Tetris effect

For the 2018 video game, see Tetris Effect.
Screenshot of a tetromino game. People who play video puzzle games like this for a long time may see moving images like this at the edges of their visual fields, when they close their eyes, or when they are drifting off to sleep.

The Tetris effect occurs when someone dedicates vast amounts of time, effort and concentration on an activity which thereby alters their thoughts, dreams, and other experiences not directly linked to said activity.[1] The term originates from the popular video game Tetris.

People who have played Tetris for a prolonged amount of time can find themselves thinking about ways different shapes in the real world can fit together, such as the boxes on a supermarket shelf or the buildings on a street.[2] They may see colored images of pieces falling into place on an invisible layout at the edges of their visual fields or when they close their eyes.[2] They may see such colored, moving images when they are falling asleep, a form of hypnagogic imagery.[3] For some, this creative urge to visually fit shapes together by organising and building shapes can be extremely addictive.[1]

Those experiencing the effect may feel they are unable to prevent the thoughts, images or dreams from happening.[4]

A more comprehensive understanding of the lingering effects of playing video games has been investigated empirically as game transfer phenomena (GTP).[5]

  1. ^ a b Goldsmith, Jeffrey. "This Is Your Brain on Tetris". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  2. ^ a b Earling, Annette (March 21, 1996). "Do Computer Games Fry Your Brain?". Philadelphia City Paper. Archived from the original on January 22, 2008. Retrieved January 22, 2008.
  3. ^ Stickgold, Robert; Malia, April; Maguire, Denise; Roddenberry, David; O'Connor, Margaret (13 October 2000). "Replaying the Game: Hypnagogic Images in Normals and Amnesics". Science. 290 (5490): 350–353. Bibcode:2000Sci...290..350S. doi:10.1126/science.290.5490.350. PMID 11030656.
  4. ^ Stickgold, R., interviewed 30 October 2000 by Norman Swan for The Health Report on Australia's Radio National (transcript). Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  5. ^ Ortiz de Gortari, Angelica B.; Gackenbach, Jayne (22 April 2021). "Game Transfer Phenomena and Problematic Interactive Media Use: Dispositional and Media Habit Factors". Frontiers in Psychology. 12: 585547. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.585547. PMC 8100040. PMID 33967879.