Do you think that NONG songs should be used in levels?

yeah. Idols mashup is a good example of an amazing NONG song. Although most suck, some are really nice, and I think they’re pretty good overall.

definitely, there are a lot of really good songs that arent on newgrounds and i think that only letting people use some songs from that one website is very artistically limiting

I've never really been a huge fan of NONGs in levels, because more often than not they often base the whole level off of that song, including adding things like lyrics and theme. This can be an issue, because when you ultimately have to find a replacement song, the replacement never gives the same feel as the original song did.

Take Idols for example: It is quite well synced to Idols (the song), both in it's gameplay and design, even incorporating some of the lyrics into the level's design. However, Idols is a NONG, and as such, Zafkiel needs to find a replacement, and there's the truth that no matter what song he picked, it wouldn't give the same feel as the original song.

Let's look at a different example, being Killbot. I'm using this as an example since, unlike Idols, this song has no lyrics. However, it suffers something similar. Killbot (the song) is a very violent and brutal sounding song, which incorporates well into the chaotic nature of the level. However, the replacement song, while still having a tech-like vibe, is much more consistent in it's beats, which detracts from the level's quality, overall, since the point of Killbot is to be very chaotic.

Now, you could argue that you could just replace the replacement song with the proper song, but the issue is, as a mobile player, I simply can't do that. It annoys me when I come across a good looking level that I can't fully enjoy because I either can't use a song altogether, or the replacement song is subpar, and detracts from the level's quality.

So ultimately, yes, I am against NONGs in levels. However, if a creator finds it fun to make a level with a NONG, then they can make a level with a NONG. After all, who am I to tell someone how they enjoy a video game? I won't enjoy it myself, but they can still go ahead. As Stlay said though, don't be surprised if it doesn't get rated.

I chose "depends" because it puts a bias against mobile players who can't replace songs easily. If it's a layout for a video with no intention of being deco'd then I don't see an issue, but if there's an incentive for people to play the level (stars), I think it's unfair to mobile players. It's not like GD is starved for new/underused songs anyway.

if the replacement works then yeah

If the replacement works, then feel free to make a level using a NONG and hope/expect to get it rated. Even without a replacement, feel free to make a level I guess, but don't expect it to get rated.

I’m not a fan of NONG songs but I’m also a mobile player so I’m barred from using the actual song that the level is supposed to use. This means that more often than not I’m stuck using a song that doesn’t fit the tone of the level and doesn’t sync all that well either. Pretty disappointing to be stuck playing levels like that.