What was the first Tetris game that ... ?

Okey_Dokey · August 28, 2016, 12:37:30 AM

Let's play a Quiz. I have a couple of questions (about how games evolved to the current guideline) where I think I know the answers. If you think you can answer some of them correctly, then make a post with the questions' numbers followed by your answers. The first post will have a spoiler section with the already-answered questions that will also state the names of the persons who gave the correct answers (such fame and glory, wow). After a while, I will highlight the questions that weren't answered yet. If you know some further questions, then I can add them to the first post.

Official Tetris game usually means commercial games that were licensed by The Tetris Company or released before 1998. Not that it would really matter. The original versions by Pajitnov and co are also official of course.

What's been the first official Tetris game ...

where J, L, T, S and Z pieces spawned a bit more on the left side of the matrix?
where S, Z and I pieces had 4 rotation states?
where all pieces spawned and rotated like nowadays (without kicks)?
that allowed the player to use 2 rotation directions (2 rotation buttons)?
that used hard drop (dropping a piece to the bottom and locking it immediately)?
that used soft drop (increasing the active piece's falling speed)?
that used both hard drop and soft drop?
that used any kind of kicks (if a normal rotation would fail, the game checks for alternative locations)?
that used the same kick system as games do nowadays?
that colored all 7 shapes as games do nowadays?
that displayed a shadow where the piece would land if dropped?
that was commercial (could be bought for some money)?
that used the Korobeiniki song in any way?
that played Korobeiniki non-stop during a game mode?
that used any kind of lock delay (a piece doesn't lock immediately when it lands)?
that used move-reset lock delay (delay is reset after each move or rotation)?
where "garbage" lines came out of the bottom?
that used "item" blocks (if you clear a line with an item block, you trigger a special behaviour)?
that rewarded clearing multiple lines at once?
that used bag randomizer (first 7 pieces differ in shape and so forth)?
where you could hold pieces?
that displayed the next but one piece (more than 1 preview, shared piece queue doesn't count)?
that had a Marathon mode (gravity increases by time)?
that had a Sprint mode (performance is sorted by time)?
that had an Ultra mode (score as high as high as possible within given time)?
that had a Versus multiplayer mode (lines are sent back and forth)?
that had asynchronous multiplayer (play against replays of other players who don't need to be online)?
that rewarded T-Spins in any way?
that rewarded T-Spins in Versus multiplayer (sending additional lines)?
that recognized T-Spin Triples as T-Spins (and rewarded them accordingly)?
that used the same T-Spin Mini recognition as games do nowadays?
that rewarded back-to-back Tetris line clears?
that rewarded back-to-back T-Spin line clears?
that rewarded successive line clears in any way?
that rewarded combos as games do nowadays (besides combo table)?

Correct answers:
[spoiler]
Most questions were answered by caffeine (if not stated otherwise).

