The Tetris Syndrome

RAZER

Veteran
Just came accross something that most Ludophiles might run into from time to time. For me it was not just this, but also I heard sounds IRL that I associated with stuff in game (for the Entropia people in here, the HOF and Global sound).

The Tetris effect (also known as Tetris Syndrome) occurs when people devote so much time and attention to an activity that it begins to pattern their thoughts, mental images, and dreams. It is named after the video game Tetris.

People who play Tetris for a prolonged amount of time may then find themselves thinking about ways different shapes in the real world can fit together, such as the boxes on a supermarket shelf, the buildings on a street, or hallucinating pieces being generated and falling into place on an invisible layout. In this sense, the Tetris effect is a form of habit. They might also dream about falling tetrominos when drifting off to sleep or see images of falling tetrominos at the edges of their visual fields or when they close their eyes. In this sense, the Tetris effect is a form of hypnagogic imagery.


Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetris_effect


So, got any examples for this you experienced?
 

Roarzor

Veteran
Hmm. Well some video games have that option where you can do parkour such as wall climbing, jumping and climbing, hopping over objects, etc. One that comes to mind would be Outlast. After some time of playing Outlast and its DLC story (Whistleblower), I started seeing desks and saw them as an object to hop over rather than just a desk. I also had a sort of desire to start closing doors behind myself as I entered a room. I'm sure that there are more experiences that would be more relative, but none come to mind besides Outlast at the moment.
 

Cryorvus

Specialist
I can confirm that Tetris effect is true. I saw the blocks in real life constellations and put them between buildings and things. But it goes futher. I played hole Tetris sessions imaginary.

That remembers me of the GameBoy Tetris stations in many malls in the past. There were always two GameBoys in one game pillar, which were connected via the GameBoy link cable. If you startet a Tetris battle and both players pressed START+SELECT at the same time, both GameBoys freezed and don't stopped to make a really nasty & loud sound. The malls vendors hate me for that :D

I see the "tetris-effect" also nowadays. When I go for a walk with the dog, I start scanning the meadows for herbs knowing from TESO or the Witcher. Or if I walk along a internal staircase I'm more aware, because in FPS these places are always a little trappy. Or if I look at old walls or cliffs I start searching for pieces I can use to climb - like in Uncharted or other titles with jump & climb. At work, I often walk through the worlds biggest connected industrial complex (big like a city) and it feels like being in Half-Life (but mercifully no face crabs till now ;) ).
 
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RAZER

Veteran
Yes, I have walked past some herb and thought "mmm, wonder if I still have space in my inventory to take that with me"
 
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