Tetrisphere

Tetrisphere
Developer(s)	H2O Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Composer(s)	Neil D. Voss
Platform(s)	Nintendo 64
Release date(s)	August 11, 1997
Genre(s)	Puzzle
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: K-A (Kids to Adults) OFLC: G
Media	Cartridge

Tetrisphere in Episode 5, Level 5

Tetrisphere is a video game released for the Nintendo 64 in 1997. Development of the game was done by H2O, located at the time in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Tetrisphere is a variant on Tetris in which various shapes are shifted across a wrapped three-dimensional grid and destroyed. The objective of the game changes depending on the mode, but generally depends on removing layers of shapes to reach the bottom layer. The game's playfield is a layered 32 x 32 grid which wraps from top to bottom and side to side. Whilst this playfield presents visually as a sphere, the underlying topology of the game's playfield is homeomorphic to a torus.

Tetrisphere was also accredited for its techno-style soundtrack composed by Neil D. Voss, who later composed the music for The New Tetris as well. IGN conducted an interview with Voss in June 1998 in light of the acclaim^[1][2], and Nintendo Power gave it an award for "Best Soundtrack" of 1997 in their January 1998 issue.

Gameplay

In most Tetris titles, a player's score is incremented as a result of completing "lines", where a row of brick pieces that is without gaps is removed from the playing field. This both earns points and removes the completed row, making room for further pieces. However, in Tetrisphere, the goal is instead to remove bricks by forcing three of the same type of piece to touch as a result of a "drop". A "drop" is achieved when any brick falls, either as a direct result of the player releasing the currently held brick, or when the brick which supports it from below is removed (by any method). When three bricks of the same type touch, this triggers a "reaction".

When a reaction occurs, the three bricks will glow brightly and implode, removing themselves from the field of play. Any other same-shaped blocks which are touching that reaction will also be removed in a chain reaction. For example, if a player has lines of nested "Z" pieces, and then drops another "Z" directly on top of one of the nested "Z"s, the one which was dropped will cause the piece below to implode, in turn causing all identical pieces touching that piece to explode, and so on. The only exception is that the pieces involved (including the original three) must abide by the rules which dictate which pieces are "touching". For example, any two matching pieces which are stacked must be exactly on top of each other, if they are both to be removed. Laterally, each piece obeys the rules specific to its shape. As an illustration of this point, "O" pieces (a 2x2 square, colored blue) and "I" pieces (a 3x1 or 1x3 rectangle, colored green or yellow) must have full contact on one side with one full side of another piece of the same shape, but all other pieces are considered "touching" if any part of them is in contact with another of the same shape.

There is a penalty incurred each time a player drops a brick without starting a reaction. The player may be penalized three times during a given play period, after which the round ends. While the player is scrutinizing the playfield, searching for likely reactions, a green timer slowly counts down. When the timer reaches zero, a new yellow timer starts and the player begins to move towards the sphere at an increasingly fast pace (moving back to the default position for each piece dropped). That timer may also expire, causing a new and final red timer to begin, which moves the player towards the playfield even faster than the yellow timer. There is no penalty if the final timer reaches zero, but if the player gets too close to the playfield, the piece is dropped (causing a penalty if there is no reaction). The timer is slightly refilled for every piece removed, and is reset to a full green timer when a penalty is incurred.

It is possible, with some small effort, to clear the majority of a "layer" on the globe with one, well-executed chain reaction. The fewer the number of different pieces allowed in the construction of the globe, the more likely and impressive the chain reactions will be.

Removing 20 or more pieces will provide access to progressively more powerful assistive devices ("weapons"), such as sticks of dynamite or rockets, that the player may employ at any time to remove large sections of the surface. Each type of explosive has its own pattern of removal, area of effect, and drawbacks. This also multiplies the player's score for each piece removed.

Modes of play

There are several modes of play. For a single player, these include "Rescue", "Hide + Seek", "Puzzle", "Time Attack", "Vs CPU", and "Lines". A two-player "Vs." mode exists for battling a friend. All modes are immediately available to play except "Lines", which must be unlocked using a code.

• Rescue: "Rescue" challenges a single player to free a robot from the center of a globe. As levels increase, the number of layers, size of the trapped robots, and types of pieces present increase.

• Hide + Seek: "Hide + Seek" consists of a mix of different challenges, such as exposing a picture imprinted on the sphere's core. Every sixth level is a Hide and Seek challenge which has the same objective as Rescue mode.

• Puzzle: "Puzzle" removes the drop timer, the combo weapons, and the infinite and random natures of the pieces supplied to the player. Instead, players must remove all blocks from the surface of the globe, given a finite number of sliding moves and drops of select pieces. Complex chain reactions and very specific placement are often required for every piece to be removed.

• Vs. CPU: The player battles a robot controlled by the computer. The computer's AI increases with each passing level.

• Vs. Player: Two-player Vs. mode is a race to reveal a number of core squares. Number of layers, number of core squares, and pieces present in the game are all configurable in this mode.

• Lines: A hidden mode similar to Rescue where pieces cannot be dropped. Instead, blocks implode by themselves if three of the same type are lined up with each other.

Development

Tetrisphere began as an Atari Jaguar game entitled Phear ^[3], and was on display in Atari's booth at CES '95. After H2O Entertainment became a 2nd party developer to Nintendo, they took charge of the title from the previous developer and released it several years later as a Tetris installment.

References

1. ^ http://ign64.ign.com/articles/060/060225p1.html?fromint=1 IGN interview
2. ^ IGN: Interview With Neil Voss (Part II)
3. ^ NFG Games - Tetrisphere, the Jaguar and the Nintendo 64

See also

• Puzzle globe

External links

• Tetrisphere at MobyGames
• Tetrisphere at GameFAQs