Deja Vu #07 31 декабря 1997

Hall of Fame - What is the creator of Tetris is engaged in MicroSoft.

AY-Track: "SMALL TRILOGY - 4"
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(C) Camille Akhmetov
 According to the magazine "Computer News"
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         Than the creator of "Tetris"

         deals with Microsoft



  ... Interview With Alexei Pajitnov - game
designer'om of Microsoft ...



            --=== * ===-

KP: What is your position at Microsoft?
AP: My post - game designer, designer games. Apparently, I was
the first person to Microsoft for such a post.
KP: And what this office is different from the post of project 
manager? AP: The designer of games is not responsible for the 
organization of work. He is responsible for the content of 
product. The difference between me and the manager project is 
the same as between the director and producer, or between the 
editor and publisher. Project Manager, of course, is 
responsible for all product, but decisions relating to the 
content of the game, must take is a designer.


   In the development of traditional products
Microsoft did without such a post.
In Microsoft generally well debugged conveyor technology 
development program products. But it turned out that the 
production of games so it is impossible: get a very large 
percentage of marriages, many projects are not pursued to the 
end. In some games was the essence of witchcraft, "it became 
clear that they require special understanding and approach to 
the content. The whole team has to answer The contents can not, 
and Project Manager too - he has a completely different problem.


   Thus, Microsoft has come to realize that he needed the post 
game designer. And the division of Action and Strategy Games, 
where I work, has come to this understanding, the first - 
because it led most of the projects and, accordingly, suffered 
the most failures. So now Microsoft has other games designers, 
but the first, apparently, became All the same, when I and a 
half years ago "joined" to Microsoft. KP: How did this happen?

AP: Actually, I was looking for a job. At the interview I made 
it clear that the work is tight, but my ideas, in particular 
the idea a series of puzzles, which is sold over the Internet, 
listened with interest ... KP: Is not it dangerous to both 
"give" ideas? AP: You see, Microsoft has sold

such number of shares that her actions very closely watching 
the entire business world, so that from the outside perspective 
is not be able to hide even the slightest breach. A

since Microsoft - the company is enough
rich, then it's all very fond of Sue ... Therefore, the "buy" 
the author's ideas are much cheaper for Microsoft, than to 
steal the idea and bear the costs. It would be nice to reach

to this state and in Russia.

   So, after some time with me
contacted and asked to reiterate my
the idea of ​​a collection of exercises "mental charge" on the 
Internet. The initial presentation took half a page, and now 
project documentation Mind Aerobics is fifteen hundred pages. 
On this project I worked for 14 months.

KP: But the first draft, which was created
under your leadership at Microsoft, vsetaki Puzzle Collection?
AP: As I said, Mind Aerobics-large and complicated project, 
which took a long time. Of course, nobody expected that it will 
be made quickly. However, when I just joined Microsoft and 
began to write Project Plan Mind Aerobics, asked me - if I had 
any more ideas which can be implemented quickly enough.


   Such an idea from me, of course, was. I
contacted one of the Moscow subsidiary
Companies "Dialogue" with which I worked, and
made several toys still in Russia. Some of our games at one 
time had been sold, particularly in the Spectrum Holobyte, and 
part and does remain "lie". To described the moment we got was 
ten quite interesting puzzles

we could not sell because they are outdated in technical terms 
(there were written under DOS), or modify because it does not

was the customer. In his time with these puzzles me quite a 
long time nurse, and I, of course, it was a shame that they 
still has not been put into it.


   I offered to collect these puzzles
one big package, and this work was done quickly, 
well-coordinated team. All the toys have been rewritten for 
Windows 95 and delivered just in time that Microsoft is not 
always. And turned package Microsoft Puzzle Collection, which

now are selling well. I, therefore,
finally fulfilled his obligation to
previous: unfortunately, a little later than
I would like. This is a good puzzle, tasteful, and no-nonsense, 
very individual (with good intentions, we could not reduce the 
number of puzzles and included a package of all ten), but 
slightly outdated. However, the package turned out so 
interesting and varied that we, firstly, almost did not get 
negative reviews, and secondly, there was not even the same 
response - either from beta testers, or from users, nor in the 
press. Everyone loves dvoi few puzzles, and as a result

