Name Vladimir Pokhilko | Role Video Game Designer | |
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Died 1998, Palo Alto, California, United States | ||
Vladimir Pokhilko (Russian: Владимир Похилко) (7 April 1954 in Moscow – 21 September 1998 in Palo Alto) was a Soviet and Russian entrepreneur and academic who specialized in human–computer interaction.
A friend of the Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov, he was the first clinical psychologist to conduct experiments using the game. He played an important role in the subsequent development and marketing of the game, and a 1999 article in the Forbes magazine credited him for "co-inventing the seminal videogame Tetris".
In 1989, he and Pajitnov founded the 3D software technology company AnimaTek in Moscow. While attempting to create software for INTEC (a company that they started) that would be made for "people's souls", they developed the idea for El-Fish.
After suffering financial difficulties at his software company, AnimaTek, he murdered his wife Elena Fedotova (38) and their son Peter (12), then committed suicide. Shortly before his death, Pokhilko penned a note. The police initially did not release the content of the note, saying that it was not a suicide note, and they didn't know who authored it. The content of the note was released in 1999; it read:
"I've been eaten alive. Vladimir. Just remember that I am exist. The davil."