Level count milestone and some design philosophy

Today marks a milestone in Pachinguys development. It has come a long way from the humble PC prototype it was just half a year ago. The prototype had three elements (pegs triangles and triggers). The game now has:
Pegs, triangles, triggers, bridges, retractable blocks, portals, fans, and upside down triangles

The prototype had one level and no menu system. The current level count stands at 28 story levels and 2 challenge levels, which brings us to a grand total of 30 levels! This is still far from the 70 levels total I want for the final game (60 story levels, 10 challenge levels). But the game is definitely progressing, and progressing well.

When I started working on Pachinguys I didn't know if I could create enough content (levels) without breaking my design guidelines. I believe I was (mostly) successful so far. My level and element design guidelines are:

1) No randomness. Every outcome should be predictable (once a mechanic is learned). In theory, if you know how the mechanics work, you should be able to solve the level in your head before proceeding to implement your solution in one go.

2) No reflexes. Every level needs to be solvable (with the minimum number of guys used) regardless of the players "speed". Levels that do require timing to solve must be forgiving in the sense that they do not require that the player reply the entire level just to get to the timing based part again. Levels that do not follow this guideline are currently considered challenge levels.

3) Maintain the pyramid shape. I believe a game should maintain a constant look and feel, and the general triangle shape of levels is part of that look. While I do at some levels add elements outside of the pyramid, I never remove any part of the pyramid. And I try to keep additions to a minimum.

4) a story is nice, but game play comes first. Many cool element ideas were scrapped because they contributed too little to game play. (Jet packs, slingshots, traps, to name a few). If it doesn't provide an interesting addition to the puzzle, it isn't in the game.

In general I strive to make this game as pure a puzzle game as possible. But the main intention is to create a game that is easy to learn and fun to play. After all, that's what games are all about.