In the mid-1980s, a Soviet programmer created a game.
What he made was a simple puzzle game where blocks combined into squares would disappear when a line was completely filled, so players could withstand the oncoming blocks until the very top.
That game became a legend in the gaming world,
ranking number one as the best-selling game in the world,
the most ported game,
the game with the most officially and unofficially inspired works,
and many other legendary records,
known as [Tetrics].
With its simple rules and maddening addictiveness, the world went wild for this game.
People played it everywhere—subways, schools, offices, bars—pouring countless hours into it.
To the point where there was a joke in America that this game was the most successful weapon created by the Soviets.
It was also the first game I encountered in my previous life.
The little handheld console left by a brother from a volunteering organization introduced us to Tetrics, which gifted us joy in our hours of boredom.
My friends at the orphanage and I competed for high scores, enduring despairing times.
And that same game now had become our savior in our dire situation.
“I just need to build a system using the ‘Scroll Branch Point,’ and I can use the ‘Limited Consciousness Resonance Method’ for the interface.”
In this world where magic was advanced, magic took the place of computers.
Common magical tools, like the small crystal ball, were newly invented, so not many people could use them yet, but magical methods for storing and organizing documents were already being used among wizards.
In simple terms, coding to create a game was possible.
“The system is set, and all that’s left is the graphic resources and sound…”
Among the magical arts, there was a spell for visual magic.
It was used primarily in the military to share the views of scouts by projecting images.
I extracted the graphics resources and sound effects of that game, which were deeply rooted in my soul.
The background images were meticulously trimmed as if edited with PhotoMax.
I worked non-stop for about four hours.
It was fascinating.
This was my first game development in 20 years, and the memories were as clear as if they happened yesterday.
Rather than my brain, my hands and magic moved first, creating the magic known as a game.
And just as dawn was breaking, with the crow of a rooster announcing morning…
Cock-a-doodle-doo!!!!
“…It’s done.”
The Tetrics magic was complete.
I infused the Tetrics magic created on the scroll into the small crystal ball.
It felt just like the first time I turned on a game console in my past life.
Nervously, I activated the small crystal ball. Suddenly…
“Doot doot dit dee♪ doot doot dit dit♫ doot doot dit dit doo♫”
A small screen projected from the crystal ball in my hand like an old projector.
And along with that addictive music, Tetrics unfolded before my eyes.
Blocks started dropping on the screen, moving left and right, sensing my thoughts, and stacking on the floor.
As soon as a line was completed…
“Doot doo♪ Piyush—!”
With a refreshing and pleasant sound effect, the line disappeared, and I scored a point.
This was the moment when video games were born in this other world.
“I did it…”
As the game operated as expected, a sense of relief washed over me, and exhaustion drained my body.
It had been ages since I’d stayed up all night alone, and I was even more tired than usual.
This feeling was nostalgic. Or was it my first time in this life?
Usually, I’d spend all-nighters with my fellow disciples and master, so I didn’t feel this worn out.
Dragging my heavy body, I barely got up as Jiren, who had woken up early, opened the door and walked in.
“Wow! Yuren bro?”
“Oh, Jiren.”
“What’s going on? Did you stay up all night?”
“Yeah, it turned out that way. More importantly, here.”
“What’s this?”
I handed Jiren the Tetrics magic scroll and the completed prototype in the small crystal ball, labelled [Tetrics_Ver.0.1].
“There’s a spell made on the scroll; can you put it in the small crystal ball with the other kids? Just about 50 of them… I have a completed crystal ball here, so please do.”
“Ah… Okay, I got it. Bro.”
“Then I’ll go catch some Zs…”
I staggered back to my room and collapsed onto the bed.
There was so much to do, but I was just too… tired.
*
“Good morning, Jiren.”
“Ah, Karen, you’re awake?”
Not long after Yuren returned to his room, Karen came in, her freshly washed red hair gleaming.
Having a good memory, she quickly noticed the unfamiliar magic scroll Jiren was looking at.
“By the way, Jiren, what is that?”
“This? It seems Yuren bro has created a new magic; let’s see… it says ‘Tetrics.’”
“Tetrics?”
“Have you heard of it?”
“No, it’s my first time hearing about it.”
If it wasn’t a new magic, it was customary for the name to be noted as decided by the original creator.