Spectrum Holobyte Tetris (1988, PC, later other home computers) was the first game where J, L, T, S and Z pieces spawned a bit more on the left side of the matrix. (answered by zaphod77)
Tetris 2 + BomBliss (1991, Famicon) was the first game where S, Z and I pieces had 4 rotation states.
Tetris X (1996, Japanese PlayStation) was the first game where pieces spawned and rotated almost identical to todays games. It lacks the SRS kick system though and the I piece behaves a bit differently: It spawns in the down orientation and rotation directions are switched. So compared to todays games, the I piece rotates to the same columns in the vertical states but not to the same rows in the horizontal states. Tetris Worlds (2001, PC, later on consoles) was the first game whose rotation system behaved like todays games in every regard. (answered by zaphod77)
Game Boy Tetris (1989) was the first game that allowed the player to use 2 rotation directions.
Elektronika 60 Tetris (1984) was the first game that used hard drop. It lacked softdrop though.
Sega's Japanese Arcade Tetris and Atari's Western Arcade Tetris (both released in very late 1988) were the first games that used soft drop. They lacked hard drop though.
Magical Tetris Challenge (1998, Japanese Arcade, later Nintendo 64, PSX, GB Color) was the first game to use both hard drop and soft drop (on the up and down directional buttons / stick movements). The New Tetris (1999, Nintendo 64) also came with 2 different drop buttons: one for soft drop and one for sonic/firm drop (dropping the piece all the way to the bottom but not locking it immediately). (answered by Kitaru)
Atari Tetris (1988, Arcade) was the first game that used kicks, although the system was rudimentary: If the basic rotation failed, it checked the spot one square to the left. This way all pieces but the I piece could still be rotated if they were leaning against a wall.
Tetris Worlds (2001, PC) was the first game that used the same kick system as games do nowadays.
Tetris Worlds (2001, PC) was probably the first game that colored all 7 shapes as games do nowadays. G-Mode Tetris League from the same year also used the same colors.
Tetris The Grand Master (1998, Japanese Arcade) was the first Tetris game that displayed a shadow where the piece would land if dropped. That feature was probably inspired by Konami's game Hexion (1992, Japanese Arcade) which is basically Tetris on a hexagonal grid. The Block Out clone 3D Tetris (1997, Virtual Boy) also has such a feature.
??? was probably the first game released commercially in the west.
Spectrum Holobyte Tetris (1988, various home computer systems) for AppleII and Macintosh were the first games that used the Korobeiniki song but in an unspectacular way. More precisely they played 15 to 20 seconds snippets of Russians songs and stayed silent for the most time. The first BPS games (1988, Famicon and Japanese home computers) also used Korobeiniki on the title screen. (answered by Kitaru)
Game Boy Tetris (1989) was the first game that played Korobeiniki non-stop during a game mode. Interestingly, the very first Game Boy version (v1.0, only released in Japan) didn't use Korobeiniki though.
Spectrum Holobyte Tetris (1988, PC, later for other home computers) was the first game that used lock delay, more precisely step-reset lock delay. It had some implementation flaws and was only present on later levels though. Sega Tetris (1988, Japanese Arcade) is more known for featuring step-reset lock delay. (answered by Kitaru)
Tetris Worlds (2001, PC, later PS2, GameCube, Xbox, GBA) was probably the first game that used move-reset lock delay for both rotation and left/right movement. The Next Tetris (1999, PC, PSX) reset lock delay after each rotation but went for step-reset lock delay for left/right movement. (answered by zaphod77)
Atari Tetris (1988, Arcade) was the first game where garbage lines came out of the bottom. Sometimes, the game also spawned single garbage blocks on the surface of the stack.
Bloxeed (1989, Japanese Arcade) was the first game that used "item" blocks. For example, one item cleared every other line in the playfield or another item cleared 3 adjacent columns chosen by the player.
BPS' first game for the Famicon (1988, Japanese NES) was the first game that rewarded clearing multiple lines at once. The same scoring system was later used by Nintendo (Game Boy, NES, SNES). Atari Arcade Tetris (1988) also rewarded multi-line clears but most points were just gained by placing pieces.
Tetris Worlds (2001, PC) was the first game that used bag randomizer (first 7 pieces differ in shape and so forth).
The New Tetris (1999, Nintendo 64) was the first game where you could hold pieces.
Tetris Plus (1995, Arcade, later Saturn, PSX, GameBoy) was the first Tetris game that displayed more than 1 piece in the next piece queue. More precisely, it showed the next 2 pieces. Prior to this, Tetris Battle Gaiden (1993, Japanese SNES) used a 3-pieces long queue where both players competed for the next pieces. Some Bombliss games also showed the next 4 pieces: Super Tetris + Bombliss (1992, Japanese SNES) in Puzzle mode and Super BomBliss (1995, Japanese SNES) in all modes. (answered by Pineapple).
Elektronika 60 Tetris (1984) was the first game that had a Marathon mode. Back then, there were only 10 gravity levels and gravity increased every 10 lines.
Tetris DX (1998, GB Color) was the first game with a Sprint mode. 40 lines like nowadays but with soft drop only. The height of the playfield could be reduced to play a little faster. Nobody reached sub 1 minute though.
Tetris DX (1998, GB Color) was the first game with an Ultra mode.
Game Boy Tetris (1989) was the first game with a Versus multiplayer mode. Besides topping out the opponent you could also end the game by being the first one to clear 30 lines.
G-Mode's Tetris Battle (2002, Japanese mobile phones) and Tetris League were probably the first games that featured asynchronous multiplayer (play against a recently played game of another player).
The New Tetris (1999, Nintendo 64) was probably the first game that rewarded T-Spins - but in a weird way: T-Spin Doubles caused Avalanches - all pieces break apart and all blocks fall all the way to the bottom. T-Spin Singles caused Avalanches above the line clear.
The New Tetris (1999, Nintendo 64) was the first game to reward T-Spins in Versus multiplayer by causing Avalanches. ??? was the first game were no-kick T-Spins send additional lines.
Tetris DS (2006, Nintendo DS) was probably the first game that recognized T-Spin Triples as T-Spins and rewarded them accordingly. In that game, T-Spin Minis also sent as many lines as a usual T-Spin Single.
Tetris Friends (2008, browser) was probably the first game that used the same T-Spin Mini recognition as games do nowadays: The T's middle finger is placed between 2 cells, if only one of those cells is filled and the piece was kicked (but not 2 rows down), then it is just a T-Spin Mini. Games like Tetris Online Japan (2007) used to check the block on the backside of the T-Piece to determine if a T-Spin Single was downgraded to a T-Spin Mini.
Tetris Worlds (2001, PC) was the first game that rewarded back-to-back Tetris line clears. T-Spins were also rewarded but they broke the back-to-back chain.
G-Mode's Tetris Battle (2002, Japanese mobile phones) was probably the first game that rewarded back-to-back T-Spin line clears.
Tetris The Grand Master (1998, Japanese Arcade) was the first game that rewarded successive line clears. Clearing multiple lines at once increased the combo meter which functioned as a score multiplier. Singles during a combo didn't increase the combo meter at all. Magical Tetris Challenge (1998, Japanese Arcade, later Nintendo 64, PSX, GameBoy) also rewarded combos: Combos messed up the opponent's next pieces with pentominoes (and even bigger pieces).
Tetris Online Japan (2007, Windows) was probably the first game that rewarded combos as games do nowadays. The combo table for multiplayer line sends still differs from game to game though. Tetris Zone (2007, Windows) also rewarded combos in the scoring system and level-up system.

