How to make a Feature Worthy Level in GD (Video)

So, for about 7 hours, I have written the script, gathered footage, recorded voiceovers and edited together a video for how to make a feature worthy level. I have shared everything I know about creating with you guys, so I hope you enjoy



So, [ℙ][✓] P1kachu said I need to write everything out to make it a guide. Well, here goes

Are you tired of trying to create a level in Geometry Dash, but halfway you quit because you have no motivation to continue? Well, first you must know the habits of making a good level, and I'm here to help. Some of these tips may seem pretty useless at times, but trust me, it's worth it.

Part 1, Brainstorming.
So as a new creator, this may not seem like an obvious thing to do, because it's a Geometry Dash level and only a Geometry Dash level, but it is actually one of the most important things to do in my opinion. Before you even start creating, think about what the level overall would look like, then later, think about what stuff you want in it. If you want to make a simple design level, think about what stuff you want in it. If you want to make an effect level, think about the effects you want along with how to make them. And so on depending on what you want to make. One example of this is how I made floating. I wanted to make something different to impress the GD Forum judges so they can move my level to the "good" section. As wrong as I was about impressing judges, I decided to make a "modernistic" level sort of like Optical. I wanted to make a dot pattern, an opening rainbow effect sort of like the one seen in M A N I X, and some floating islands. The ideas took off and I made Floating. Also keep in mind not everything needs to be brainstormed but if you forget a part, you may get stuck. If you can't think of anything, maybe you just need some inspiration. If would be better if you looked for ideas outside of Geometry Dash like in my level Condense. I originally wanted to make a city looking like Tacoma during the day, but I found out that taller buildings and at night looks way cooler. If you think HeroLocked was inspired by Deadlocked, you are right. If you think it is inspired off of multiple levels, you are more right. The beginning is inspired by just generic 2.1 levels, the wave is inspired by the faces in the Honorable Final and the frame in Deadlocked v3, the puzzle is inspired by Manix648's TOE III, the lava caves were inspired by Viking Arena, the acid part was inspired by Acid Factory and Deadlocked v3, the lava part was inspired by Matilda the Machine, the techno part was inspired by Blade of Justice and the boss battle was inspired by Reanimation. So my level is quite unoriginal, but I didn't copy it. Never. Copy. Anything. Echonox did an excellent job finding inspiration for his level Ad Hoc. In his video, he showed everyday objects cluttered around his desk and used their patterns to make a really cool level. That video will be in the description.

Part 2, Gameplay.
So we finally stopped talking about brainstorming and since we have the done, gameplay is next. I highly recommend mapping out the gameplay before you design the level. For me it is a must to create a layout, because once the layout is done, you can look forward to using that gameplay later on, causing yourself to gain motivation. So what should you have in your level gameplay wise? Well first of all, don't make your levels stupidly boring (Plays Ferris02 level) Ok seriously. how long will this part drag on? Also don't make your levels too repetitive. For example the level I'm showing you right now is really repetitive and makes you wonder if you're wasting your time trying to get those two stars. Also don't try to make your levels annoying, not like Krazyman50 (Plays Falling Up) Seriously you have to hit the orb at the last second, so don't do any unnecessary timings. What I like seeing in levels are a certain amount of rest after a part requiring the player to tap a lot. M A N I X does an excellent job on this. After an intense mini ship straight fly part, you hold the mouse and rest for about a second, making the player think "whew, I got past that part" inside. If you want to make the gameplay of a level more difficult, perhaps consider using portal switching. If you switch portals every few seconds, it causes the player to think fast about what's coming up next and ultimately making the level more fun. Finally try to give the level sync. The music in any level is extremely important to any level and making the level sync with the song makes the level way better. However don't try to sync the level too much with every single note because it can get really annoying at times.

Part 3, Block Design.
So personally, I am far more experienced with gameplay that I am design, but I will try my best. So back in the day, you could get away with no block design, but sadly those days are over. Block designs look really cool if you either start with a plain black block then pile on a bunch of decoration onto it, or you could add simple block designs into others. Serponge did a good job in his level "Disp" where he combined multiple block designs into his level. Of course your levels will look different depending on the style you're aiming for. For example if you want to make a "modernistic" level, you could make curvy blocks. You could just take the circle in the editor, scale them down and get that curvy shape you want. You could also take those curvy looking outlines to make the slopes that you want. So there you go, curvy and fun looking slopes.

Part 4, Decoration.

So this is probably the most important part of any GD level. It is what everyone sees then they look at a level. First, if you are trying to make a design level, try to set your background to a much darker version of what you want you level to be. You can then make a lighter color for decoration. If you decide to use blending on your deco and only your deco, it looks much better, causing the object to look transparent but not too transparent. Also feel free to make the objects less opaque. You can also add glow to certain objects, making them stand out more. Do whatever what the glow pattern works for you, but I recommend using the circle gradient on your deco. It's easy and all you got to do is copy and paste the gradient. Do not use blending with glows as it will not show up well in the editor. If you want to make a themed level like AncientAnubis, make all of the design including the blocks geared towards that certain theme. It looks so cool that way. So we covered normal deco, but what if you're making an effect level, or an level, really? You need to add a good background, and from your brainstorming, hopefully you have a good idea of what's in the background. It can be very little, like many levels, but if you're like me or Jayuff, backgrounds are super important. You could set your entire background to a group, then in a move trigger select "Lock to Player X" and then maybe 15 seconds, it doesn't matter. Then you could do whatever effects you want. When I made Floating, the opening rainbow was caused by four sheets of white one moving left, another right, then up and down. Then I repeat with different colors. When you finally finished everything, make sure to check for errors in the design and gameplay because you might've forgot to cover up a secret way.

Part 5, Post Creation.

Assuming you verified your level okay, it is now time to give your level exposure. If you haven't done so already, give your level a clever name. If can have to do with the song name, or theme you're basing the level off of, or it could be something in a different language. Ad Honorem is to honor in Latin and fits the level well. One thing you could do outside of GD is to go onto the forum to the Judging Panel. From here have a group of judges can criticize your level, telling you what's good and bad bout it. If it's really good, there is a small chance a mod might see it and rate it, you never know. You can also enter your level in a contest, especially a contest with stricter rules. If your level is good and it wins, there is a much higher chance these levels get featured. Finally you can become friends with a GD moderator directly. Personally I don't know the do's and dont's of internet communication, but what I do is go on twitch and see if there are any streams titled something like "Level Requests, sending good ones to RobTop," Because if the mod likes it, RobTop will most likely like it and rate it.

So there we have it, how to make a feature worthy level in GD. Remember, these tips may be very hard to follow the first time, but it just takes lots and lots of patience, skill and practice, and maybe, just maybe, you will get a featured level. This video and the script writing took me forever o make and I would like to thank everyone who watched (or read) this far. If you enjoyed it, make sure to leave a like and a comment, subscribe if you're new and as always guys this is HerobrineCraft signing out.