Tetris Giant

Overview

Tetris Giant (known in Japan as Tetris Dekaris, with the latter word being a play on the words "deka", or "big", and "Tetris") is a tile-matching puzzle game developed by Sega AM1 and released by Sega for arcades (using Dreamcast-based Sega System SP hardware) in late 2009.

A unique arcade spin-off of the Tetris brand of tile-matching puzzle games (and thematically based on the studio's 1999 Sega Tetris, including its monkey mascot), Tetris Giant uses oversized custom joysticks (which Sega refers to as the "Deka Lever") with built-in force feedback and two buttons on the joystick itself (for rotating pieces). In order to make things easier (and keeping with the "giant" theme), the playfield is much smaller (6 blocks wide by 7 blocks tall) and the blocks themselves cover more of the screen.

As a deluxe arcade machine, the game also utilized DLP projection on a standard projection screen (configured to a 70" display), with opportunities for larger displays if the screen is detached and the game is projected onto a wall. The game later received an alternate model in 2011, switching the display for a simple 47" LCD display.

Gameplay

The game plays like a standard game of Tetris, only with the unique Deka Lever controls (with each player controlling a large joystick, with two "Rotate" buttons located near the top, and their Start/"Swap" button on the center console).

Along with the smaller 6x7 playfield (with extra room above to help player's maneuver their piece), the game does not include a Hold system (not allowing players to put pieces in a reserve slot for swapping out) nor an instant "hard drop".

In Score Challenge and Co-op Modes, scoring is based on the current speed level, how many lines are cleared simultaneously, and if a T-Spin is used.

Optionally, arcade operators can enable a "Kids" mode which limits the game mode to Line Challenge and removes the "S" and "Z" pieces for easier play.

Single Mode / Co-op Mode

The game's single-player and co-operative modes have two separate modes of play:

• Line Challenge - More suitable for beginners. Players/teams have at least two minutes to clear as many lines as they can. Topping out causes the playfield to clear, wasting time but allowing the player/team to continue. The game ends once the timer runs out, and clearing multiple lines at a time increases that timer (+0/1 seconds for a Single, +2/3 seconds for a Double, +5/7 seconds for a Triple, and +20/30 seconds for a Tetris). While players/teams are not ranked against others, they do receive a "grade" at the end of the game to show how well they did.

• Score Challenge - More suitable for experts. The game's traditional "score attack" mode, where players/teams attempt to reach the highest score on the machine before they top out. Players/teams are ranked against the top 1000 scores on the machine for that mode.

In both Co-op Modes, both players share a single playfield (12 blocks wide by 7 blocks tall), with each player only having access to a playfield 7 blocks wide (and the center two column being accessible by both players). Both players have their own Next pieces, and can swap their current piece with each-other using the special Swap button (which can only be done three times per game).

Versus Mode

In the game's one-on-one competitive mode, both players compete to outlast each-other in a multi-round game of Tetris, where the first player to top out loses the round. Both players share access to the Next piece, with the player who drops their piece first claiming it. Clearing multiple lines at a time temporarily increases the drop speed of the opponent's piece, while clearing four lines at a time raises the opponent's playfield by 1 block (shrinking it).

Technical Specs

Height - 103"

Width - 53"

Depth - 59"

Weight - 815 lbs.

Screen Size - 47" LCD

Power Requirement - 120 v. (220 v. conversion kit available)