Are you still developing games for WildSnake?

AP: Yes, we're planning to do something two-player, that's our very last idea. We still don't know what it will be. They've worked on another good game called Chipai or Chapai. It's an incarnation of our childhood game from when we were small boys and didn't know how to play checkers.

We'd put the pieces in a row and just flick them, and try to knock out the other person's entire row. It was very popular, it had a very strong rule set that you start with, about movement and combinations. So they took that and have a very good version of it.

Did you help design that?

AP: No, they did it on their own, but they inspired me -- this is a really great area to do something creative, because you can play with the field, you can play with the pieces, with their properties. So I'm trying to convince them to do another, more advanced, version of this.

Are you still actively designing?

AP: Not really actively, but as soon as we agree to do it, I will write them a spec. It's very convenient to work with them because they understand everything very well and there are no formalities. We discuss things briefly and they immediately try to realize it.

What is most of your day-to-day work now? Is it overseeing Tetris Holdings?

AP: No, that doesn't take too much time. I basically enjoy myself.

Are you essentially retired?

AP: I can't say that I have a working day or working hours. I think I should probably start something with Microsoft, because we have a very good general agreement and they are ready to do something with me. They have a team of prototypers ready and now, finally, they have some kind of good sense of what to do in this area.

Have you seen the [Tetris-related] film they're going to show later? What do you think of it?

AP: Well, it's good for a movie. There were a number of movies about this story, this is one of them, and I think it's good. Frankly, there was another movie made just before Magnus [Temple, director] did this one, so I'm a little mixed up. But people enjoy watching. I can't be objective because I'm part of this story.

I noticed that any time they flash back in time to when you were working for the Soviet Institute, the music gets very... heavy-handed.

AP: [Laughs.] Well, that's how they make drama in movies. They need a soundtrack like that. And the building itself is depressing enough! But they have good interviews there with everybody and it seems like a good job.

Did you feel any of that heavy drama when it was actually happening?

AP: Well, everything in the movie is very concentrated. All the events have a duration of years. There were very sharp moments, but it wasn't like an action movie. [Laughs.]