[/spoiler]

caffeine · August 28, 2016, 12:31:56 PM

I'll take some guesses. Not going to go as far as to emulating a bunch of old games.
[spoiler]
where J, L, T, S and Z pieces spawned a bit more on the left side of the matrix?
Tetris (ZX Spectrum) 1986

where S, Z and I pieces had 4 rotation states?
Tetris 2 + BomBliss 1991 (Maybe one of those earlier computer BPS games)

where all pieces spawned and rotated like nowadays (without kicks)?
Tetris Battle Gaiden 1993

that allowed the player to use 2 rotation directions (2 rotation buttons)?
Probably one of the 1988 releases, but I don't know which one if any. Game Boy Tetris came out in June 1989.

that used hard drop (dropping a piece to the bottom and locking it immediately)?
Electronika 60

that used soft drop (increasing the active piece's falling speed)?
Tetris (Sega) 1988?

that used both hard drop and soft drop?
I believe this was sort of possible in The New Tetris (firm drop), but that seems really late. Definitely one of the clones would've preceded this, but I don't know about official games.

that used any kind of kicks (if a normal rotation would fail, the game checks for alternative locations)?
Tetris (Atari) 1988

that used the same kick system as games do nowadays?
Tetris Worlds 2001

that colored all 7 shapes as games do nowadays?
No idea. Tetris Worlds?

that displayed a shadow where the piece would land if dropped?
3D Tetris 1996. Tetris Grand Master also had this in August 1998. I believe the concept originally started in early clones.

that was commercial (could be bought for some money)?
Didn't they try to sell the IBM PC version?

that used the Korobeiniki song in any way?
One of the 1988 releases.

that played Korobeiniki non-stop during a game mode?
One of the 1988 releases.

that used any kind of lock delay (a piece doesn't lock immediately when it lands)?
Tetris (Sega) 1988

that used move-reset lock delay (delay is reset after each move or rotation)?
The Next Tetris??

where "garbage" lines came out of the bottom?
Atari Arcade Tetris?

that used "item" blocks (if you clear a line with an item block, you trigger a special behaviour)?
Bloxeed?

that rewarded clearing multiple lines at once?
Famicom Tetris?

