Is Platformer Mode Good For Geometry Dash?

Thanks for this video, good to know I'm not the only one that feels this way. It feels like the game's trying really hard to lean into the idea of being able to just make literally whatever you want, versus making a really cool music game level. I'm torn on it, because the latter is definitely the only appeal of the game for me and always has been, but I just know as a kid I would've loved having a game with this many ways to fuel creativity. But yeah, "lost the plot" is the best way I've thought to describe it. Beyond even just the mode itself, things like the art direction (since 2.1 even) or how new gameplay concepts (direction changes, ending the level wherever you want etc) all have NO universal symbols or objective language for the player to pick up on, all feel like the game's fighting against my interest. I'm still excited to see what genuinely cool things people come up with though, in both modes.

Platformer and classic mode levels are going to even out after a few months, since currently RobTop actually needs a lot of them, since there's achievements tied to moons and he needs creators to build things in order for those achievements to be doable. After a while, I think there will be more or less a similar ratio of both gamemodes. I originally disliked the idea of platformer mode, but it's warmed up to me a lot. You know why? The change of pacing. Playing classic mode after a while can get tiresome, as in order to play (especially demons) a classic level, you need to focus a lot on the gameplay, and you can only play for so long unless you have great stamina to not completely lose focus after a while. Platformers are a fun break to me and they greatly increase the replayability of the game, and it probably does for others. It's an interesting way to keep people involved with the game. A lot of games end after a handful of hours, but GD is still a game that people can play for a while whenever they feel like due to its unlimited content. Also I don't think platformer mode is gonna completely remove the sync and musical aspect of the game, at least once people get better at creating it over time. In platformer mode it's still perfectly doable to create synced gameplay, it just takes a different approach to it, and some creators have already managed to do that. This gamemode might have a looser focus on music sync, but I don't think it will completely disappear.

I disagree completely, I don't really see why platformer and regular GD can't coexist and why having platformer in the game damages regular GD. The only bad thing I can think of is the community becoming fragmented, but honestly it already was (list grinders, star grinders, creators) and is inevitable for a game with a community so large. I respect your opinion though and can understand your point about the game losing its identity. I don't think these are really major issues though, I care significantly more about having fun playing the game than the image of the game

Sporks are the pinnacle of multi-faceted practicality and applicability what do you mean they're overrated?

The idea of a platformer with gd mechanics is actually a super promising one imo so I can see why Rob would be excited to add it. And there are some valid reasons not to put it in its own game. But it really does need to be it's own fleshed out game, it's severely held back by the core gd physics and limitations and it ends up holding back gd itself for the reasons you stated.

Geometry dash isn't a "jack of all trades", it is a rhythm platformer. Platformer mode was made to add onto that. I agree it would have been better as a spin off, but having it in the main game is not as big of a detriment as you are making it put to be because its completely seperate from normal geometry dash and is clearly not the priority. The tower is only found after scrolling through all the main levels and there doesn't appear to be any signs of moving away from that core. On the point of the game becoming less reliant on music sync, that is not entirely true. There are ways to sinc boss attacks and gameplay obsticles on music sync and though I will agree it is not great, I dont think it will be as bad as you say. Though platformer mode strays from the core intet of the game, it is hard to deny the positives and significantly increases the posibilities of the game and in time, it will unboubtably find its place.

Personally I think it's interesting to see the game change like this. I was kind of lukewarm about platformer too when it was first announced because of the same reasons you mentioned about music sync and representation, but over time I've definitely warmed up to it simply because of how many creative possibilities it opens up for creators. There's already been a lot of really cool ideas implemented through platformer, and I'm excited to see how creators will innovate on all of the new tools, whether they're making platformer or classic levels.

My take on it is this. I like platformer mode, I think it was a good addition. Like I agree with everything you’re saying but the way the implementation is it doesn’t feel like traditional levels are being replaced by platformer levels. It feels more like geometry dash and geometry dash platformer are two different games. Sort of an NES two games on 1 cart type thing. I agree that if these two things blend badly that would be bad. But I think the existing separation makes me ok with this.

