itch.io

My controls are similar to what I use for other puzzle games; Arrows for movement/drops, A/S for rotation, and Space for jump (in place of where I usually have Hold). I would also normally use something like A/S for run/jump in 2D platformers, but that FPS "WASD Space" hand placement logic seemed to take over pretty nicely  here.

Oh, my comment about time attack was from my own perspective as a player; there are interesting new things to think about how to effectively and quickly move and place pieces.

I haven't dipped into the 2min score attack mode yet. A combo-into-quad system makes sense given that there won't really be a way to do other types of maneuvers. There's maybe other ways one could experiment with how the combo/multiplier systems work, but something along those lines is what sounds most natural.

I did run into some accidental nudging situations. It's pretty closely related to something you might want to do normally (jump on top of a falling piece), so sometimes a slight difference in approach can lead to an unintended shift. It can be rough since there might not be a good opportunity to get back around to the other side of the piece to push it back.

I do appreciate the effort to keep things consolidated onto the existing set of keys/actions. Though, if you wanted to add 1~2 keys to separate it out into its own mechanic, I think you've earned that right. :) I think it helps that the core of the game can be played and enjoyed without needing to frequently access piece nudging, but it's something that can be offered to players that want to do something a step more advanced.

The way I look at things, right now you have three action keys: 2 rotations + jump. I think this compares favorably with other puzzle games. The average Tetris game has 2 rotations + Hold. Tetris Effect has four action keys: 2 rotations + Hold + Zone. Recently released Tetris: The Grand Master 4 will let players use up to seven action keys: 2 rotations + 2 alt rotations + Hold + Backstep  + Extra; this may sound like a lot, but in practice it's not too different from the Tetris Effect case: the 2 extra rotations are optional for player skill expression (quick 180/270), Extra is an optional meta key (used for playing faster in certain contexts), and Backstep is for a mode-specific feature (in the same sort of way that Tetris Effect's Zone button applies to a subset of modes).

If you ever wanted to play around with other ways to handle the mechanic, it feels like there's also great potential to take advantage of with the toroidal playfield; instead of nudging individual pieces, you could allow the player to move the whole world out from under them. :) Compare with V-Tetris's C-Type mode, which iirc has playfield rotation mapped to the L/R buttons. Consolidating into one meta key like Shift+Left or Shift+Right could also work -- maybe a key that lets you "grab" and push/pull whatever you're standing on (a single piece or the whole stack).