For our 8th Dev Interview, we reached out to Midtris developer CombatStruggle (also known as Yrbiax) to ask a few questions about his journey as a solo dev! Midtris is an interesting twist on the classic Tetris where blocks drop in from all sides of the board and get cleared in squares rather than rows! I (struggled) with the game during our Steam Next Fest Demothon in June 2025, and you may find some tips for the game later on in this article! Please welcome Toni!
1. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer this interview! Could we get a quick introduction to you?
Hey! I’m Toni, Solo indie game developer from Finland. I love indie games of the roguelikes, metroidvanias and puzzle genres.
2. How did you begin developing games?
In 2018, I tried out the GameMaker Studio demo out of curiosity. I had created a lot of smaller games before, but I never published them anywhere. Then came about the side scrolling shooter prototype, which I created with the help of some tutorials which grew from there to be my first game — The Struggle of Combat. I had some experience in software development so I picked it up fairly quickly. Since it was my first game, I made a lot of mistakes. However, it was a useful experience and helped inform my future projects. I created the art by myself, and the music was from a royalty free website. Some, I purchased. But I decided to hire a composer for Midtris because I couldn’t quite find the songs I was looking for.
3. Are you a Tetris player? If so, which version(s) of Tetris do you enjoy?
I play Tetris online sometimes. I wasn’t really much of a Tetris player when I started developing the game. However, I have received a lot of useful feedback from people who are more familiar with Tetris games. ????
4. How did the concept of Midtris come about?
Midtris is a sequel to my previous game Centrist. After finishing The Struggle of Combat, I was trying to come out with new ideas, and this idea popped into my head.5. What game engine is Midtris designed on and why?Midtris is made with GameMaker Studio. It seemed like a good engine for 2D games.
6. What do you think are Midtris’ standout features?
In comparison to Centrist, Midtris has some modern features, such as wall kicks and block holding. Midtris also has game modes with bombs and beams that will differentiate it from regular Tetris games.
7. Were there any games that had an influence on Midtris?
Tetris of course. I’ve also tried TETR.IO to see how some of the modern mechanics work. I wanted to go with more chill vibes for the songs and one of songs that i found reminded me of space, so I decided to go with that theme.
8. There are a number of unique games in your itch portfolio! Are there other kinds of games you are hoping to develop in the future?
It remains to be seen. Whatever idea I come up with.????
9. Are there any strategies or tips you would be willing to share to get a high score in Midtris?
Clearing multiple layers at once will multiply the score. The outer layers are also worth a lot more points compared to inner layers.
10. Where can we subscribe to the progress and news about Midtris and how may our viewers support you?
My Youtube Channel and Twitter/X. The game will be released on June 17th. Wishlisting the game on Steam would be a great help. ????
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Thank you so much to Toni for this interview! And thank you dear viewers for your support of the dev interview series thus far! If you are a developer and would like me to craft some questions for you, I am more than delighted to feature more games for this series! Send me an email at himetokki@gmail.com to reach out, and meanwhile, keep enjoying gaming
♡ If you want to watch my Midtris struggle, you can find the VOD here: