INA look into the past A hidden gem from Tetris history was revealed at the Game Developers Conference: Tetris Reversed, a long-lost prototype designed by original creator Alexei Pajitnov. The story, as reported by VentureBeat, involves a rediscovered prototype, a programmer who kept the code for two decades, and a chance meeting that revived the project. Discuss© Ferra
Pajitnov, who has lived in the United States since 1991, originally conceived Tetris Reversed, but never got around to releasing it. Vedran Klanac, a Croatian programmer who later became CEO of game publisher Ocean Media, was tasked with creating the code based on Pajitnov's instructions passed through an intermediary.
In 2011, Klanac attended a speech by Martin de Ronde, co-founder of Guerrilla Games, who spoke about a charitable initiative in the field of games. Inspired, Klanak offered his help. A few months later, de Ronde returned with unexpected news: he had entered into an agreement with Pajitnov to develop a new Tetris prototype. Then he asked Klanak a question that left him speechless: “Do you want to make Pajitnov’s Tetris Reversed?”
© Tetris Reversed
Unlike classic Tetris, where players remove lines to make them disappear, in Tetris Reversed flips the script.
Although an official release for Tetris Reversed has not yet been confirmed, its rediscovery after two decades is an exciting chapter in gaming history.