Tetris effect

The Tetris effect occurs when someone dedicates substantial time, effort, and concentration to an activity and thereby alters their thoughts, dreams, and other experiences not directly linked to said activity. The term originates from the popular video game Tetris. People who have played Tetris for a prolonged amount of time can find themselves thinking about ways different shapes in the real world can fit together, such as the boxes on a supermarket shelf or the buildings on a street. They may see colored images of pieces falling into place on an invisible layout at the edges of their visual fields or when they close their eyes. They may see such colored, moving images while falling asleep, a form of hypnagogic imagery. For some, this creative urge to visually fit shapes together by organising and building shapes can be extremely addictive. Those experiencing the effect may feel they cannot prevent the thoughts, images, or dreams from happening. A more comprehensive understanding of the lingering effects of playing video games has been investigated empirically as game transfer phenomena (GTP).