US Teenager Achieves Historic Feat in Classic Video Game Tetris
In a groundbreaking moment for the gaming community, 16-year-old Michael Artiaga has become the first known person to reset the classic video game Tetris to level 0 after beating it. The historic achievement occurred while Artiaga was livestreaming himself playing Nintendo’s version of the game on Twitch.
It took Artiaga a total of 82 minutes to successfully clear level 255 on Tetris, the game’s highest level. As he celebrated his victory, he watched in shock as the game reset to level 0, a phenomenon he referred to as “rebirth.”
“Am I dreaming, bro?” Artiaga asked his viewers in disbelief. Despite the unexpected turn of events, he continued playing and eventually finished with an impressive 29.4 million points.
“I’m so glad that game is over,” Artiaga remarked as he prepared to wrap up his stream. “I never want to play this game again.”
Artiaga was reportedly playing an edition of Tetris made for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) console, which prevents crashes after level 155. The game’s crashes and kill screens have posed challenges for other young streamers attempting to set new records.
Tetris, created in 1984 by Soviet engineer Alexey Pajitnov, has remained popular for its simplicity and frustrating difficulty. Players must arrange falling shapes composed of four blocks to create horizontal lines that vanish when completed. If the blocks pile up to the top of the window, it’s game over.
Artiaga is among several teenage gamers who have livestreamed their attempts to break records for the number of levels reached or lines cleared without the game crashing. In 2020, he became the world’s youngest Tetris world champion at the age of 13.
“I still cannot believe it… first ever to get Rebirth!” Artiaga wrote in the description for his stream on YouTube. “I’m so happy about finally getting this after all of the attempts. Thanks to everyone for the support over the years. It’s finally over.”