that used bag randomizer (first 7 pieces differ in shape and so forth)?
Tetris Worlds?

where you could hold pieces?
The New Tetris?

that displayed the next but one piece (more than 1 preview, shared piece queue doesn't count)?
Super Tetris 2 + Bombliss (Puzzle mode)?

that had a Marathon mode (gravity increases by time)?
Elektronika 60?

that had a Sprint mode (performance is sorted by time)?
Flash Point, Tetris DX?

that had a Ultra mode (score as high as high as possible within given time)?
Tetris DX?

that had a Versus multiplayer mode (lines are sent back and forth)?
Game Boy Tetris?

that had asynchronous multiplayer (play against replays of other players who don't need to be online)?
G-Mode's Tetris League (2001)?

that rewarded T-Spins in any way?
The New Tetris?

that rewarded T-Spins in Versus multiplayer?
The New Tetris?

that recognized T-Spin Triples as T-Spins (and rewarded them accordingly)?
Tetris DS?

that uses the same T-Spin Mini recognition as games do nowadays?
Tetris Friends?

that rewarded back-to-back Tetris line clears?
Tetris Worlds?

that rewarded back-to-back T-Spin line clears?
Tetris DS?

that rewarded successive line clears in any way?
TGM1?

that rewarded combos as games do nowadays (besides combo table)?
TOJ?[/spoiler]
Alright now tell me how terribly I did.

Okey_Dokey · August 28, 2016, 04:58:34 PM

Answer to caffeine's post. Partioned in many parts because the forum can't handle too many quotes per post. :/
[spoiler]
[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] where J, L, T, S and Z pieces spawned a bit more on the left side of the matrix?
Tetris (ZX Spectrum) 1986 [/quote]
Is this really an official game? Do you know if it was sold? Looks like a "fan-made" game to me. Anyway, in this game some pieces spawn on the left side, and other pieces spawn on the right side. So, not the correct answer. This game has a similar issue like that Tetris from Microsoft Entertainment Pack. The author couldn't really decide how to spawn the pieces - not only the column, the orientation also differs from piece to piece.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] where S, Z and I pieces had 4 rotation states?
Tetris 2 + BomBliss 1991 (Maybe one of those earlier computer BPS games) [/quote]
1991 Tetris 2 + BomBliss should be the correct answer.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] where all pieces spawned and rotated like nowadays (without kicks)?
Tetris Battle Gaiden 1993 [/quote]
In Tetris Battle Gaiden, the S and Z pieces spawn in bottom orientation. If you rotate them clockwise once, they end up on the left side. Also, the I piece rotates a bit weird : It starts in bottom orientation and if you use clockwise rotation button, it rotates counter-clockwise (if you look at the mana blocks). The game I am looking for has the same issues with I pieces but otherwise completely behaves like modern games (all pieces but I pieces spawn in top orientation, if you rotate I piece clockwise it ends up on right side, if you rotate I piece counterclockwise it ends up on left side).

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that allowed the player to use 2 rotation directions (2 rotation buttons)?
Probably one of the 1988 releases, but I don't know which one if any. Game Boy Tetris came out in June 1989. [/quote]
1989 Game Boy Tetris should be the correct answer. All games from 1988 have just one rotation direction. That one Sega Tetris fan-game (ТЕТРИС SEMIPRO-68k) from 1989 has 2 rotation directions, too.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that used hard drop (dropping a piece to the bottom and locking it immediately)?
Electronika 60 [/quote]
1984 Electronika 60 Tetris is obviously the correct answer.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that used soft drop (increasing the active piece's falling speed)?
Tetris (Sega) 1988? [/quote]
Either that or Atari Arcade Tetris. Not sure which came first. Both were released very late in 1988.
[/spoiler]

