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Breaking News: Complexly Signs Major Tetris Athlete

2024-01-23 · story · John · 5:17 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Projects (also: Pop culture) · mode: Announcements · tags: timely hook, self promotion

John tells how Complexly came to sponsor Willis Gibson (Blue Scuti), the 13-year-old from Oklahoma who became the first person to play NES Tetris until the game crashed: Hank suggested it, the brothers pay out of pocket, and John argues it raises awareness of Complexly itself while supporting an extraordinary young person.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — The Complexly sponsorship teased; John's own NES Tetris playing, levels and end screens

  • ★★★ John introduces the story of how Complexly, the brothers' educational media company, came to sponsor a world-class athlete: a Tetris player in Oklahoma. — 00:00:03 · Complexly
  • ★★ John says he has played Tetris since it came out on the Nintendo Entertainment System 34 years ago, is pretty good, and starts at level 9 speed. — 00:00:13
  • ★ John explains NES Tetris end screens: over 100,000 points a space shuttle launches beside the Kremlin (nod to its Soviet programmers); over 120,000 the Kremlin itself launches with a UFO on the pad. — 00:00:29
  • ★★ John says he can usually reach Tetris's highest end screen and has a couple of times scored over 300,000 points. — 00:00:44

00:00:58 — Willis Gibson's skill, Tetris as unbeatable (Hank's song), and Willis crashing the game at level 157

  • ★★ John says 13-year-old Willis Gibson (Blue Scuti) usually starts at level 18 or 19 and can play past the so-called kill screen of level 29. — 00:00:58
  • ★★ John says Willis uses a special controller technique called rolling to move the pieces super fast. — 00:01:13
  • ★ John calls Willis ludicrously, wondrously, stupefyingly good at Tetris. (playful) — 00:01:20
  • ★★ John says Willis's top Tetris score is over 6 million, while John, in 34 years, has topped 300,000 points maybe 30 times. — 00:01:27
  • ★★ John says the defining feature of Tetris has always been that you don't beat it: every game over three and a half decades ended with the player losing. — 00:01:30
  • ★★ John recalls that Hank made a song many years ago, The Man Who Throws the Tetris Piece, about how you cannot beat the god behind Tetris. — 00:01:35 · Hank Green
  • ★★★ John says a few weeks ago Willis became the first person ever to play Tetris until the game crashed, at level 157, after about 35 minutes at that speed. — 00:02:06

00:02:50 — How Hank and John decided to sponsor Willis, paying out of pocket, and why it builds awareness of Complexly

  • ★★ John says the clip made national news and Willis became known as the person who beat Tetris, defeating the man who throws the Tetris piece. — 00:02:50
  • ★★★ Hank called John asking if he knew the kid who beat Tetris; John, a massive classic Tetris fan, had watched it live; Hank suggested Complexly sponsor him and John agreed. — 00:03:03 · Hank Green, Complexly
  • ★★ John reached out to Willis's mother, a high school math teacher, who loved the idea, as did Willis, who watches some of the brothers' stuff. — 00:03:23
  • ★★★ Complexly is now the lead sponsor of Willis's Twitch and YouTube livestreams, with Complexly's logo prominently featured. — 00:03:35 · Complexly, YouTube
  • ★★ John jokingly brags that Complexly, maker of Crash Course, SciShow, Eons and more, is now the first online media company to sponsor a world-class Tetris player. (playful, hedged) — 00:03:43 · Complexly, Crash Course, SciShow, Eons
  • ★★★ John says Patreon money does not fund the sponsorship: he and Hank are paying for it out of their own pockets. — 00:03:56 · Hank Green
  • ★★★ John argues that although Willis's livestreams don't reach billions of viewers, the sponsorship is a fairly good investment. — 00:04:05
  • ★★★ John says Complexly's brands are strong but far fewer people know Complexly itself, so they want to raise awareness of who they are, not just what they make. — 00:04:22 · Complexly, Crash Course, SciShow, Study Hall, Eons
  • ★★ John says Complexly is a production company that now employs over 70 people working on a huge variety of educational content. — 00:04:36 · Complexly
  • ★★ John says the sponsorship also lets them encourage and support an extraordinary young person. — 00:04:44

00:04:51 — Willis thanks sponsors like a NASCAR driver; John thanks Hank for the idea; sign-off

  • ★ John says Willis thanks his sponsors on stream like a NASCAR driver, which they appreciate. (playful) — 00:04:51
  • ★★ John thanks Hank for the idea: Hank's ideas are sometimes ludicrous and terrible, and sometimes ludicrous and awesome. (playful) — 00:05:00 · Hank Green

In the description and comments

  • ★★ The description (and John's pinned comment) points viewers to follow Complexly-sponsored Willis, aka Blue Scuti, on Twitch and YouTube. — video description · YouTube, Complexly

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Complexly · Tetris · Willis Gibson

Also: Projects: Crash Course · Eons · SciShow · Study Hall

Works: The Man Who Throws the Tetris Piece

Organizations: NASCAR · Patreon · Twitch · YouTube

Places: Oklahoma · Soviet Union

Products: Nintendo Entertainment System · Space Shuttle

Also centred on Tetris: Tetris Day! · Tetris Day! · Why Are Humans Suddenly Getting Better at Tetris? · get your game on

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