(no subject)

[prog]

Tetris DS: I have confirmed that, in versus play, the players don't all get the same pieces; they are independently random for each player.

This is really disappoint, and seems like a bizarre thing for Nintendo to get wrong, since this has been a standard attribute of most every multiplayer Tetris game since the start. I suppose there's a chance that they made this choice on purpose, but if so I have to say that it's an objectively wrong decision.

Giving all players the the same array of pieces equates to starting them out on the same ground, with identical resources; the winner is the one who made better (and swifter) use of them. If everyone's random, though, then any losing player can reasonably make the argument that they simply got an unlucky piece distribution or ordering. And that really sucks.

Comments

[dougo.livejournal.com]

I think I can see a couple arguments for making it random. For one, if they come out at different speeds for each player (i.e. one player hits the "drop" button much more often-- I've only played "classic" Tetris so I don't know if this still exists), then one player could watch the other's stream and be able to predict what's coming up in his game.

Another thing is that, unlike duplicate bridge, the hidden information is revealed incrementally rather than happening all at once at the beginning. If two players have the same stream but play the first few pieces differently, the streams might as well be different after that because the positions are different-- a given piece might be perfect for one player but devastating for the other. It's analogous to playing duplicate backgammon, with a fixed sequence of die rolls-- as soon as two games diverge, the dice might as well be random.

[prog.livejournal.com]

Your first arg doesn't really apply here since this version of Tetris gives you a five-piece lookahead.

You are correct in the second graf, and things diverge even more by the fact that players can "attack" each other by sending gray garbage rows to their opponents. (When you clear rows, your targeted opponent receives N-1 garbage rows.)

However, the piece-stream does have an overall, objective, and varying quality to it. A stream rich in I and T pieces is easier to work with than one heavy with S and Zs. All players getting the same stream guarantees that no player got lucky with the RNG and simply got more versatile pieces, even if their boards look completely different at the moment that each piece is received.

[kahuna-burger.livejournal.com]

I agree that both players should have the same peices in 2 player tetris - otherwise why do it two player, just compare your average scores.

[prog.livejournal.com]

Well, there is still plenty of interaction between players in that you can send garbage rows at each other, as has been Tetris tradition since the first Game Boy version 16 years ago. And this new version has a play mode where you can sock each other with Mario Kart-themed weapons as well.