Okey_Dokey · August 28, 2016, 05:02:46 PM

[spoiler]
[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that used both hard drop and soft drop?
I believe this was sort of possible in The New Tetris (firm drop), but that seems really late. Definitely one of the clones would've preceded this, but I don't know about official games. [/quote]
Firm drop (sonic drop) is no hard drop in my opinion. I don't know any game older than The New Tetris that has 2 different drop buttons. The combination of hard drop and soft drop came astoundingly late.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that used any kind of kicks (if a normal rotation would fail, the game checks for alternative locations)?
Tetris (Atari) 1988 [/quote]
1988 Atari Arcade Tetris should be the correct answer.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that used the same kick system as games do nowadays?
Tetris Worlds 2001 [/quote]
2001 Tetris Worlds is obviously the correct answer.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that colored all 7 shapes as games do nowadays?
No idea. Tetris Worlds? [/quote]
2001 Tetris Worlds should be the correct answer. I doubt the first iteration of In-flight Tetris had the same colors. G-Mode Tetris League from the same year also uses the same colors.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that displayed a shadow where the piece would land if dropped?
3D Tetris 1996. Tetris Grand Master also had this in August 1998. I believe the concept originally started in early clones. [/quote]
1998 Tetris The Grand Master should be the correct answer. The addition of the ghost piece came astoundingly late. If you count that Virtual Boy Block Out clone as a Tetris game, then you may also want to count Konami's Hexion from 1992 (Tetris on hexagonal grid) as a Tetris game (Hexion only used the ghost piece occasionally though). I guess the concept of the ghost piece originated from another falling blocks puzzle game but I can't tell which.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that was commercial (could be bought for some money)?
Didn't they try to sell the IBM PC version? [/quote]
You mean Gerasimov's version? Pajitnov & co originally planned to sell a bundle of 10 or 15 puzzle games but they couldn't do that in the Soviet Union. So I would say no. I was looking for the first game released either by Mirror Soft or Spectrum Holobyte.
[/spoiler]

Curse you flood control :/
[spoiler]
[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that used the Korobeiniki song in any way?
One of the 1988 releases. [/quote]
1988 is correct.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that played Korobeiniki non-stop during a game mode?
One of the 1988 releases. [/quote]
Nope. There's been 2 games made by the same company in 1988 where they played a bunch of Russian songs (Korobeiniki among them) for about 15 seconds before stopping the music for a minute or so. And another company used Korobeiniki on the title screen.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that used any kind of lock delay (a piece doesn't lock immediately when it lands)?
Tetris (Sega) 1988 [/quote]
Nope. There's been a company that used step reset before 1988 Sega Japan Arcade Tetris.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that used move-reset lock delay (delay is reset after each move or rotation)?
The Next Tetris?? [/quote]
Honestly don't know. Will emulate that tomorrow.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] where "garbage" lines came out of the bottom?
Atari Arcade Tetris? [/quote]
1988 Atari Arcade Tetris is obviously the correct answer.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that used "item" blocks (if you clear a line with an item block, you trigger a special behaviour)?
Bloxeed? [/quote]
1989 Japan Arcade Bloxeed is correct.
[/spoiler]

Okey_Dokey · August 28, 2016, 05:05:10 PM

[spoiler]
[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that rewarded clearing multiple lines at once?
Famicom Tetris? [/quote]
1988 BPS Japan Famicom Tetris should be the correct answer. Henk Rogers always claims that in interviews. It's the same scoring system as in the Nintendo games iirc. Atari Arcade Tetris from the same year also rewarded multi-line clears, but on later stages much more points are gained by placing pieces. So the Atari Arcade Tetris system is not nearly as sophisticated as the BPS one. BTW that 1986 ZX Spectrum Tetris also rewards clearing lines but it doesn't matter if you clear 4 Singles or a Tetris. Myrrorsoft Tetris made the same mistake iirc.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that used bag randomizer (first 7 pieces differ in shape and so forth)?
Tetris Worlds? [/quote]
2001 Tetris Worlds is obviously correct.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] where you could hold pieces?
The New Tetris? [/quote]
1999 The New Tetris should be correct.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that displayed the next but one piece (more than 1 preview, shared piece queue doesn't count)?
Super Tetris 2 + Bombliss (Puzzle mode)? [/quote]
Come on, puzzle mode doesn't count. Also, that's Bombliss :/

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that had a Marathon mode (gravity increases by time)?
Elektronika 60? [/quote]
1984 Elektronika 60 Tetris is obviously the correct answer.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that had a Sprint mode (performance is sorted by time)?
Flash Point, Tetris DX? [/quote]
1998 Tetris DX should be the correct answer. 1989 Flash Point hasn't really anything todo with Sprint.
[/spoiler]

