俄羅斯方塊憑什麼火了30年

One of the world’s first videogames, Tetris, has hit the big three-oh today, and its brand is anything but old school.
位居世界上首批視頻遊戲之列的俄羅斯方塊(Tetris)已經邁入而立之年，但它的品牌一點也不顯老。

To celebrate, there’s a series of Meet Up events being conducted around the world using the hashtag #WeAllFitTogether. In April, the world’s largest game of Tetris was played on the side of a building at Drexel University using LED lights, breaking a world record.
爲了慶祝它的三十歲生日，世界各地正在舉行一系列主題標籤爲 #WeAllFitTogether（意爲我們嚴絲合縫）的玩家聚會。今年4月份，德雷塞爾大學(Drexel University)一棟建築物的外牆在LED燈的幫助下，化身爲世界上最大的俄羅斯方塊遊戲，規模打破了世界紀錄。

But what’s kept people swiping and clicking to ensure each row of blocks stays aligned and disappears into the virtual ether since its development in 1984 Soviet Russia? A combination of new platforms and a mesmerizing psychological appeal.
但自從這款遊戲於1984年在前蘇聯誕生以來，究竟是什麼讓人們移動手指，不停地點擊，以確保每一行方塊保持一致，然後消失在虛擬以太之中？答案：這是新平臺和令人着迷的心理訴求相結合的結果。

Maya Rogers, the CEO of Blue Planet Software, the sole agent of the Tetris brand, said the protection of the game’s core over the last three decades has aided its longevity. “It appeals to people from all ages and all deMographics,” she said.
俄羅斯方塊品牌獨家代理商、藍色星球軟件公司(Blue Planet Software)CEO瑪雅o羅傑斯表示，過去三十年來，這款遊戲一直精心保護着它的核心玩法，進而成就了長盛不衰的傳奇。她說：“它對所有年齡，所有人羣都有吸引力。”

As mobile and social become two of the largest sources for gaming these days, Tetris isn’t showing any signs of losing its appeal. Currently appearing on over 50 different gaming platforms, from the 1983 Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) to smartphones, Tetris is sold on over 425 million mobile devices. More than 20 billion games of Tetris Battle have been played on Facebook, too.
現如今，雖然移動和社交已經成爲最大的兩個遊戲來源，但俄羅斯方塊的吸引力並沒有顯露出任何衰減跡象。從1983年的任天堂娛樂系統(NES)到智能手機，俄羅斯方塊目前出現在50多種不同的遊戲平臺之上，超過4.25億移動設備用戶購買了這款遊戲。Facebook用戶也已經玩了超過200億盤俄羅斯方塊對戰版遊戲(Tetris Battle)。

Tetris has also had a smooth transition on to mobiles phones and appears inside the top 100 paid applications on the Apple AAPL -0.28% iTunes App store. “We’ve always made sure that we’re on every platform,” said Rogers.
此外，俄羅斯方塊已經平穩地過渡到了智能手機，目前已躋身蘋果公司(Apple)iTunes應用商店付費應用排行榜前100名。羅傑斯說：“我們一直確保出現在每一個平臺上面。”

But there’s something psychologically entrancing about the game, too, that’s kept people hooked through the years. “Play a game of Tetris,” said Rogers, “and satisfy your craving to create order out of chaos.”
但這款遊戲也有一種攝人心魄的魅力，讓人們連續多年不知倦怠地沉溺其中。羅傑斯說：“玩一盤俄羅斯方塊遊戲，能夠滿足你在混亂中創造秩序的渴望。”

One man who’s been able to do that better than anyone else in the world is Jonas Neubauer, the four-time Tetris world champion on the NES gaming system. He’s gone undefeated since the event started in 2010 and doesn’t plan on calling it quits any time soon. “You have to keep going,” he said. “You don’t stop at four.“
當今之世，還沒有出現比喬納斯o紐鮑爾更好的俄羅斯方塊玩家。紐鮑爾四度加冕NES遊戲系統俄羅斯方塊世界錦標賽冠軍。自這項賽事於2010年創建以來，他還沒有被擊敗過，而且還沒有退出江湖的打算。他說：“一定得堅持下去，不能滿足於四個冠軍頭銜，”他說。

Neubauer juggles his yearly foray into the competitive world of Tetris with his job as a senior analyst at Saibus Research, an independent research and advisory firm. Although he says his passion for Tetris and his day job don’t have much in common, he does take the time to analyze his game for the sake of improvement.
身爲獨立研究和諮詢公司Saibus Research高級分析師，紐鮑爾每年都努力地在競爭激烈的俄羅斯方塊世界和他的工作之間維持一種平衡。雖然他說他對俄羅斯方塊的熱愛和他的日常工作並沒有許多共同點，但爲了精益求精，紐鮑爾確實會花一些時間來分析這款遊戲。

