Splitting into gameplay and decoration...
Gameplay
The gameplay is in general, very repetitive and lacks variety. There are a lot of places where straightfly or spamming is already sufficient. The wave and the second ship is just copying and pasting saws, which although suffice as obstacles, does not give variety of the gameplay, making the whole level feel boring to clear. The sync is also lacking, making the experience feel like playing a random level with a random song in place. I don’t get to move up and down or move with the music, which should be your aim in creating gameplay.
Here are specific comments on sections of the level.
- 10%: The player actually has a short time to raise the ship and avoid the first pillar if they do not jump while they are still in cube form. This makes the level harder, which is not a problem on its own, but if you are aiming to make a 4* level, this could prove as a small difficulty spike.
- 20%: The second coin is too close to the first. This is not quite preferable because usually players do not expect coins to be crowded together. Consider moving it back. If you cannot find a place to insert another coin so that they are well-spaced, consider placing only 2 or even 1 user coin(s).
- 60%: Questionable slow speed portal placement. This is a small drop of the song, which should be paired with faster speed to give a contrast between the build-up and the drop. Suddenly slowing down, while the song is still very upbeat, makes the section feel really weird.
- Mode changes, in my opinion, should be placed when the melody of the song changes, and it should be placed on the first beat of the bar. I see you followed that in the first part of the level, but that seem to break down at the last 20% or so. You are suggesting an atmosphere when you pick gamemodes and different settings, so don’t touch them unless the mood changes. Triple-speed wave and slow wave can be very different, mini ship works very differently from normal ship, and, tell you what, the difference between spider and ball is also quite large, and if utilized, can create varied and interesting gameplay.
- Utilize platforms so that the player can experience vertical movement when jumping onto and jumping off them. If you want the player to move a lot, you have to invest in the Y-axis, and platforms lets the player stand in mid-air.
- Orbs also helps in varying gameplay. Check in the ‘orbs’ tab to see what pads and orbs are available to you. You don’t need to use all of them in a single level, but using them wisely and using a wide variety of them can spice up your gameplay by a lot. I reckon that no level does not need a pad or an orb - they are so useful.
DecorationA filled level should have block decoration, air decoration and a custom background. However, your level seems to have lackluster decoration. The only effort into filling up the level, is placing saws and adding hazards at the ceiling and the bottom. Overall, the level looks really empty. You can look for many places that nothing has been placed, which can really benefit from adding different types of stuff.
More specific comments are listed below.
- 32%: Make the outline complete so that it actually looks like a block instead of just a line. I am guessing that you are intentionally using that block, but a line floating does not look nice.
- 40% to 47%: If you found yourself repeating saws for long sections, hazards placed on platforms are probably better choices because a) you don’t need to stack saws, which just gives a plain black object, and b) you can decorate the platforms to make it look more detailed and coloorful.
- 60% to 91%: Don’t stack saws like this. Either a) they spin at the same direction which looks identical to a single saw but the center is darker, or b) the spin in opposite directions which makes them look like weird wave machines.
- 97%: If you want to add dedications, consider making an end screen. The move trigger plus locking to player’s X position works.
- Try adding floating platforms here and there, EVEN IF they do not affect your layout in any way. This is to fill up the empty spaces so that the level looks better.
TriggersIt seems that you haven’t used much triggers in the level, apart from the two shake triggers you used. Triggers make the level look more dynamic and allows you to create lots of effects to spice up the level. Here are some of the triggers you may find useful in your creations.
- Move triggers: makes object move. They are what makes 2.0 and 2.1 levels much more dynamic. It is a very easy trigger to use so you should try them out. This trigger has the use of easings. Take a look at the paragraph below of how easing works.
- Rotate triggers: makes object rotate, either self-rotating or rotating around another object. Also supports easings.
- Alpha triggers: controls the opacity of a group of object.
- Color triggers: changes the colour of different objects, including the background, the ground, the line, etc.
Some triggers have an easing options, it makes the moving speed of the object vary slightly so that it looks more natural or effect-y. Some easings I like to use are Back Out, Exponential In Out, and Bounce Out.
You should try them out and integrate them into your levels to make the level look more dynamic. Triggers are a vital part of your level and you should learn how to use them in order to make better levels.
Just a sidenote, use shake triggers sparingly. Shake triggers can make or break your level, especially when they are frequently used, so be careful.
VerdictNeeds Improvement. This levels lacks in both gameplay and decoration, and simply have lots of stuff that needs to be tinkered. My advice is to look at how others build their levels, either by playing recent epic-rated levels, or using copy hack to break down exactly what objects they have used. I have a cheeky GIF that shows how you know where the object is in the editor, shown here.
Also, try to experiment yourself on making detailed block deco. Start small by building a small platform or a small block, and send them around to seek for feedback. A level is actually just built on a couple of small block ideas which expands into a whole section with a few variations here and there. Try building, and you will realize what great stuff you can build in Geometry Dash.
>>> Moving to NI.