Okey_Dokey · August 28, 2016, 05:07:24 PM

Curse you again flood control :/
[spoiler]
[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that had a Ultra mode (score as high as high as possible within given time)?
Tetris DX? [/quote]
1998 Tetris DX should be the correct answer.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that had a Versus multiplayer mode (lines are sent back and forth)?
Game Boy Tetris? [/quote]
1989 Game Boy Tetris should be the correct answer. The Japanese Arcade game Bloxeed from the same year also had Versus, the way it sent garbage and determined the position of garbage holes is quite different though.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that had asynchronous multiplayer (play against replays of other players who don't need to be online)?
G-Mode's Tetris League (2001)? [/quote]
So early?! In that case I have no idea.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that rewarded T-Spins in any way?
The New Tetris? [/quote]
1999 The New Tetris should be the correct answer. T-Spin Doubles caused cascades in the whole playfield and T-Spin Singles cascades above the line clear iirc.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that rewarded T-Spins in Versus multiplayer?
The New Tetris? [/quote]
Honestly, don't know. Will emulate it tomorrow.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that recognized T-Spin Triples as T-Spins (and rewarded them accordingly)?
Tetris DS? [/quote]
2006 Tetris DS should be the correct answer.
[/spoiler]

Okey_Dokey · August 28, 2016, 05:11:58 PM

Hm ... the forum didn't combine my last 2 posts in one to prevent double posting? I will never understand this forum. Also curse you again flood control.

[spoiler]
[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that uses the same T-Spin Mini recognition as games do nowadays?
Tetris Friends? [/quote]
2008 Tetris Friends should be the correct answer. Maybe Tetris Party from the same year does use it, too.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that rewarded back-to-back Tetris line clears?
Tetris Worlds? [/quote]
2001 Tetris Worlds should be the correct answer.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that rewarded back-to-back T-Spin line clears?
Tetris DS? [/quote]
2006 Tetris DS should be the correct answer, but there's been many games released between Tetris Worlds and Tetris DS so who knows.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that rewarded successive line clears in any way?
TGM1? [/quote]
1998 Tetris The Grand Master should be the correct answer.

[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--] that rewarded combos as games do nowadays (besides combo table)?
TOJ?[/quote]
2007 Tetris Online Japan should be the correct answer. Tetris Zone from the same year also rewards combo in the scoring system but it has no versus mode (strangely, Tetris Zone doesn't recognize T-Spin Triples though).
[/spoiler]

Quote from: caffeineAlright now tell me how terribly I did.

Not terrible at all. You got most things correct as far as I can tell (at least you said exactly the same games I had in mind).

caffeine · August 28, 2016, 05:44:53 PM

Yeah, you're right about left-handed spawns.

Re: Asynchronous play
IIRC, it was on a G-Mode title where players also first really figured out how to make T-Spins work consistently.

From NWR's interview with Henk Rogers,
[!--quoteo--][div class=\\\'quotetop\\\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\\\'quotemain\\\'][!--quotec--]PGC: I guess in Tetris DS, even if you're playing against someone who's really good, you may not get much of a chance to see how he or she plays, because you're playing your own version at the same time. You can't really focus on what other people are doing as much.

HR: We have something in Japan called Tetris Battle, it's on mobile phones, and it's an asynchronous versus game. The way it works is that at the beginning of the game you download somebody else's recently played game, you play against that game, and then if you make it to the end of the two minutes, your game gets uploaded and somebody else gets to play that game. What we do on the server side is save everybody's best game they've ever played. So you can see the top ten games that were ever played by anybody, or you can see the top ten games of the day, or whatever it is. By doing this, we have been watching people's gameplay change over time. As people compete and get better and better, we're watching the game styles change, because we introduced something called the T-spin. The T-spin is a new move we introduced in Tetris Battle. I don't think Yamagami used it in Tetris DS, I'm not sure, but it's not one of the things in Mission. If we'd had a prototype, we would have asked him to add that, but it's a new move. Instead of the tall piece used to make a Tetris, now all of a sudden the T piece becomes important, because you have a special move you can do with the T piece that earns you extra points.[/quote]
So perhaps first B2B T-Spin reward was Tetris Battle. Or maybe it was Tetris Worlds. I don't remember.

