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''Geometry Dash'' is a series of music platforming video games developed by Swedish developer Robert Topala. The first game, ''Geometry Dash'', was released on 13 August 2013, on iOS and Android, and a Steam version was released on 22 December 2014. 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'' consists of 21 levels. It is has an extensive level creation system, where players can create their own custom courses, share them online, and play courses designed by other players. More than 83 million custom levels have been created. In addition to the official levels, certain user-created levels have been featured in in-game content including a hall of fame and a daily level. In-game currency, such as stars, coins, orbs, or diamonds can be obtained from various sources such as official levels, user-created levels, or chests.

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

Gameplay

Depending on the platform the game is played on, ''Geometry Dash'' can be played with a touchscreen, keyboard, mouse, or controller. The player manipulates the movement of their icon through input in the form of pressing or holding, with the objective of reaching a level's end. If the player crashes into an obstacle, the level restarts from the beginning. However, in practice mode, the player may place checkpoints to survey or practice a level without officially completing it. The timing and rhythm of the in-game music are key parts of the game, often in relation to each other.

During gameplay, the player's icon takes the form of one of seven different vehicles, each of which behave differently with each interaction. Player movement is further complicated by portals that allow the player to change between vehicles, reverse the direction of gravity, change the size of their vehicle, mirror the direction of their movement, change the speed of their vehicle, or teleport. Furthermore, pads and orbs can be used to move the player in varying directions or change gravity. The vehicles are the Cube (also known as the Icon), Ship, UFO, Ball, Wave (also known as the Dart), Robot, and Spider. The Cube will jump when player input is registered on a surface. The Ship ascends during player input and falls otherwise. The UFO jumps when player input is registered on a surface or in the air. The Ball allows the player to change its gravity on input. The Wave behaves similarly to the Ship, but only falls/ascends in straight lines. The Robot behaves similarly to the Cube, but its jump height is determined by the duration of the player's input. The Spider will teleport and stick to the surface directly above it on input, changing gravity instantaneously.

There are 21 main levels in the full version of ''Geometry Dash'', 18 of which are unlocked upon installation. The other 3 require a certain number of secret coins which are hidden in all of the main levels. Each level grants rewards upon completion. Official levels steadily advance in difficulty. Levels are categorized into 6 difficulty ratings: easy, normal, hard, harder, insane, and demon (which contains an additional counter). Players can earn achievements that unlock rewards such as icons or colors. Players may also utilize three shops which use an in-game currency to acquire icons or colors.

The full version of the game features the ability to upload and download user-created levels. The creator must complete their level with all user-placed coins in normal mode before it can be uploaded: a process known as verification. Changes made after verification will render the level unverified again. Some custom levels have a difficulty determined by Topala. The creator of a level, its players, and the game's moderators can influence this decision. User-created levels can be categorized into 12 difficulty ratings, including the 5 ratings used in the official levels. The auto difficulty is reserved for "auto" levels which do not require input for completion. Additionally, there are five variations of the demon difficulty: easy, medium, hard, insane, and extreme. In approved user-created levels, each difficulty rewards a certain number of stars upon completion.

Music

The various music tracks used in the official levels were made by artists ForeverBound, DJVI, DJ-Nate, Waterflame, F-777, MDK, and Topala himself.

Level creators may choose songs by a wide variety of artists using the website Newgrounds. The music from the 21 official levels can also be used without having to unlock each song's respective level.

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." 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''. The game is developed on the Cocos2d game engine.

Upon its release, ''Geometry Dash'' had seven levels, which are free to play on the game's free version, alongside six other levels released in later updates in the full version. It gained popularity around the world, especially Canada, where it achieved the title as the most popular paid iPhone app in June 2014. There are four free versions of the game, one being ''Geometry Dash Lite'' which includes the first 16 levels from the full version.

On 14 August 2021, Topala released a sneak peek video of 2.2, the first major update since 2017, on his YouTube channel. The release date has yet to be announced. On 4 September 2022, Topala released the second sneak peak, over a year after the first.

Reception

The game received 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." ''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." ''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." 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.

Other games

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". 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".

Other games

''Geometry Dash Lite''

''Geometry Dash Lite'' is a free version of the game with advertisements and gameplay restrictions. Geometry Dash Lite has 16 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.

''Geometry Dash Meltdown''

On 16 December 2015, Topala announced a spin-off game titled ''Geometry Dash Meltdown'', which was released on 19 December 2015, for iOS and Android. As of update 1.0, it includes 3 levels, featuring the songs of F-777. The game showcased new icons from version 2.1 and features in levels added in version 2.0 of the original game.

''Geometry Dash World''

On 21 December 2016, Topala announced a second spin-off game titled ''Geometry Dash World'', saying that it would come out on the same day. Currently, it includes 2 worlds with 5 levels each, along with new update 2.2 features.

''Geometry Dash SubZero''

On 12 December 2017, Topala announced a third spin-off game titled ''Geometry Dash SubZero'', which was released on 21 December 2017. It consists of three levels. It is currently the latest stand-alone game released in the series, and the first to offer some features of the main game's unreleased (as of December 2022) update 2.2, including features from the update such as new icons and camera control triggers.

References

External links

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{{Spoken Wikipedia, En-Geometry-dash-article.ogg, date=27 April 2020

2013 video games
Video games developed in Sweden
Music video games
Platform games
IOS games
Android (operating system) games
Windows games
Windows Phone games
MacOS games
Video games with Steam Workshop support
Video game level editors
Video games with user-generated gameplay content