Tetris, which he’s been playing for nearly his whole life, draws him back for more, year after year. “It’s so pervasive among so many age groups,” he said. “Its simplicity is almost hypnotic.”
他已經玩了大半輩子俄羅斯方塊，但年復一年，這款遊戲總是吸引他繼續玩下去。“它備受不同年齡組人羣的歡迎，”他說。“它的簡單性幾乎有催眠作用。”

Plus, there’s the added quality of playing Tetris and never feeling wholly fulfilled. “There’s no correct move that you can make,” said Neubauer. “The quest for the perfect move never ends.”
另外，玩俄羅斯方塊還有額外的特性：你永遠都不會覺得完全滿足。“從來沒有什麼正確的步驟，”紐鮑爾說。“對完美步驟的追求永遠也不會結束。”

Tom Stafford, a professor of cognitive development and psychology at Sheffield University in the U.K., says that Tetris has been around so long because it transports gamers into a different realm when they play. “It’s a world of perpetually generating uncompleted tasks,” he said.
英國謝菲爾德大學(Sheffield University)認知發展和心理學教授湯姆o斯塔福德表示，俄羅斯方塊長盛不衰的原因是，這款遊戲能夠把玩家帶入一個完全不同的領域。他說：“這是一個永遠產生未完成任務的世界。”

As he’s said in the past, too, “Tetris is the granddaddy of puzzle games like Candy Crush saga – the things that keep us puzzling away for hours, days and weeks.”
他過去也曾經說過：“俄羅斯方塊是《糖果粉碎傳奇》(Candy Crush Saga)這類益智遊戲的鼻祖。這些遊戲讓我們連續幾個小時，幾天、甚至幾個星期沉迷其中，不能自拔。”

“Tetris is pure game: there is no benefit to it, nothing to learn, no social or physical consequence,” he added. “It is almost completely pointless, but keeps us coming back for more.”
“俄羅斯方塊是純粹的遊戲：玩它沒有什麼好處，沒什麼可學，也不會導致社交或身體方面的後果，”他補充說。“它幾乎完全沒有意義，但就是有一種讓我們流連忘返的牽引力。”

Neuberger, who even appeared in a 2011 documentary, “Ecstasy of Order: The Tetris Masters,” considers the social component of Tetris, although its played individually, a big draw. Growing up, he’d check out forums where people posted their high scores. That raised the stakes and inspired him to do even better. Now, Facebook and other social media allow that score comparison to happen even more easily.
紐鮑爾甚至出現在2011年發行的紀錄片《秩序的狂喜：俄羅斯方塊大師》(Ecstasy of Order: The Tetris Masters)之中。在他看來，儘管俄羅斯方塊是單人遊戲，但它的社交屬性也是一大吸引力。從小到大，他一直在遊戲論壇上查看其他人發佈的高分。這提升了玩遊戲的利害關係，並激勵他做得更好。現在，Facebook和其他社交媒體使得這種分數比較變得更加容易。

With the chance to kick off a game of Tetris on a Nintendo DS, an Android, an iPad, a PC or countless other devices, a community of players has emerged in full force. “The fact that now anyone can access Tetris and play the same game has exponentially grown our community,” said Rogers. “It has no language, and no cultural barriers.”
如今，任何人都有機會在便攜式任天堂遊戲機、安卓系統(Android)、iPad、個人電腦和其他無數設備上玩俄羅斯方塊遊戲，一個由玩家組成的龐大社區已經強勢涌現。“任何人現在都可以訪問俄羅斯方塊，玩同一款遊戲。這個事實促使我們的社區成倍增長，”羅傑斯說。“它沒有語言和文化的障礙。”

For Neubauer, there’s also the benefit of being a four-time world champion and talking about his achievements with others. “It’s a fun thing to bring up at parties,” he said.
對於紐鮑爾來說，作爲四屆世界冠軍還有一個好處就是，可以跟其他人聊自己的成就。他說：“參加聚會的時候聊起這種事很有意思。”

Going forward for the brand, Rogers remains committed to Tetris’ “core gameplay” and serving a younger audience who may not have played the highly popular 1989 Game Boy version (which the Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition lists as number six on the top selling video games of all time).
羅傑斯在展望這個品牌的未來時仍然致力於俄羅斯方塊的“核心玩法”，並打算服務於或許還沒有玩過Game Boy1989版的年輕受衆。根據吉尼斯世界紀錄玩家版 (Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition)，這款風靡一時的遊戲位列史上最暢銷視頻遊戲排行榜的第六名。

While Tetris has reached its third decade this year, Rogers says plans are in place for it to continue thriving “way beyond” even the next 30 years.
雖然俄羅斯方塊已經度過了30歲生日，但羅傑斯表示，這家公司已經制定了計劃，希望這款遊戲能夠在下個30年延續它的輝煌。