Geometry Dash

Gameplay

Geometry Dash uses a simple tapping/clicking system to control different vehicles that react when a player presses anywhere on the touchscreen (space/up key(s), mouse, or "A" button if playing on the PC version) and can be held down to constantly interact (on some vehicles). Users cannot control the speed at which the icon is moving, the only way to change speed is by touching a speed changing portal. The timing and rhythm of the in-game music are key parts of the game, often in relation to each other.

The object of the game is to complete a level by reaching its end; however, if the player dies at an obstacle, they will have to start over from the beginning. All levels (with the exception of the three Demon levels in the full version) are unlocked from the start, so they can be played out of order. Along the way, the player can collect up to three secret coins in each official level, which are scattered in either hidden or challenging areas (or both).

The icon can take up to seven separate forms, which behave differently with each interaction. Forms themselves can be changed with seven separate portals, while the behaviour of these forms can be changed further with portals that include size portals, which change the size of the icon, mirror portals, which mirrors the game view, gravity portals, which change the gravity of the icon, double portals, that duplicates a reversed, anti-gravity version of the icon, and 5 speed portals that change the speed of the icon. All of these features give a variety of ways to play the game.

If the player completes a level, he/she will be rewarded with diamonds and orbs that can be used to purchase icons, death effects or trails.

Achievements

The game features several achievements that can be unlocked in several ways, such as: collecting a certain number of stars, completing certain Demon-rated levels, completing official levels, adding friends, liking or disliking online levels, rating custom levels, etc.; plus secret achievements unlocked though undisclosed means.

Achievements can be collected also by getting shards, which can be obtained in various ways.

By unlocking achievements, the player is rewarded with certain icons or colors, where they access the Icon Kit to customize their icon. The player can also unlock other customization features, namely a selection of trails behind icons, a secondary color glow around the icon's black border and death effects.

Secret Vault

The game features three secret vaults: the first can be unlocked by getting silver (verified) user coins, the secong by getting diamonds, and the third with an emblem

They display a screen with a text box where you can input codes that can be found from deciphering tricky riddles and unlock secret achievements (that unlock new icons, trails, etc.).

Game levels

Geometry Dash features 21 official levels, 18 of which are playable from the start. Each level has rewards when completing them. 3 Secret Coins can be found in each official level, for a total of 63, these secret coins unlock 3 secret levels: 10 unlock Clubstep, 20 unlock Theory of Everything 2, and 30 unlock Deadlocked. (Until Update 2.0, Clubstep required twenty coins to unlock, and Theory Of Everything 2 required thirty coins to unlock.)

These levels range wildly in difficulty; while some can be beaten by anyone, some require thousands of attempts to master and complete. Online levels can get even harder than the official levels, as repeatedly proven by the creators of these online levels. Over time, the "difficulty cap" has risen and risen to reach new heights each update, especially in 2.1 with levels constantly coming out.

Levels are classified by difficulty, from Auto (Easy in the official levels) to Demon; in order of the levels' addition to the game, somewhat but not completely in order of difficulty.

The stars represent the difficulty and the number of stars the player gets when completing that level. Also, official levels are worth more stars than custom levels. For example, Demon levels are rated 14 (as in Clubstep and Theory of Everything 2) to 15 stars (as in Deadlocked) for official levels, but only 10 stars in the custom ones.

Geometry Dash has a practice mode that can be used for any level. Checkpoints are available in this mode, allowing for restarting at checkpoints instead of the very beginning. These checkpoints are marked by green, diamond-shaped gems, resembling those from The Sims series.

Custom levels

Besides the twenty-one official levels, the game supports custom levels. To access these custom levels, the player must have the full version. Notable objects that can be used include blocks, rings, jump pads, portals, spikes, and user coins among others. Coins that are verified can be collected for new icons, or to be used to unlock the vault.

The player must be able to complete their own level with all coins in normal mode in order to ensure that it is actually possible to beat. A level can be verified in separate attempts such as completing a run through in one attempt and then collecting coins in another; however any changes made to the level will make it unverified. These levels can either have the same music already in the game or custom music from Newgrounds.

Each user-created level has a unique ID, which can be used to play the level without searching its name. As similar to the official levels, user-created levels are classified by difficulty, which is decided by RobTop, by players or "level mods" who can send a level to RobTop to be rated. Unlike official levels, they cannot be played offline unless they were previously downloaded.

Development and release

According to Robert Topala, the game began as a project that could have moved in any direction. He made the remark, "There was really no detailed plan... it simply started as a template with a cube that could crash and jump." He previously developed it for the computer, but later altered his plan and made attempts to make it a mobile game. Topala was allegedly inspired by Super Mario Bros.-style platformers. He took about four months to create the game and take it to the App Store and Google Play. In the beta version, the game was called Geometry Jump, but was suddenly changed.

Upon its release, Geometry Dash had just seven levels, which are now currently free to play on the game's free version, alongside four other levels released in later updates in the full version (Time Machine, Cycles, xStep, and Clutterfunk). It would soon gain serious popularity around the world, especially Canada, where it achieved the title as the most popular paid iPhone app in June 2014. There are three free versions of the game, one being "Geometry Dash Lite" which currently (as of update 2.2) includes the first 11 levels from the full version, "Geometry Dash Meltdown" which currently (as of update 1.0) includes 3 levels with new 2.1 icons made to showcase the 2.0 features to those who do not own the full version, and "Geometry Dash World" which 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 for the full version. On 19 December 2015, RobTop released Geometry Dash Meltdown on iOS and Android. On 21 December 2016, Robtop released Geometry Dash World on iOS and on Android 22 December 2016.