San Francisco (United States): 13-year-old United States guy Willis Gibson, renowned as 'Blue Scuti' has become the first person to 'beat' the classic Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) version 'Tetris' game on December 21, 2023. Notably, the game was first released in 1989.
Willis achieved this rarest feat during a live stream of his gameplay at continuously increasing fast and furious speed for 40 minutes. This is the first time that a human has 'beaten' a video game. However, artificial intelligence (AI) has achieved the same feat.
The 'Tetris' game was designed in such a way that the player has to arrange the falling blocks into straight lines and the game speed increases as time goes on, making it difficult for a player in decision-making and near-instant perception.
In 'Tetris', players must arrange falling blocks into straight lines. The speed increases the longer you play and eventually, the blocks fall so fast that the game's program can't keep up, causing it to crash.
Gibson has now held the world record for a high score, levels played and the lines cleared, reaching the point where the game crashed which tells of the extraordinary achievement. He managed to clear 157 levels successfully while others have only advanced up to level 29. Thor Aackerlund, the professional competitive gamer, had reached level 30 in the 'Tetris' game in 2010.
The 13-year-old has been playing this game for the last two years or so. In his live stream video, after crashing the game with his skills and determination, he appears saying "Oh my God" several times, clutching his temples and worrying that he might be passing out. After cupping his hands over his mouth in an apparent attempt to regulate his breathing, he finally exclaims, "I can't feel my fingers."
The makers of Tetris agree. "Congratulations to 'blue Scuti' for achieving this extraordinary accomplishment, a feat that defies all preconceived limits of this legendary game," Tetris CEO Maya Rogers said in a statement.
Rogers noted that Tetris will celebrate its 40th anniversary this year and called victory of Willis a "monumental achievement." (with inputs from AP)
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