Re: T-Spins in multiplayer

Yeah, in The New Tetris, if you do a T-Spin, it triggers an avalanche. I remember playing with my sister. I would stack up really high and messy, and then do a T-Spin. This would cause 8+ simultaneous line clears. I don't remember how effective that strategy was. I also remember seeing the T-Spin bonus pop up in Tetris Worlds Online, but I'm not sure if it added anything extra.

Okey_Dokey · August 28, 2016, 11:08:16 PM

There you know much more than me. The Henk Rogers interview is also interesting to read. Nice find.

Quote from: caffeineSo perhaps first B2B T-Spin reward was Tetris Battle. Or maybe it was Tetris Worlds. ... I also remember seeing the T-Spin bonus pop up in Tetris Worlds Online, but I'm not sure if it added anything extra.

You must mean the Online Edition of Tetris Worlds for XBox which was released in late 2003. The XBox version is the one I haven't checked (are there even XBox emulators?). In all other versions, non-kick T-Spins are rewarded in scoring but break the Tetris back-to-back chain - so not really worth executing. IIRC T-Spins don't send further lines in versus for the other versions. Anyway, the Japanese mobile phone game Tetris Battle (and Tetris League) should predate that XBox Online version, so it shouldn't really matter.

Quote from: caffeineavalanche

Ah yeah, that's the word I was looking for.

Okey_Dokey · August 29, 2016, 04:33:11 PM

I updated the first post with the correct answers caffeine has given. When I have some more time, I will add links to the games' corresponding Tetris Wiki articles. Question that weren't completely answered yet are bold. I guess half of them involves a company that caffeine didn't mention at all. I guess caffeine has no love for that company.

I also tested the 2 games I was unsure about:

[spoiler]
The Next Tetris doesn't use move-reset lock delay, at least not the version I tested. It's step reset but the active piece can be spinned indefinitely because of upwards kicks.

The New Tetris also causes Avalanches in multiplayer. I modified the original question to ask for the first game where T-Spins sent additional lines in multiplayer.
[/spoiler]

Pineapple · August 31, 2016, 09:04:48 AM

More than 1 next piece...
[spoiler]I would've instinctively have said Tetris Battle Gaiden, but you're saying not as a shared queue, so that's out.

It had definitely happened by The New Tetris (was New or Next first? I'd check but I'm trying to answer this without looking too much up), and my mind is thinking of a game on PC that had a few weird game modes, including one which has two playfields that would switch on you... dammit, nope, that's way later.

I looked at the list of games to see if I could remember which game that was (Tetris Elements... which was after Worlds, sigh...) and Tetris Plus jumped out as plausible. But I've never played it, so I don't know for sure.[/spoiler]

Okey_Dokey · August 31, 2016, 03:49:57 PM

Response to Pineapple's post:
[spoiler] Tetris Plus should be the correct answer. It's one of the very few games that uses exactly 2 previews. The Next Tetris was probably released before The New Tetris, at least in Japan. [/spoiler]

Kitaru · August 31, 2016, 05:20:25 PM

Heh, should have posted last night, Pineapple beat me to the punch on one. Well, let me put in a few for now.
[spoiler]

that was commercial (could be bought for some money)? - 1988 Mirrorsoft IBM PC?
that used the Korobeiniki song in any way? - 1988 Spectrum Holobyte
that used any kind of lock delay (a piece doesn't lock immediately when it lands)? - 1988 Spectrum Holobyte -- I believe it released some time before 1988 Sega Tetris.
that used both hard drop and soft drop? - 1998 Magical Tetris Challenge featuring Mickey Mouse?

[/spoiler]

Okey_Dokey · August 31, 2016, 11:35:38 PM

Response to Kitaru's post:

[spoiler]

Quote from: Kitaruthat was commercial (could be bought for some money)? - 1988 Mirrorsoft IBM PC?

If it's 1988, then not. I found another Mirrorsoft game that was released around November 1987 in Britain. The thing about the IBM PC version is that everywhere you look in the internet it states a 1987 release (mobygames, Tetris Wiki for a long time, videos on Youtube). But I found no proof for that. This page is stating "First released for IBM PC on 27th Jan 1988". Wasn't the IBM PC version made by Spectrum Holobyte and only published by Mirrorsoft in Britain, or do I confuse it? I didn't find scans for a British PC magazine from that time, have to dig for it again. Anyway, I checked North American PC magazines (CGW), and it wasn't mentioned before Spring 1988 and the first time it was mentioned it sounded like a Preview to me. Spectrum Holobyte also booked some ad-pages in CGW at the end of 1987 and Tetris wasn't among it.

