How a new era was ushered in for the mobile industry thanks to the Nokia game

As soon as it was released in 1997 for the Nokia 6110, the game Snake became an instant phenomenon. Taneli Armanto, the developer of the game, talks about the game's history and its digital legacy.

There are a few times from my upbringing that I'm positive the majority of people can connect to in some capacity. The first one transports me to an afternoon on the school bus, where I was impatiently waiting for the Bluetooth polyphonic ringtone of Akon's Beautiful that I had requested from a friend sitting a few seats away to download. I, along with everyone else, had the song pre-loaded onto our own Nokia phones. The next week, it would be another classic from the early 2000s that was popular among teenagers.

However, this was not everything that your Nokia had to offer. Before I had my own (the one that had a blue-ish cover and the flashing lights on the side), I recall constantly bugging my dad to let me play Snake on his old 6110 `brick.` Before I got my own, it had a blue-ish cover and the flashing lights on the side. He would comply, and as a result, his phone gained a purpose in addition to the SMS texting and phone calls relating to his business that it was typically used for.

When I think back to my time spent gaming with this unassuming but extremely compulsive invention, I can vividly recall both the frustration and the enjoyment that I felt. Snake was my first real introduction to technology, and it was also my first real introduction to the world of mobile phones. It's one of those omnipresent games that brings back a rush of memories from my childhood. As an example, hitting the hefty buttons - `beep, beep, beep` – as the Nokia would unleash its recognizable chime, while simultaneously navigating the rapid path of pixels to acquire bits of cellular food. The snake would continue to expand until it collided with itself, at which point it would transport you right back to the beginning. This was the beginning of a brand-new usage for mobile phones, and the beginning of a game that would almost immediately become a phenomenon.

The origins of Snake date back to a time long before the game was popularized by Nokia. Blockage was a black-and-white, two-player arcade game that was developed by the video game firm Gremlin Interactive. The idea for the game was first conceived of in 1976 and given the name Blockage at that time. It was quite similar to what would eventually become Snake, and it required players to press the arrow keys to move each character. Players would also leave a solid trail behind them no matter which direction they went. The player had to avoid hitting anything else for the longest amount of time in order to emerge victorious. This game was the inspiration for a number of other games, including the arcade game Bigfoot Bonkers, which was released in the same year; additional similar concepts, which were released in 1977 by Atari, which was the industry leader at the time; a computer-based version called Worm, which was programmed in 1978; and a single-player arcade game called Nibbler, which was released in 1982.

In 1997, the game Snake was a groundbreaking addition. It was initially released by the Finnish corporation Nokia for the monochrome 6110 phones, and it was programmed by Taneli Armanto, who also worked for Nokia. Taneli only happened upon the task of creating this legendary game by coincidence, but it turned out that he was the ideal candidate for the job.

Taneli was born in 1965, which meant that when she was growing up, there weren't too many computers, let alone games that could be played on mobile devices. It was necessary for us to, and we did, play board games in real life, he tells us. Playing board games has been one of my favorite pastimes right up until the present day. Taneli's first introduction to the inner workings of a computer came while he was in his teenage years, when the school where he attended got a new one (yes, one). Those who were interested or `enthusiastic enough` joined an IT group that was exclusive to members and offered the opportunity to learn how to program the computer. Taneli was a member who held out hope. `When home computers like the Commodore64 became available a little while later, I made the decision that I might pursue a career in computer programming in the future.`

Taneli went on to have a successful career in computer programming and game design, which included a period of 15 years spent working at Nokia. Taneli left university after completing his undergraduate studies in computer science and mathematics just as Nokia was expanding its user interface developing group close to his hometown in Finland. The timing couldn't have been more fortuitous. He immediately began the application procedure, was accepted, and began working on the creation of user interfaces for the company's initial handsets. Taneli, who had worked in the music industry in the past, was curious about the production process of ringtones because of his prior knowledge. During these initial few months, he was given the opportunity to `configure the tones in some of the phones,` as he recalls. These ringtones might make you feel like you've gone back in time a few years, as I'm sure a lot of people can remember scrolling through their phone to find the perfect musical accompaniment and selecting something like the jazzy beeps of Groovy Blue, the high-tempo vibe of Kick, the jumpy energy of Caprice, or the stress-inducing Critter. These are the kinds of songs that play on repeat in your head for several days (with numerous reminders now currently up on YouTube).