Geometry Dash

Geometry Dash
Geometry Dash icon
Genre(s)	Runner, music, platformer, art
Developer(s)	Robert Topala
Publisher(s)	RobTop Games
Platform(s)	iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Microsoft Windows, macOS
Original release	iOS, Android August 13, 2013 Windows Phone June 12, 2014 Microsoft Windows, macOS December 22, 2014
First release	Geometry Dash August 13, 2013
Latest release	Geometry Dash SubZero December 21, 2017

Geometry Dash is a series of music platforming video games developed by Swedish developer Robert Topala, also known as RobTop.^{[1][circular reference]} The first game, known simply as Geometry Dash, was released on August 13, 2013 on iOS and Android.^[2][3] In Geometry Dash, players control the movement of an icon and navigate along music-based levels, while avoiding obstacles such as spikes that instantly destroy the icon on impact.

Geometry Dash currently consists of 21 official levels from an initial number of 7. It is well known for its extensive level creation system, where players can create their own custom courses, share them online, and play courses designed by other players. More than 71 million custom levels have been created.^[4] In addition to the 21 official levels, certain user-created levels have been featured in in-game content, such as map packs, gauntlets, the hall of fame, daily non-demon level, weekly demon, and the search bar.^{[1][circular reference]} In-game currency, such as stars, secret coins, user coins (verified only), mana orbs, or diamonds can be obtained from chests, or official levels (in which secret coins can only be obtained) and user-created levels (in which user coins can only be obtained).

In addition to the original game, 3 other spin-off games in the series have been made: Geometry Dash Meltdown, Geometry Dash World, and Geometry Dash SubZero.

Gameplay

The beginning of Electroman Adventures, the 13th of 21 official levels in the game and currently the last level of Geometry Dash Lite.

Geometry Dash can be played with a touchscreen, keyboard, mouse, or controller (depending on the platform). The player uses the jump function to control the movement of their icon. To jump, the player can press on the screen on touchscreen devices, hit the spacebar or up arrow on a keyboard, left-click with a mouse, or press A on a controller. The player can hold down jump to constantly interact with certain vehicles.

The objective of the game is to complete a level by reaching its end. Notably, if the player crashes into an obstacle, the level restarts from the beginning, an exception being in Practice Mode.^[5] Users cannot control the speed at which the icon is moving. The timing and rhythm of the in-game music are key parts of the game, often in relation to each other.^[5]

In the game, the player's icon takes the form of one of seven different vehicles, each of which behave differently with each interaction. In the default cube form, the player taps to jump from the ground, and holds to make repeated jumps. In the ship, the player holds to move up and releases to move down. With the ball, the user taps to switch gravity from the ground. In the UFO, the player taps to jump in mid-air. With the wave, the player holds to move up diagonally and releases to move down diagonally; gravity affects the opposite. With the robot, the player holds to make a long jump from the ground, and releases to stop the jump. With the spider, the player taps to flip gravity and teleport to the nearest floor or ceiling. The same applies to the mini forms except the mini-wave, where it moves at an angle of 62.5 degrees.

Player movement is further complicated by portals, which allow the player to change between vehicles, reverse the direction of gravity, change the size of their vehicle, or mirror the direction of their movement. Furthermore, pads and orbs provide the player the ability to jump automatically or mid-air.

There are 21 official levels in the full version of Geometry Dash, 18 of which are unlocked upon installation. Each level grants rewards upon completion^[5] and contains 3 secret coins, which are used to unlock the three locked levels.^[6] For official levels from RobTop, the levels steadily progress in difficulty, which is categorized into 6 levels: Easy, Normal, Hard, Harder, Insane, and Demon. For user-generated levels, there are 12 difficulties, one being Auto which is for levels where the player does not need to make any inputs to complete the level, Unrated or N/A where RobTop has not rated the stars or difficulty, or through triggers, and using blocks, it shows pictures, or videos like the Geometry Dash Legends series made by Geometry Dash User, OmegaFalcon. The Demon difficulty in user-generated levels is separated into 5 different difficulties known as Easy, Medium, Hard, Insane, and Extreme Demons. Each difficulty rewards a certain number of stars upon completion. The stars given in official levels are different from the number of stars given in user-generated levels. For example, official levels rated Demon grant the player 14 (Clubstep or Theory of Everything 2) or 15 stars (Deadlocked) upon completion while user-generated Demon levels give 10 stars. Players can also earn achievements that unlock rewards like icons or colors.^[7] Players may also utilize three shops, where they can spend an in-game currency called "mana orbs", collected through playing and completing levels.^{[citation needed]} Each game in the series has a practice mode that can be used for any level which allows the player to restart at manually or automatically placed checkpoints instead of the very beginning.^[7] A level cannot be officially completed on practice mode, though completion can lead to certain rewards like colors and icons. The game also features the ability to upload and download user-created levels, though this is not possible in Geometry Dash Lite or the spin-off games.^[8] The player must complete their level with all user-placed coins (to ensure the user coins are possible to obtain) in normal mode in order to ensure that it is actually possible to complete the level before it can be uploaded. Changes after the verification will render it unverified.^[7] Some custom levels have a difficulty determined by Topala. The creator of a given level, its players, and the game's moderators can influence this decision.

