But a 16-year-old succeeded. Without fanfare the video game started all over again.Michael Kahn Artiaga has achieved what no one in the entire world has achieved in 38 years. Tetris has finally reached a Nintendo console. It’s a classic video game from the 1980s where the goal is to stack rows of bricks with as few gaps as possible. As the game progresses the bricks fall faster and faster, so that at some point it is almost impossible to place them correctly.

Tetris is incredibly popular. The game and its “derivatives” have sold more than 425 million copies to date. 16-year-old Michael, who live-streamed his success on Twitch under the title ‘dogplayingtetris’, took 80 minutes to complete 255 levels. After the 255th level, however, no congratulations or virtual confetti shower appeared on the screen. The game restarted at level zero without much-much.

You decide what happens when you win in Super Mario

Unlike books, movies and songs, most video games do not have a predetermined ending. In games like Tetris or the digital puzzle Candy Crush, one level follows the next. As the game progresses, new levels are unlocked or new missions can be purchased. In many games it’s not even clear if they ever complete. So it’s not uncommon for a player to reach level 8579, especially in mobile games, with no end in sight.

But there are also games with a story, such as “Super Mario Bros.” Like Tetris, it was released in the 1980s and can be played on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Plumber Mario must free Princess Peach from the clutches of the evil Bowser. But what happens when it reaches the last level?

Super Mario must go through a total of eight worlds and 32 levels before he can finally save the princess. If he succeeds, Peach thanks him with a kiss. The player then decides whether to stop or continue with a new mission. The degree of difficulty of the new mission is of course greater. So it is up to the player whether they want to replay individual levels or replay them in a modified form.

“Philosophical” discussion when Minecraft is finished

The evolution of the now classic video game Minecraft is also open. Since its release in 2011 it has been one of the most popular video games of all time with over 140 million monthly active users. It is available for almost all platforms and consoles. Minecraft is one of the so-called “sandbox” video games, i.e. games where the player chooses whether to create, modify or destroy his virtual environment. In Minecraft each player decides for himself what the goal of the video game will be.

So there is no predetermined ending to the game unless the player really wants to complete it. In this case it must go through a specific web portal, difficult to find. Those who manage to reach the end will meet a dragon, which they must defeat. If they succeed, the end credits are triggered, featuring a rather philosophical conversation between two people about the player: “He has now reached the highest level. He reads our minds. It is indifferent. He thinks we are part of the game. I like this player. He played well. He never gave up.”

Editor: Stefanos Georgakopoulos