RGB drones form falling Tetris blocks across the Dubai Frame during the Red Bull Tetris World Final, turning the landmark into a live, playable game in the night sky. (Image Source: Red Bull Gaming)
Red Bull Gaming recently hosted a tournament where it used RGB drones to turn the desert night sky into a live, playable Tetris game. The grand final was held at the Dubai Frame, a 492-foot-tall structure that served as the venue. Spectators here were treated to a total of 4,000 drones with live music and special appearances.
Femi Atalar from Turkeye and Leo Solorzano of Peru faced each other in a three-minute pre-final match. The winner would then have the right to decide if they wanted to go first and set the target score or choose to chase it. “The opponents would each have exactly five minutes of gameplay to achieve the winning score, with their Tetriminos created in real time by a fleet of 2,800 drones: 1,400 for each player, ” said Red Bull Gaming.
The 150-meter-high structure was used to recreate the live game, where synced drones precisely lined up every fall, rotation, and drop of the blocks in real-time. In the final match, Solorzano went first and set a target score of 57,164, but Atalar soon broke the target and went on to record a final score of 168,566.
“Over [my] five years of Tetris experience, this was the best moment, and this event was one of a kind. It’s not a thing you can describe in words,” Atalar concluded. “I managed to play like a machine, and although I could have done things a bit cleaner, I achieved a flawless run and did not miss a single point in any of my matches, so I am very happy,” Atalar said after winning the grand final.
The Red Bull Tetris tournament featured players from 60 countries engaging in more than 7 million qualifier matches, which were then followed by National Finals in 60 countries and a full day of Word Final knock-out brackets. Unlike the classic version of Tetris, where blocks fall slowly, the tournament featured three-minute rounds with gravity shifts, speed boosts and special power-ups.