package covers a fairly large audience.
CP: Tell me now more about the Mind
Aerobics.
AP: This is a collection of puzzles, which
does not exist in the form of "boxes" and is available
so far only registered users Microsoft Network (MSN). But in 
the summer she likely to appear in the public domain

on the Internet Gaming Zone.
CP: Please tell us about these puzzles.
AP: I originally planned to develop for the Mind Aerobics 18 
different puzzles, with six pieces of three kinds - the 
logical, verbal and izbrazitelnogo. Really we managed to bring 
up to 11 types of puzzles. On the one hand, I do not want to do 
for This project is something completely new, so as not to 
scare off fans of this genre. C On the other hand, some novelty 
was to attend. So I took a number of traditional types of 
puzzles and perfected them. 

   Thus, the daily Returning to the page
Mind Aerobics, the user gets three
puzzles of different difficulty level of three
species - the logical, verbal and graphically-intuitive. Thus, 
every day on this page appear nine new

puzzles. Enter the page at any time, but only for 21 minutes. 
For an easy solution to the puzzle you receive 3000 points, 
average - 5000, challenging - 10000. Those who have not 
participated in the competition for more than three months are 
out. Types puzzles are chosen so that they,

say, "harmonically developed personality"
- Here is love.

   For example, logic puzzle
Roboloader - automatic loader. In
Basically, it's a traditional puzzle game "Sokoban", which I 
introduced several additional elements that make it 
interesting. 

   Another puzzle, Sea Escape, devised on the basis of the 
highly popular toys in America, "tight parking. The task of the 
puzzle - boat out of the way to the exit. The idea is 
complicated by the fact that their path blocked by a sequence 
not of individual objects, and snakes, which can swallow a 
boat, if we observe it, and and stones. But snakes can also 
swallow stones and one with color. 

   More Puzzle Magic Pieces - intermediate, logically intuitive 
- a prototype which formed the famous "tangrammy.

Only tangrammah to put the figure of seven pieces, but in my 
modification only five pieces, which I did not authorize

only rotate but also to scale and cut off their corner. In 
addition, I give the opportunity to view the current settings - 
the area of ​​a given figure and the current total area of 
​​the fragments. And when the figure is assembled, there is a 
surprise ... 

   Puzzle Honeyway is an option
classic puzzle of the pipe-laying,
only need to run honey track
and they can intersect at the comb with flowers.

   Puzzle Focal Points, which is patented by Microsoft, refers 
to the intuitive mind. The principle is widely known - a kind 
of image is divided into squares, squares are mixed, the two 
selected square change places, and eventually must come out 
whole picture. In my version of the original image is divided 
not into squares and rectangles on the unequal, and the 
exchange of unequal rectangles in the image are respectively 
masshtabiruetsya.A one of the members of my team has invented a 
puzzle Rotoscope, which is necessary to collect the circular An 
image of the rotating scalable sectors.


   And here is a typical linguistic puzzle - Giotto, known in 
Russia as game "Bulls and cows". I must admit that

unlike other kinds of linguistic puzzles puzzles to develop not 
me: my English is not in short supply.


   What I like most puzzles, which we do - they get a very 
strong "moment of truth." User sits a moment, then another, 
something begins to dawn, and suddenly - aha! - All clear. I 
call it "aha-effect". 

   A draft of the Mind Aerobics was much
more problems than with the Puzzle Collection.
Not only institutional (eg, related to the fact that this 
project I was doing not familiar with my team, and with

Persons employed by Microsoft to contract)
but also technical. At a certain moment had,
in particular, to refuse to work with three-dimensional images 
in the puzzle, because the current version of Internet Explorer 
at the time did not support Direct X, and, accordingly, have to 
redo the job done. 

   But it's just normal for a big project that you have a great 
team. The project is successful, the attendance Mind Aerobics 
is a good site, user reviews MSN positive. Solve all nine daily 
puzzles in 21 minutes very difficult, even for me it is not 
always possible, although I worked out this puzzle. The next 
day the same nine puzzles are available in the training, 
nezachetnom mode. And on Sunday available all the puzzles of 
the week. So people have a weight reasons to return to the page 
Mind Aerobics again and again, continually practiced, and this 
game attracts. KP: Can you tell us a little about the new

project that you work now?
AP: We are now at an early stage
project, so much I did not tell
I can not. It is also based on puzzles, and extremely 
intuitive. I found that many people who solve puzzles for fun, 
not very fond of logic puzzles. Puzzle type

Focal Points, "a jig with a," "fish scales" or
Rotoscope, offering to restore the distorted image, are often 
far more attractive. I myself am awfully fond of such a puzzle! 
And a new project I decided to dedicate it to this genre. 

