted graveyard” of over 1,000 unauthorized PC clones of Tetris playable in modern computer emulators;
  • An introductory “Code your own Tetris” tutorial using a block-based programming environment to make customizable Tetris-like variations; and
  • a syllabus and lesson plan for a college-level interdisciplinary digital media course in which students will design and build their own Tetris-like games using conventional game development tools.

Technical Goals

  • Open Web access: Integrate open-source emulators capable of emulating historical computing platforms through the modern, open web platform.