Multiplayer PC Tetris Won't be a Sport

[Blink]

The definition of Tetris has changed so much between different regions of the world.  Between the 3 official PC Multiplayer Tetris versions (Tetris Friends Live, Tetris Online Japan and Hangame Tetris), the rules and settings between them vary drastically.  This causes a split in the global tetris scene.  It's much harder to compare skill level between different countries, and competition is split because strategies differ from game to game.  I think TTC or whoever's in charge should unite the guideline players by setting identical rulesets to use in all these official games.  That way, people from all over the world can test their skills and compete with players on any of the 3 games without worrying about settings that they aren't used to.  

There are extremely talented players in Korea and Japan, and many other parts of the world - but their versions of Tetris are different and so the chances of playing them on TF Live decrease as they are less likely to switch to a game with different rules.  It will be an easier transition if the games were all the same gameplay settings, because even though it's a different game the gameplay itself would be familiar to them.

If you look at other successful games in the pro-gaming scene, they are the same no matter where a person is from.  Starcraft, Counter-Strike, World of Warcraft, Warcraft 3, Halo - it doesn't matter what country you're from because the same game is being played.  When it comes to PC Tetris though, there is too many variations and too many different rulesets - making global competitions nearly impossible.  I think this needs to be addressed before Tetris is ever used in pro-gaming, otherwise the only global Tetris tournaments would be console versions where the entire world is playing the same version (TDS, Tetris Party, Tetris Splash, etc.)

what do you guys think?

[Natsuko]

Sounds like a good idea. But do they have something to connect everyone? I thought TF was just North America and Europe.

[Red_Star]

I think that Tetris should be uniform throughout, of course. It would also be nice if they stopped separating all the players by making country specific games. That being said, I also think TTC will continue down the path of  making different games for the big counties because I am sure that will lead to more profit. I honestly don't see TTC as a company that gives a damn if their game can be played at WCG or whatever.

[EnFuego]

Do you think it would be a sport if everyone played the same game? TTC should make a game available in all languages even if you won't be able to speak to most players. A good worldwide game that got the support of both Korea and Japan could easily have tournaments and stuff because of the popularity of gaming in those countries. It seems right now TTC is too busy trying to get as many casual players as possible and doesn't need to care about serious players. (But I only speak for the American side of it)

The problems is that people complain about the rules in tetris and it would be hard to get most tetris fans to agree on a single competitive rule-set.

[meow]

I think THE TETRIS COMPANY should copy what works instead of defining the international standard of multiplayer tetris because I couldn't trust them to come up with anything remotely good.

THE TETRIS COMPANY should copy TOJ's gameplay since they seem to love tspins/combos. TOJ is the best game that incorporates both of these. Korean hangame tetris is similar, with no garbage blocking and random holes, which turns it into an unwatchable speedfest.

[Anonymous]

Make Blockbox the official Tetris Multiplayer game!!

Seriously though, I think Tetris does need a one form of multiplayer. And this multiplayer has to have a garbage system that allows games to be long, but not extremely drawn out. Maybe about a minute or two per game.
If games are too short or long, then it's not fun to watch.

[lampi]

You have to keep in mind that no current form of Tetris, be it TF, TOJ or Hangame, is ready to become a sport. And TTC is well aware of that.

In the search for a good 'system' (ruleset, mechanics, etc.), it's obviously best to have 3 reduced test environments than a giant single one. Also, unifying all regions with a non-optimal 'system' would be a waste, should the formula be imperfect. Let's be patient; once the guideline is fully mature—and this could take a decade or more—, undoubtedly there will be a single game for the whole world to play.

Just remember the ideas Alexey and Rogers have been hinting on recent interviews. All those ball sports analogies, team play with specialized individual roles, and so on—that's just the tip of the iceberg. If they are serious about turning Tetris into an Olympic sport, they will wait until they have a game that's balanced and fun to both play and watch before they try to deploy it globally.

Also, as EnFuego said, right now they are trying to attract more casuals. Why's that, you ask? Simple: a sport needs spectators. Even if those casuals never turn into 'hardcore' players, in the future they will at the very least become people who like Tetris. And that's extremely important to have.

[Kitaru]

As someone who primarily plays single player games, I'd like to say that I believe that the guideline and standardization continues to be something of a detriment to that side of things. I think that some degree of standardization makes sense for multiplayer, however. In fact, it is sort of funny (albeit disconcerting) that their core single player modes are rigidly  defined to the point of stagnation -- excepting the occasional gimmick mode or t-spin rule flip-flops -- while the competitive multiplayer modes vary pretty significantly from region to region.

