The Original 1990 Hextris Recording
This video was recorded in 1990 at Carnegie Mellon University as part of the process of copyrighting Hextris (originally xhextris). I wrote Hextris as a personal project to learn X Windows programming (X11/Xlib), and it quickly became a popular way to avoid homework in the labs.
It’s very much of its time: people talking over each other, bugs being described as features, ancient high scores, and a game being played by people who were much better at it than the person who wrote it.
Watch the Video
Prefer the transcript? See the annotated transcript with timestamps.
What’s in Here
- The original X Windows / X11 version (xhextris)
- An early Macintosh port (MacHextris)
- Controls, scoring, and visual features (shadow + next-piece preview)
- Some commentary on design decisions, ports, and copyright concerns