Quote from: Kitaruthat used the Korobeiniki song in any way? - 1988 Spectrum Holobyte

Correct. More precisely the Apple and Macintosh versions. They played a few seconds of some Russian songs but stayed silent most of the time. Henk Rogers' Tetris (Famicon & co) also used Korobeiniki on title screen but not ingame.

Quote from: Kitaruthat used any kind of lock delay (a piece doesn't lock immediately when it lands)? - 1988 Spectrum Holobyte -- I believe it released some time before 1988 Sega Tetris.

Correct. All versions of Spectrum Holobyte use it. The lock delay is shorter than a gravity step in earlier levels, so lock delay does only take place in level 8 or 9 or so. It's step-reset but with some implementation flaws. For example if the piece does not touch the ground and you move it sidewards where it does touch the ground, then the piece locks immediately. The Macintosh version has an advanced mode with higher gravity, the lock delay really matters there.

Quote from: Kitaruthat used both hard drop and soft drop? - 1998 Magical Tetris Challenge featuring Mickey Mouse?

Correct. First game to use Hard Drop on Up D-pad button (resp. Joystick). Magical Tetris Challenge is remarkable in many ways. It also rewards combos by sending pentominoes and bigger pieces. The GB Color version also has a Tetris Coin Ralley featuring many modes (e.g. a mode similar to sprint).
[/spoiler]

Kitaru · September 01, 2016, 06:54:10 PM

Added my responses inline.

Quote from: Okey_Dokey
Response to Kitaru's post:

[spoiler]
Quote from: Kitaruthat was commercial (could be bought for some money)? - 1988 Mirrorsoft IBM PC?
If it's 1988, then not. I found another Mirrorsoft game that was released around November 1987 in Britain. The thing about the IBM PC version is that everywhere you look in the internet it states a 1987 release (mobygames, Tetris Wiki for a long time, videos on Youtube). But I found no proof for that. This page is stating "First released for IBM PC on 27th Jan 1988". Wasn't the IBM PC version made by Spectrum Holobyte and only published by Mirrorsoft in Britain, or do I confuse it? I didn't find scans for a British PC magazine from that time, have to dig for it again. Anyway, I checked North American PC magazines (CGW), and it wasn't mentioned before Spring 1988 and the first time it was mentioned it sounded like a Preview to me. Spectrum Holobyte also booked some ad-pages in CGW at the end of 1987 and Tetris wasn't among it. -- Oh, I think you're right actually. For some reason I thought there was a second IBM PC version, but the splash screen does say "Spectrum Holobyte presents" above the title along with "Mirrorsoft and Andromeda Software" copyright info at the bottom.

Quote from: Kitaruthat used the Korobeiniki song in any way? - 1988 Spectrum Holobyte
Correct. More precisely the Apple and Macintosh versions. They played a few seconds of some Russian songs but stayed silent most of the time. Henk Rogers' Tetris (Famicon & co) also used Korobeiniki on title screen but not ingame. -- I also thought the IBM PC version did have some music played at the beginning of each stage, but I may be conflating some things. I'll look through the folder on my PC later.

Quote from: Kitaruthat used any kind of lock delay (a piece doesn't lock immediately when it lands)? - 1988 Spectrum Holobyte -- I believe it released some time before 1988 Sega Tetris.
Correct. All versions of Spectrum Holobyte use it. The lock delay is shorter than a gravity step in earlier levels, so lock delay does only take place in level 8 or 9 or so. It's step-reset but with some implementation flaws. For example if the piece does not touch the ground and you move it sidewards where it does touch the ground, then the piece locks immediately. The Macintosh version has an advanced mode with higher gravity, the lock delay really matters there. -- I'll need to try it (or try it again?) and see if it fares any better than the IBM PC version, which has really screwy frame timings; DAS is too slow for lock delay to be useful most of the time.
[/spoiler]