At any rate, I agree with meow; I seriously doubt we can expect TTC and its subsidiaries to make the right decisions consistently. I will admit that we get lucky with a pretty good game from time to time, but the official multiplayer games never live up to the experience some of the best "by fans for fans" games deliver.

For example, iiBlocks is definitely what TOJ should have been -- the gameplay in iiB is just much more refined. I wouldn't even care about TOJ's grind if the stat upgrades weren't so awkward. iiB is silky smooth, whereas TOJ's handling ranges from slogging through mud to slipping on ice.

EDIT: Even if there is not one sole unified standard for multiplayer, there would need to be a set few that are available to play in all regions. Tepples often uses the analogy of playing tennis on different kinds of courts and how that can apply to Tetris too. However, have you ever heard of exclusivity of a certain kind of tennis court to one particular region? Imagine having to be a citizen -- or pretend you are a citizen -- of a particular country to gain access to a particular sort of tennis court.

[tepples]

I honestly don't see TTC as a company that gives a damn if their game can be played at WCG or whatever.

Mr. Pajitnov would disagree with you, according to several of the top ten Google results.

Make Blockbox the official Tetris Multiplayer game!!And this multiplayer has to have a garbage system that allows games to be long, but not extremely drawn out. Maybe about a minute or two per game.
If games are too short or long, then it's not fun to watch.

That's why DTET had lives. Most Tetris games with more than 1 player are like playing Smash Bros. on 1 stock.

[itsameSMB]

You make a good point about all the different variations hampering the competitiveness of Tetris, Blink. However, when it comes to a competitive standard, isn't that more up to the community than the creators?

[lampi]

Mr. Pajitnov would disagree with you, according to several of the top ten Google results.
That's why DTET had lives. Most Tetris games with more than 1 player are like playing Smash Bros. on 1 stock.

Care to elaborate? I find that to be an interesting analogy, but I'm not familiar with DTET.

[zaphod77]

It's funny.

We now have three very different official multiplayer tetris games , and one excruciatingly restrictive GUideline for single player.

For all their talk about wanting a single unified tetris, multiplayer is pretty fractured.

The hypocrisy here is amazing.

[hienwa]

I don't know what their plans are, but I think they have another multiplayer game in mind to make Tetris a global sport.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--]
HR: Yes. This is the basis of the Tetris world championship. That game will find out who the best players in each area are, and then we'll have a Tetris cup. [/quote]

The current ones are by region (TF, TOJ, hangame) but that doesn't mean official tournaments/competitions can't be done. We'll have to wait for TF's ranked mode and whether TF will put the money and time into running a tournament. TF has the most potential though because it's usually the US version that reaches the international level.

[SpawN]

I believe that a uniform tetris game should be created, however there should be different components in that game that are available to choose from. For example, 2-3 garbage system, 2-3 randomizer algorithms. However, things like should the t-spin be worth more than tetris should be clarified and dealed with once and for all.

[lampi]

From the TF beta forums:

This is certainly necessary for a pro version of Tetris and the Tetris company has been discussing this for some time. However, please understand that this version is not intended to be a pro version of Tetris. Flash is certainly not the right technology for this game as their are performance and network infrastructure issues.

We are currently dedicated to making the game as best as we can given the limitations of the technology so please feel free to list the differences between the games. Also, please understand that we are also designing the game that we feel best matches our user base on TetrisFriends.com.

We will certainly share this information with the Tetris Company because, as I mentioned, they have been interested in the 'pro' version of Tetris for quite some time.

so there you have it. They want to do it, but obviously not now. They knew right from start that TF wasn't supposed to be the a fundamentally pro game (otherwise they wouldn't have chosen Flash), but we can see from the way they give considerable amount of attention to hardcore players that they are indeed interested in learning what a 'pro' Tetris should have.
Also, let's not forget TTC's ~3 year product cycle. TF is not forever. See it as a stepping stone, and maybe their next product will be closer to what we want.

To quote Miyamoto: a delayed game is eventually good; a rushed game is bad forever. Let them learn enough to make a good competitive, globally unified Tetris. It's clear, at least to me, that if they tried to do that today, it would be full of conceptual flaws. I would rather wait some years until they have a full understanding of what Tetris as a pro sport needs before pressing them to deliver something they can't yet make.

I honestly don't understand what's up with the hurry. It will come, just have patience.