Henk Rogers firmly established himself as part of the foundation of the video game industry when he negotiated a deal to licenseTetristo Nintendo in the 1990s. Since then, it has gone on to become one of the most important franchises in the industry, and Rogers co-founded TheTetrisCompany, building onTetris' success in new and innovative ways. This innovation shows no signs of slowing down, and Rogers has some exciting new ideas on the horizon.
During Gamescom LATAM, Game Rant caught up with Rogers to find out what he’s been up to since launching his new book,The Perfect Game. The book captures his arduous journey to establishTetrisas a global brand. According to Rogers, it is far more historically accurate thanthe movie that the events were loosely based on. His sights now turn to an exciting new project called the Action App.
Henk Rogers Discusses Exciting Future Plans
Even after such a long, successful career, Rogers shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon, with several projects in the pipeline. One such project is the Action App. Rogers describes it as a real-liferole-playing game, and the global benefits of it could be truly game-changing. He explained,
‘‘Instead of playing it in the virtual world, you play it in the real world. What we do is give you a list of things to do that make the world a better place. In the beginning, they’re real small things. For example, maybe pick up a piece of rubbish, turn off the lights in a room where there are no people, etc. When you do a bunch of small ones, then you go up a level, and then we give you bigger things to do.’’
The Action App Could Yield Some Amazing Global Benefits
This unusual concept should have lots of benefits, not just for the user but for the wider world. Things like cleaning rubbish or switching a light off will have a positive impact on the environment when done at scale. ‘‘Currently, there are two ways to make points. One is that you take an action, or you do the action, but the best way to make points is if you create an action, and when other people do it, then you get points too.’’ Rogers continued, ‘‘AI is going to figure out first whether this is something that’s good for the world or not.’’ In terms of what the user willgain from leveling up, Rogers explained,
‘‘What I’d like to do for concerts, for example. Let’s say the level 7s are going to get to buy tickets on Monday, level 6 on Tuesday, level 5 on Wednesday, and so on. Basically, what that means is that level 7s get to sit in the front. So we’d sort the people out by level. Then that will be a competition to become a higher level to get closer to the front at a concert, and we could take that concept and use it for a sports event.’’
Rogers clearly has huge plans for the Action App, and it’s easy to see how some of his examples would spark excitement among gamers. Having the opportunity to participate in something that would have a positive effect on the globe, while also maintaining the status benefits of traditional RPG leveling, is an entirely new concept. If Rogers and his team manage to stick the landing, the Action App could be for the globewhatTetriswas for video games.