Since Yuren understood that better than anyone, both of them were curious about the name of a magic they had never heard of.
Meanwhile, their master, Irene, burst into the lab with energy.
“My disciples! I’m here!”
“Master!”
“Are you feeling alright now?”
Jiren and Karen had heard the news of their master’s fainting.
So they were worried about the energetic appearance of the master this morning, but she spoke confidently as if to reassure them.
“I’m feeling fine now! But where’s Yuren?”
“Yuren bro must’ve pulled an all-nighter yesterday, so he’s off to sleep.”
“An all-nighter! I told him not to overdo it…”
Irene recalled Yuren’s exhausted face from yesterday.
As a master, she couldn’t just sit by while her disciple suffered.
She had to work hard today to support her disciples!
While Irene was deep in thought, Jiren asked,
“By the way, Master, have you ever heard of a magic called Tetrics?”
“Hmm? What kind of magic is that? I’ve never heard of it.”
Even the master had never heard of this magic!?
With magic’s long history, various spells had come and gone.
Thus, some rules had emerged for naming magic.
For example, fire-type spells often started with “Pa.”
But the master’s completely clueless reaction made Jiren’s curiosity explode.
What on earth did Yuren create?
“It’s a magic seemingly created by bro… Should we try using it? Let’s check the crystal ball…”
Following the instructions left in the scroll by Yuren, Jiren decided to give the magic a try.
And just like that, Tetrics activated before them.
“Doot doot dit dee♪ doot doot dit dit♫ doot doot dit dit doo♫”
*
“Ahhhh… that was a good sleep.”
As I opened my eyes, the sun was high in the sky.
Did I sleep for about 5 hours?
I was hungry and still tired, but I quickly got up.
There were still many things to do.
I needed to put Tetrics in the small crystal ball, conduct an ‘alpha test’ for our kids, and take the prototype to the tavern guild…
“Whoooaaaa!!!”
As I pondered all this, an incredible uproar suddenly erupted from the lab.
What! What on earth is going on? Did someone mess up a blast spell again!?
Frantically, I dashed to the lab, imagining the worst-case scenario.
As I arrived, I was greeted by an astonishingly familiar sight.
“Master! Just a little more! Just a little more!!”
“Master, just 40 more points until 1000 points!”
“Got it! My disciples, I’ll give it my all!!”
“Woo-hoooo! Line block! Please come out, Line Block!”
The large crystal ball in the lab was running Tetrics.
And the master was playing Tetrics, with Jiren, Karen, Noirin, and about 10 other disciples rallying around to cheer her on.
The master had already scored 900 points and was at level 9, matching the blocks with an astonishing speed.
Is this the skill of an Elf archmage!?
I marveled at the response speed of my master, which I couldn’t even keep up with, and began spectating.
However, it seemed that she adopted a line block strategy, as one side of the blocks was vacant, but the line block wasn’t appearing.
Ah… you shouldn’t go with that strategy at level 9…
Ultimately, the master got game over, just 10 points away from scoring 1000 points.
“GAME OVER”
“Aaaaaargh…”
“What a shame…”
Sighs and lamenting filled the lab.
Everyone was genuinely united in their disappointment…
This scene reminded me of a similar one I had witnessed in my past life.
Much like I had seen in arcades, the same spectacle unfolded in this lab.
“Well, next I…”
“Before that, shouldn’t we get to work?”
As Jiren began to sit in front of the large crystal ball, I sneakily interrupted.
Sorry, Jiren, but we have a lot of work to do.
At my words, all eyes turned toward me.
After a moment of silence before a storm…
“Yuren bro! What is this!? It’s super fun!”
“Bro! Teach me how to make this magic!”
“Yuren! I think this could make us money. Let’s hurry up and sell it!”
Noirin, Jiren, and Karen bombarded me one after another.
Especially, I was surprised that Karen was so excited.
Karen, you’ve recognized the value of Tetrics, just like a diligent treasurer of our school.
I had no idea how everyone got sucked into playing Tetrics, but judging by their reactions, it looked like the alpha test was a success.
We could move on to the next steps right away.
But before that…
“Disciple! I lost because I didn’t get a line block! Please make sure a lot of line blocks come out, or just line blocks!”
I needed to soothe my sadly defeated master.
Master, I get your feelings, but then it wouldn’t be a game.