   For a new product I've collected all the best
discharge from the intuitive-izbrazitelnyh puzzle that only he 
could find. A total of product will include about 500 puzzles, 
each of which will be calculated at 3-5 min - Ie product is 
designed with a maximum of 100 hours of play. On average, 
people will play 50 -60 Hours, which is quite good for a product

$ 40.

   Feature a new product that
He will not just be a mechanical collection
or a collection of disparate brainteasers - puzzles are woven 
into the fabric of some story, which has a very dense cultural

environment. Examples of such games is: the most well known 
packages such as the 7th Guest and Jewels of Oracle.


   In our new game, we take as a basis for
light of the emerging Art Nouveau style of the late
XIX - early XX century, with echoes of the Middle Ages, the 
style of Andersen's fairy tales. According to the plot in one 
of Europe's cathedrals were split a big magical stained glass, 
shards which were scattered around the world and bewitched 
famous works of art. The player must move out of town in the 
city, visiting various museums and art galleries and 
raskoldovyvat picture - then is to solve the puzzle. As a 
result, he need to collect all the pieces of magic

stained glass, and late in the game to restore itself
stained. This story gives a package a certain charm. We are 
already firmly outlined how the puzzle we need to do, and have 
acquired a license for all images that we need to play. KP: You 
probably do their puzzles are not just for the sake of puzzles 
... I I mean - what do you think about the audience

this game? And in general about the modern game
audience?
AP: I recently returned from the annual Professional Developers 
Conference Games - Computer Game Developer Conference.

At this year's conference brought together already
about five thousand developers submitted a variety of 
development tools. At the conference are experts in the market 
place panels, roundtables, etc. 

   So, this year I was determined to fairly pessimistic. It 
seemed to me that market is actually busy gaming style action

and the puzzle is not wanted. But it turned out that all is not 
hopeless. Several reports noted that the current game industry 
itself evolves. Consumers of all kinds of "shooters" such as 
Quake II - it turns out, quite narrow range of users, what is 
here called hardcore players. They are only 2-3%. A player who 
is willing to nights without sleep to get Quake II to the end, 
in sociological terms is a rather odd combination - a kind boy, 
a tomboy, but fairly well educated and from relatively affluent 
family. And all the other players, of course, also buy Quake 
II, but only to pass one or two levels. And they are already 
experiencing some discomfort, because the game industry to 
forget. They are increasingly turning to different kinds of 
Intelligent Games and puzzles. That is why now many

believe that computer puzzles
great future. And in the next
three years will be part of the market
puzzles. So we are, it turns out to
the right way!

   It really helps that my desire to work in the mass market 
directly coincides with the objectives of Microsoft. 
Microsoft's position the gaming market growing stronger before 
our eyes. Flight Simulator - the best game in its class. Age of 
Empires experts say standard strategic games, our sports games 
too are rapidly developing. A puzzle - not only mine - also win 
a place in the sun. KP: So your new product - this game

"All others"?
AP: Almost ... You could even say
more precisely. The fact that, as it turned out,
our industry quite involved
women. Shoot, they do not like them very creative source. 
Complex logic exercises they do not like, the most for them to 
fit the puzzle, the calculated on intuition. That's why the 
story of our new game creator full, and all the puzzles in it 
were calculated on the intuition that is a very strong female 
line. In time study showed that 45%

Players in "Tetris" - women. I think that
it's not that they so greatly enjoyed "Tetris", and that there 
was simply no more appropriate game. And now I hope to make a 
product just for the beautiful half of humanity ...


   Another interesting observation made at the conference: in 
developed countries now the fastest-growing and thus

the most wealthy of the population - is
People over 65 years. Life expectancy is increasing, and in 
countries like the U.S., these people are the most socially 
protected and have with the most free time.

So, it turns out, most of the time this part of the population 
spends in gyms and ... in front of your computer screen, 
surveying the Internet! So here, too is totally untapped market.

KP: Good luck and thanks for the interview.