I personally think it was a great addition because for me personally if i want to put a still art image in my level you can really take time to appreciate it in platformer rather than scrolling past it and forgetting it. Not to mention platformer will completely expand whats possible for GD and i personally think it will help the games lifespan. For example making a horror level in classic mode is basically impossible I'm sorry but its true, like collab level was probably the closest thing to an actual horror level but its only creepy the first time you play it. Although i do agree platformer levels should've just been stars instead of a moon system like not everyone wants to play platformer and vice versa some people dont enjoy auto scroll. But since icons are locked to one or the other people will be forced to play both if they want them. But overall Definitely not unhealthy for the game since this already bringing in tons of new creators and players. Not to mention it brings so much more stuff to really do, like pretty much one of the few things that kept this game alive for so long was "oh new top one" which got so repetitive and draining. Now you have harder platform levels, speedrunning, and just the vast possibilities of platformer. thats all sorry for rant <3

Damn i thought you as a Celeste player would like platformer mode. I was also skeptical of it at first but i’ve come to really appreciate the mode as it’s there when the classic game gets boring. Moon grinding also gives us something else to work for

"Platformer mode will make creators worse at making regular levels" is an insane take, you did basically nothing to back it up. Making a standard GD level vs a platformer level are two entirely different experiences, they dont bleed into each other in any way. Nobody is going to try to make regular levels like platformer levels, and vice versa. They are entirely different skillsets.

I understand and relate to a lot of your frustrations here, but ultimately, i dont think gd will lose its identity Platformer is a new feature that everyone wants to mess around with right now, and while we wait for higher standards to develop for the mode, people are gonna continue to make platformer levels trying to essentially "figure it out" The original gd mode is referred to in gd as "classic mode" implying that it is in some way superior or prioritized over platformer mode. Robtop couldve called it auto scrolling mode or smth instead but he didnt which i think is telling Robtop also hid the platformer levels inside of the tower which is not exactly hard to find but it does demonstrate that classic mode is ultimately the priority in geometry dash Anyways to close this off i think if theres one thing ive noticed about the gd community it is that its just filled with an abundance of really creative people. I dont think it matters whether platformer mode feels special or distinct because this community is distinct and there is no better community to give all of these promising editor features to. Geometry Dash is still Geometry Dash, just with more creative potential than ever before, and if gd has an identity, auto-side-scrolling music-based 2D platformer comes second to its identity as a tool or outlet for artists and creatives

I'm not exactly a fan of platformer mode, but I think it has some merits. It's more capable than something like mario maker, while being maybe more easy to use than something like Little Big Planet (though that's a big maybe tbh, but I'd say they are at worst at around the same level.) For what it's worth, I don't think plat mode's very existence is going to impact how regular levels are made too much. Though, I am worried about one thing and that is the SFX trigger. I've seen a few levels which use the SFX trigger in non-platformer mode, and that is something that I think is downright concerning. It's the worst when the SFX isn't even synced with the music. I haven't seen this too much admittedly, but I'm worried this could become a problem.

Why can't the game be good at multiple things? The game isn't just about sync you know, it's much more than that. Platformer mode is here to stay.

Geometry dash user levels: garbage You: oh no, platformer will make levels garbage! They were already garbage. Now we just have fun platformer levels too for a change. Also it's so funny that your core argument is that geometry dash's identity is being a rhythmn game. No. It's been a platformer this whole time with music as an added bonus that sometimes syncs with the level. Levels that abuse music sync are the worst levels in the game.

I think it's funny that even though platformer mode was never the game's original identity, it might become the main selling point of the game, and eventually become the best maker-style platformer out there. After all, geometry dash's editor is far more customizable than any other maker platformer, and the majority of players are in love with it right now. I understand the argument of it messing with the game's identity, but I can't see how something that the community is having so much fun with can be hurting the game itself. If anything, its likely to increase geometry dash's popularity and give it even more staying power. After all, in pre-2.2 gd, originality in levels was something you had to actively work for since the gameplay was inherently limited to a single input button. Now that we have greater creative freedom, the originality and quality of levels is only going to increase from here. Platformer mode is increasing geometry dash's scope of appeal, making it so that even more people can find something in the game they enjoy. It's healthy for the growth of the community as a whole, even if it means classic mode becomes a only a subsection of that community. So, I don't think platformer mode shifting the identity of the game is a bad thing especially because I believe in its potential to keep the community alive and invested for a long time to come.

Of course it isn’t healthy. Just look at the thumbnail robot’s posture!

i like patformer mode i spork the platformer mode, they make good destroy the game, don't like the racism, the game of sporks

I pretty much agree. I'm hoping that the recent push of platformer levels by RobTop is a temporary measure and that eventually things will go back to 50/50. Another thing that I think is interesting to mention is that platformer levels take much less time to make "feature worthy" because the decorating a few rooms is likely to take less time then decorating a minute+ classic level. Seems like for those who want to farm CP, platformers will be king.

I disagree with pretty much everythingin the video. The way I see the platformer is a complete bonus. GD classic levels still exist it's not like their deleted. A lot of people also love the platformer. There are people who play the game just because of platformer. You can get 2 completely different experiences and something that kinda resembles a game engine in one game which for me and many others is amazing. I really love that I can play classic then platformer and back and forth and swtich the game style whenever I want. It's not Pancakes with salt and pepper on them. They are in a different cup that you can ignore if you want to.