It's a good argument, but I'm still not entirely convinced. Using "actual" gravity instead of video game gravity and having questionable collision detection sounds to me like it could have been done on purpose or it could be the result of poor planning or programming.

Maybe the "random" distance between starting the game and the first pipe coming up is also just a function of how far along a loop you are when you start playing. Did you check the timing or when you started compared to the background, for example? If it's completely random, that's actually very interesting. At the same time, however, it doesn't seem like there's any purpose for that, either.

I'm guessing that this is the only game Dong has released and there's no way for us to look at his previous work to help confirm/deny his genius status. It also doesn't look like he's going to keep releasing games. I think I read somewhere that he's not really open to interviews either. Oh well. It's looking like it might be one of those internet mysteries that will remain unresolved forever.