The Tetris Effect

[Dark Jaguar]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetris_effect

I've totally noticed this myself, and apparently it has been the subject of rigorous and repeatable psychological studies.

For those too lazy to read, it's that strange thing that happens when you do any single sort of repeated activity that requires coming up with a system to do it for a long period of time and finding yourself applying it in the back of your mind to the rest of reality for several hours or even days afterwards. Named basically because it was first studied with the game Tetris.

I've noticed it from something like playing Ocarina of Time in that I unconciously look for the context sensitive action when approaching a door, and after spending a long time outside with my cat "hunting" in the small wooded area nearby I notice unconcious "lookit that" type behavior. Nothing that dominates thoughts or anything, just an odd mental phenomenon that's worth studying.

[EdenMaster]

I'm quite familiar with that effect. Especially with things like tile floors and walls.

[Great Rumbler]

I can't play Tetris very much because of this.

[Dark Jaguar]

Why would it prevent you from playing it very much?

[Great Rumbler]

If you started to see Tetris blocks everywhere, see Tetris blocks moving around in your mind, and even start to invade your dreams would YOU want to play it a lot?

[Dark Jaguar]

Yes I did.

[Great Rumbler]

Well, then you are very strange.

[Dark Jaguar]

How is it strange to not get so overwhelmed psychologically by a game that you have to put it down? I feel the "Tetris Effect", but it seems it is far more mild than what you experience.

Some people actually feel dizzy playing FPS games. I've never experienced that either.

[Great Rumbler]

Wait a minute, then how does your reply to my post make any sense? I was asking a question about whether you would continue to play if you experienced the symptoms from playing that I did. And you answered "Yes, I did." which seemed to indicate that the same thing happened to you and you continued to play it a lot anyway. But now you say it's very mild for you.

Honestly, what you are posting makes little sense to me.

[Dark Jaguar]

I thought we were experiencing the same thing, now I have doubts. You suggested that it would actually be weird if I actually kept playing despite "the effect".

To be honest, I think the weirdest thing about what you said is that it suggests the effect applies WHILE playing the game. The wiki post is about the leftover temporary effects in your mind a while after playing a game (or picking fruit for a long time).

Want weird effects? Play a Virtual Boy. The weird effect of seeing the other two primary colors when you leave the system is something to behold. Didn't stop me from jumping back in though.

So now I ask you. What exactly do you experience? Same thing we've described here or are there further details?

<img src="http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2006/20060703.jpg">

[Great Rumbler]

Weird stuff happens to me when I play Tetris a lot, after-effects and such. That's why I don't play it very much.

[Dark Jaguar]

Are they really that uncomfortable or unsettling? I enjoy the effect while it lasts.

[Great Rumbler]

Are they really that uncomfortable or unsettling?

Yes. When you see Tetris blocks everywhere and all you can think about is little colored blocks moving around, it's not very fun.

[Dark Jaguar]

It sounds like you have a stronger reaction than I do. For me it is far more subtle. A sort of background, almost "swimmy" attempt my mind makes to apply some task I did for a long time, nothing that dominates my thoughts (which by what you say seems to be what you are suggesting) or makes it impossible to think of anything other than the game. If I play a lot of Zelda, a background "context sensitive" approach to opening a door might occur, but doesn't really interfere, I just find it an amusing background thought. If I play a lot of Tetris, a background "pattern finding" starts happening, but I don't suddenly feel compelled to slide the tiles on the floor into each other.

From that wiki article, I got the impression that was the norm and that the "effect" wasn't known for actually really interferring with anyone's life.

[ApocX]

oh i get this all of the time in games like melee, minesweeper, text twist, tetrinet, reversi, etc. and it's always extremely vivid, and sound strategy.

i think it's why i've always been good at mental math, because when i was little, i'd do equations in my head. i've always thought of it as something like a screen saver.

by the way, minesweeper high scores: 1, 21, 89.