hypertapping

English

Etymology

From hyper- +‎ tapping.

Noun

hypertapping (uncountable)

1. (video games, NES Tetris) A technique in which players flex their bicep until it vibrates and tap the D-pad at a speed of over 10 taps a second, allowing them to move falling blocks to the side faster than what would normally be possible by holding down the button.
   • 2021 April 26, Zack Zwiezen, “NES Tetris Players Call It 'Rolling,' And They're Setting New World Records”, in Kotaku‎^[1]:

     It wasn’t until 2018, after a young player won a prestigious competition using hypertapping, that more players starting using it.

   • 2021 April 28, Adam Bankhurst, “NES Tetris Players Are Using a Special Technique Called Rolling to Set New World Records”, in IGN‎^[2]:

     Prior to this, DAS and Hypertapping were the two standards for Tetris pros, but Rolling allows for a high amount of button presses per second without the "superhuman finger speeds" needed for Hypertapping, modified controllers, or any gloves - which also makes it is perfectly legal for tournament play.

   • 2024 January 2, Kyle Orland, “34 years later, a 13-year-old hits the NES Tetris “kill screen””, in Ars Technica‎^[3]:

     The first known way past the brick wall of Level 29 was a technique that became known as hypertapping. By using a special grip that lets you vibrate a finger over the D-pad directions at least 10 times a second, you can effectively skip the "delayed autoshift" (DAS) that limits how fast pieces can move laterally when the D-pad is held down.

Related terms

• hypertapper
• hypertap

See also

• jitterclicking
• rolling

 

Further reading

• Tetris (NES video game) § Speed techniques on Wikipedia.Wikipedia