Alexey_Pajitnov

[[Image:Alexey Pajitnov - 415117666.jpg|thumb|Alexey Pajitnov at the [[Game Developers Conference]] 2007]]
'''Alexey Leonidovich Pajitnov''' ({{lang|ru|Алексей Леонидович Пажитнов}}, regularly Aleksei Leonidovich Pazhitnov,

born [[1956]]) is a [[computer]] engineer from [[Russia]] [[as of 2007|now]] living in the [[United States]], who developed the popular game ''[[Tetris]]'' while working for the [[Dorodnicyn Computing Centre|Computing Centre]] of the [[Soviet Academy of Sciences]], a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] government-founded [[R&D]] centre.

==Biography==
Pajitnov was to leave his mathematics school (#91) in Moscow. Pajitnov created ''Tetris'' with the help of [[Dmitry Pavlovsky]] and [[Vadim Gerasimov]] in 1985. The game, first available in the Soviet Union, appeared in [[Western world|the West]] in 1986.
Pajitnov also created the lesser known sequel to ''Tetris'', entitled ''[[Welltris]]'', which has the same principle but in a [[3D computer graphics|three dimensional]] environment where you see the "board" from above<ref>[http://www.mds.mdh.se/~frv95pen/game/tetris/welltris/ Screenshots from Welltris, retrieved 31-10-2007]</ref>. The Soviet [[bureaucracy]] licensed and managed ''Tetris'', and advertised it with the slogan ''"From Russia with Love"'' (on NES: ''"From Russia With Fun!"''). Because he was employed by the Soviet government, Pajitnov did not receive royalties. Pajitnov, together with [[Vladimir Pokhilko]], moved to the [[United States]] in 1991 and founded the [[Tetris Company]] with [[Henk Rogers]].

He helped design the puzzles in the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|Super NES]] versions of ''[[Yoshi's Cookie]]'' and designed the game ''Pandora's Box'', which incorporates more traditional [[jigsaw puzzle|jigsaw-style puzzles]].

He began working for [[Microsoft]] in October [[1996]]. He worked for the [[Microsoft Entertainment Pack: The Puzzle Collection]], [[MSN Mind Aerobics]] and [[MSN Games]] groups. Pajitnov's new, enhanced version of ''[[Hexic]]'', ''Hexic HD'', was included with every new [[Xbox 360]] Premium package. He left Microsoft in [[2005]].

On [[August 18]] [[2005]] [[WildSnake Software]] announced<ref>[http://www.wildsnake.com/newsletter/2005-08-18/ WildSnake newsletter august 18 2005, retrieved 31-10-2007]</ref>.Pajitnov will be collaborating with them to release a new line of puzzle games.

==Works==
{|border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%; text-align: center;"
! Game Name !! First Released !! System Name(s) !! Pajitnov's Role(s)
|-
! ''[[Tetris]]''
|| 1985 || [[Electronica 60]], [[IBM-PC]] || Original Concept (with Vadim Gerasimov & Dmitry Pavlovsky)
|-
! ''[[Welltris]]''
|| 1989 || Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, Macintosh & ZX Spectrum || Designer (with Andrei Sgenov) 
|-
! ''Faces''
|| 1990 || DOS, Macintosh || Original Concept (with Vladimir Pokhilko) 
|-
! ''[[Hatris]]''
|| 1990 || TurboGrafx-16, Arcade, Game Boy & NES || Original Concept
|-
! ''[[Knight Move]]''
|| 1990 || [[Famicom Disk System]] ([[Japan]]) || Idealist
|-
! ''[[El-Fish]]''
|| 1993 || DOS || Original Concept (with Vladimir Pokhilko)
|-
! ''[[Wild Snake]]''
|| 1994 || Game Boy & Super NES || Designer
|-
! ''Knight Moves''
|| 1995 || [[Microsoft Windows]] || Idealist
|-
! ''Ice & Fire''
|| 1995 || Windows, Macintosh & PlayStation || Original Concept (with Vladimir Pokhilko)
|-
! ''[[Clockwerx]]''
|| 1995 || [[Microsoft Windows]] || Original Concept
|-
! ''[[Tetrisphere]]''
|| 1997 || [[Nintendo 64]] || Contributor
|-
! ''[[Microsoft Entertainment Pack: The Puzzle Collection]]''
|| 1997 || Windows & [[Game Boy Color]] || Designer
|-
! ''[[Pandora's Box (computer game)|Pandora's Box]]''
|| 1999 || Windows || Designer
|-
! ''[[Hexic#Hexic HD|Hexic HD]]''
|| 2005 || [[Xbox 360]] (Pre-loaded on every Xbox 360 hard drive) || Original Concept and design 
|-
! ''Dwice ''
|| 2006 || Windows || Designer
|-
! ''[[Hexic 2#Hexic 2|Hexic 2]]''
|| 2007 || [[Xbox 360]] (Sold through Xbox Live Arcade) || Designer 
|-
|}

==Awards and recognition==
On [[March 7]], [[2007]], Alexey Pajitnov received the [[Game_Developers_Choice_Awards#The_First_Penguin_Award|Game Developers Choice Awards First Penguin Award]]. The award was given for pioneering the casual games market.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=12732 |title=2007 Game Developers Choice Awards To Honor Miyamoto, Pajitnov |publisher=[[Gamasutra]] |accessdate=2007-02-12}}</ref>

==References==
* Angela Gunn (December 9–15, 1999). "[http://www.seattleweekly.com/features/9949/tech-gunn2.shtml Game boy]". ''[[Seattle Weekly]]''.

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,929/ ''Alexey Pajitnov''] profile at [[MobyGames]]
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/tetris.shtml ''Tetris - From Russia with Love''], BBC documentary (website).
*[http://www.gamezombie.tv/?page_id=51 Video Interview with Alexey Pajitnov at GameZombie.tv]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pajitnov, Alexey}}
[[Category:1956 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Russian programmers]]
[[Category:Video game designers]]
[[Category:Russian-Americans]]
[[Category:Microsoft employees]]

[[bg:Алексей Пажитнов]]
[[cs:Alexej Pažitnov]]
[[de:Alexei Leonidowitsch Paschitnow]]
[[es:Alexey Pazhitnov]]
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[[it:Aleksej Leonidovič Pažitnov]]
[[he:אלכסיי פז'יטנוב]]
[[nl:Alexey Pajitnov]]
[[no:Aleksej Pazjitnov]]
[[pl:Aleksiej Pażytnow]]
[[ru:Пажитнов, Алексей Леонидович]]
[[sl:Aleksej Pažitnov]]
[[sr:Aleksej Pažitnov]]
[[sh:Aleksej Pažitnov]]
[[sv:Aleksej Pazjitnov]]
[[zh:阿列克谢·帕基特诺夫]]