thank both of you for that great feedback! one day i’ll write more about my process when making a new version of tetrible, but i don’t think this is the right place for that.
but in short, i try to keep the basic rules (speed, rotation, etc.) consistent, and the only reason the first versions didn’t have hold or gravity is because i hadn’t had time to implement them. in the future, i want to keep the rules consistent (except if they’re part of the twist obv), so i’m not really planning to have rules compensate for some versions difficulty. that said, maybe all versions could ramp up their speed slower than what they do now?
i don’t mind too much the difficult versions, but the easier ones where really good players can keep playing forever bother me a bit, as they reward endurance more than skill. however, being a very average player myself it can be hard to realize that in the few hours it usually takes me to ship a game. maybe there should be like a 1000 line limit and a speedrun timer, or something?
anyways, i try to alternate between gameplay/strategic ideas like “long” or “vertical” (that super-players like you tend to enjoy more), and ideas like “SUPERTRIS” or “the floor is lava” (that many amateur players will enjoy mostly for the premise). i can’t always please every crowd, but i’m doing my best.