Hextris Becomes Hexion: The Arcade Story
The Journey from Hextris to Hexion
Hextris was created in 1990 as a personal project at Carnegie Mellon University, originally as a way to learn Xlib and have fun in the computer labs. The game quickly spread across universities and offices, especially in Japan, thanks to early internet newsgroups and word of mouth.
Its popularity in Japan caught the attention of Konami, who approached me in 1991 to license Hextris for an arcade adaptation. For a college student with mounting loans and a love for arcade games, this was a dream come true! The result was Hexion, released in Japanese arcades in 1992.
While I never received a physical arcade unit (shipping costs would have wiped out any income!), seeing my game transformed into a real arcade machine was a high point of the whole adventure. Hexion remains a unique part of arcade history, and I'm proud to have contributed to one of the last true arcade machines.
Hexion in the Wild
Legacy & Impact
Hextris was not just a game, but a community experience—late nights in the lab, feedback from around the world, and even a shareware Mac version (MacHextris) that reached hundreds of players. The story of Hextris and Hexion is a testament to the power of creativity, community, and a bit of luck.
“I often joked that I was trying to raise my grade average by lowering everyone else's.”