Hextris — Original 1990 Recording (Annotated Transcript)
This is a cleaned-up, readable transcript of the 1990 recording, with light annotations and links to specific moments in the video.
Opening & Setup (0:00–1:10)
0:00–0:20 “All quiet on the set… yes, really, yes.”
[Camera setup. I wave a hand in front of the monitor to prove we’re actually recording.]
0:47–1:10 “This is the high score list.”
Controls are mentioned casually:
J left, L right, K rotate.
First Gameplay & Early Design Commentary (1:10–3:30)
A new game starts and someone else plays while I narrate and make sure the camera can actually see the screen.
2:17–2:34 “Everybody said it’s a bug… I said no — it’s a feature.”
[Rotation behavior / two-direction rotation comes up here.]
2:34–3:07 “I just ported it off my PC… took maybe half an hour.”
[Followed by some happy reminiscing about early bugs, pausing/redraw behavior, etc.]
Visual Features Explained (3:07–4:10)
I explain two optional helpers:
- Shadow at the bottom: shows where the piece will land
- Next piece preview (upper-right): shows what’s coming next
3:14–3:45 “It sort of obvious… but not intuitive.”
3:45–4:10 “I can’t play the game — I just wrote it.”
High Scores, Ego, and Campus Culture (4:10–7:00)
There’s joking about being “world famous” (as a programmer, not a player), and then we drift into a very-1990 discussion about what a copyright video is supposed to prove.
6:14–6:25 “What’s a game for besides fun? …To make money, if it’s possible. More money…”
[Joke. Mostly.]
Scores, Rows, and Difficulty (7:00–13:30)
We talk about CMU high scores (and how terrifyingly good some people are), and the whole “how can you play forever and never clear a row?” phenomenon.
11:21–11:47 Breaking 100 rows is celebrated.
13:13–13:21 “If you can’t get enough rows it finally fills up… that’s a bug.”
[Delivered with a grin.]
Color Versions & Aesthetic Commentary (13:30–15:30)
14:14–14:40 “They’re cool… but they hurt your eyes after a while.”
14:25–14:40 “The color selection should not be patented or copyrighted… it just proves it can be in color.”
Transition to Macintosh Port (26:00–29:30)
The video switches to an early Macintosh port, “MacHextris.” We intentionally bring up the “About” box so it can be read on camera.
29:07–29:30 “This is an old, old version… it gets the basic idea across.”
Ports, Code Sharing, and Attribution (29:30–33:30)
Some of the details of the port come up: who did what, what had to be redone because “it’s not Unix,” and how early scoring bugs show themselves in charming ways.
31:32–32:12 “At least you got the rows part right.”
Formal Introduction (35:18–36:34)
35:18–36:06 “Hi there, my name is David Markley, and I’m the inventor of Hextris… I’m now attempting to copyright it…”
I explain that you’ll see the X-based version (xhextris) and the Macintosh version (MacHextris), and that these are the only versions available at the time.
Gameplay Explanation (37:00–40:00)
I walk through how the game starts, basic movement/rotation/drop, and what it means to complete a row: make a connected series all the way across.
39:45–40:00 “When you don’t have any more space, it fills up… and that ends the game.”