Development

According to Topala, the game began as a project that could have moved in any direction. He made the remarks, "it simply started as a template with a cube that could crash and jump" and "there really was no detailed plan".^[9] He previously developed it for the computer, but later altered his plan and made attempts to make it a mobile game. Topala was inspired by "The Impossible Game" and he took about four months to create the game and take it to the App Store and Google Play Store. In the beta version, the game was called Geometry Jump, but was later changed to Geometry Dash.

Upon its release, Geometry Dash had just seven levels, which are now currently free to play on the game's free version, alongside six other levels released in later updates in the full version. It soon gained serious popularity around the world, especially Canada, where it achieved the title as the most popular paid iPhone app in June 2014.^[10] There are four free versions of the game, one being Geometry Dash Lite which currently (as of Lite's update 2.2) includes the first 13 levels from the full version.^[6]

On 14 August 2021, Topala released a sneak peek video of 2.2, the first major update in 4 years on his YouTube channel. The release date has yet to be announced.^[11][12]

Reception

The game has opened to generally positive reviews from critics. Softpedia complimented the game's style and challenge that it brings up, saying, "While it can get a bit frustrating sometimes, you can always complete the stages using the practice mode and then jump into the many different user-generated levels."^[13] 148Apps gave the game a positive review, stating, "Geometry Dash provides all of the challenge expected from an "impossible" game while also making it more accessible to newcomers."^[14] Geometry Dash has also been listed by the reviewer Chris Morris on the website Common Sense Media as a child-friendly video game that parents could let their children play on, stating that the game was a "good way to handle frustration", and that "families can also talk about rhythm and the joy of dancing in time with music".^[15] On the App Store, Geometry Dash was ranked 2nd for the app's Top 10 Paid iPad Games and 7th for Top 10 Paid iPhone Games in 2018.^[16]

Other editions

For Geometry Dash World, Gamezebo praised the game's captivation and decent gameplay styles, though the reviewer noted that it was not the "most interesting looking game out there".^[17] Gerson Noboa from AndroidGuys praised the Geometry Dash spin-off, stating that, "Geometry Dash World is a worthy addition to your game arsenal. Thanks to tightly connected graphical and sound elements, the game provides an awesome, integrated experience that is rarely seen in Play Store games".^[18]

Spin-offs

Geometry Dash Lite

Geometry Dash Lite is a free version of the game with advertisements and gameplay restrictions. Geometry Dash Lite has 13 levels, but lacks the ability to create and play custom user-generated levels. It also has a much more limited selection of character customization options, missing many of the icons and colors that can be used in the full game.^[19][20]

Geometry Dash Meltdown

On December 16, 2015, Robert Topala announced a spin-off game titled Geometry Dash Meltdown,^[21] which was released on December 19, 2015, for iOS and Android.^[22][23] As of update 1.0, it includes 3 levels and features the songs of F-777, with new icons from version 2.1 and levels made to showcase the 2.0 features to those who do not own the full version.

Geometry Dash World

On December 21, 2016, Robert Topala announced a second spin-off game titled Geometry Dash World,^[24] saying that it would come out on the same day. Currently (as of update 1.0) includes 2 worlds with 5 levels in each world, new 2.1 icons, a shop, a new vault, daily quests, levels & rewards, and secret chests made to showcase some of the new 2.1 features that were included in the update of the full version.^[25][26]

Geometry Dash SubZero

On December 12, 2017, Robert Topala announced a third spin-off game titled Geometry Dash SubZero,^[27] which was released on December 21, 2017.^[28][29] It consists of three levels. It is currently the latest stand-alone game released in the series,^[30] and the first to offer some features of the main game's unreleased (as of January 2021) update 2.2, including features from the update such as new icons and camera control triggers.^[31]

References

External links

• Official website

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