Shadowing Practice: How to Make Less Annoying Gameplay in Geometry Dash - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Fun fact, I don't actually play that much Geometry Dash.
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Fun fact, I don't actually play that much Geometry Dash.
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Aside from messing around in the editor and coding some projects related to the game,
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I don't find myself trying out many custom levels.
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But lately I've been getting bored,
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so I decided to scroll through the featured list to see what kind of stuff the community is making.
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Besides, I really need to stock up on orbs for 2.2.
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And that's when I noticed that,
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while the levels usually have really nice looking visuals,
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the gameplay can be pretty annoying at times.
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Obviously every level is going to play differently,
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but there's a handful of recurring issues I see in pretty much every level I try.
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One of the most notable rules for good game design is that every mistake should feel like it's your own fault.
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If it takes a hundred attempts to beat a level because the gameplay was super buggy,
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chances are people are only going to have negative things to say about it.
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This video is going to focus less on bad gameplay like poor sinker UFO spam,
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and more on things that are genuinely unfair to the player.
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In my opinion, gameplay should always be prioritized over decoration,
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and creators should strive to make their level as fair and sight readable as possible.
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So without further ado, here are 10 extremely simple ways to make your level less annoying.
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In case you haven't spent much time in the editor,
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S blocks are invisible objects that cut off the effect of a dash orb when you touch them.
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They're generally used as a way to stop the player from cheesing levels,
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or just holding down for longer than they're supposed to.
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However, the main problem with these blocks is that they're completely invisible.
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If you're going to use S-blocks in your level,
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be sure to give a clear indication of where exactly they're placed.
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While a basic decoration or arrow is usually enough to get the point across,
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I recommend following what Fingerdash did and place a small gravity portal.
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Alternatively, you can go with the much better method of not using S-blocks at all.
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If you put spikes or saw blades on the path of a dash orb,
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it'll be much easier for the player to tell when they should let go.
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It also gives players a little more control by eliminating the surprise of having your dash suddenly get cut off.
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My rule of thumb is to leave the player in charge of releasing the dash
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and only use S blocks as a fail safe in case
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they managed to pass the point where they should have let go.
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If you play easier levels frequently,
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you've probably noticed that a lot of creators really like placing invisible blocks
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that correct the player's mistakes and put them back on the right path.
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While this is a nice way to reduce the stress of an easy level,
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the big problem is that the objects are, well, invisible.
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And that means that the blocks are most likely going to interfere with where the player was expecting to go.
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This really bothers me because the creator is essentially hiding major parts of the level
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and blurring the line between visible gameplay versus what's actually there there.
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If you truly want to make easy and readable gameplay,
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just make all of those invisible corrections viewable and merge it with the existing gameplay.
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In short, what the player sees up ahead should be the same as what's actually there.
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You'd think that with over 20,000 rated levels on the Geometry Dash servers,
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people would know how to make good transitions by now.
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Unfortunately, a lot of them still suck.
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And I understand why.
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When playtesting your own level,
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you always know exactly what's coming up and what to do next.
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The important thing to remember is that everyone else doesn't.
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So even if you spend 4 hours making the world's coolest transition,
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it's just going to make players angry if it gives them no time to react to the next part of the level.
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I'm not saying that transitions should be removed altogether,
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in fact a lot of them are really creative.
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All you have to do is give the player a good second
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or two to process what's up ahead before continuing along with the level's gameplay.
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This also applies just as much to blind jumps,
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or really any point in the level where you can't see the gameplay appearing from the side of the screen.
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Let's imagine you had to sit through a 5 minute level with absolutely no objects.
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Chances are you'd get bored and start making your icon jump around.
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Which is fair enough, because what else are you supposed to do?
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Anyways, now let's take that blank level and replace it with a quick message or logo or cutscene or whatever.
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I still don't understand why,
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but whenever people put pauses or cutscenes in their level,
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you almost always die if you try jumping.
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Either they're moving the icon to a very specific point behind the scenes,
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or they just really don't want you to jump there.
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Either way, try not to do this.
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When playtesting your level, make sure to test what happens when you try clicking during these pauses,
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and do everything you can to stop the player from dying.
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Oh my god, where do I even begin with this one?
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The fact that people still get away with doing this is very concerning.
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If a decoration resembles a spike or triangle in any way,
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it probably isn't a good idea to mix it in with the gameplay,
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because if it looks too much like it's in the foreground,
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people can and will confuse it for a real spike.
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In fact, more often than not,
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it's hard to even see a difference.
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The least you could do is raise them off the ground,
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or add outlines to the real spikes so players can tell them apart,
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but well you know how it is.
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I have nothing against marking jumps with arrows,
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in fact I think it's great,
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but the chevron arrow kind of exists for a reason, so please?
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This one only really applies to the UFO and ship,
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but please don't put jump pads inside of portals.
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Like, ever.
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First of all you can barely see them,
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and second of all, just why?
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Every time I play a level that does this I end up flying right into the ceiling,
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and and by the time I get back there I forgot that the pad even existed,
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so I'd die again.
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Either way, make it so there's no punishment for flying too high,
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or just don't put jump pads in portals,
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it's really not that hard.
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I recommend just placing a flat platform,
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which you can rest on for a second.
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More often than not, people are going to stack multiple portals on top of each other.
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For example, a transition into upside-down ship needs both a gravity portal and a ship portal.
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The problem is, both of these portals need to be readable by the player.
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If the ship portal is in front,
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the gravity portal probably won't be noticed,
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and if the gravity portal is in front,
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it'll be hard to tell what game mode you're switching to.
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The easiest solution to this dilemma is to just space the portals out a little bit.
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Chances are you don't have to switch size or gravity on the exact same frame that you touch the portal,
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so don't be afraid to move it forwards or backwards a little.
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Also, if you're using custom art for your portals,
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make sure it's still easy to tell what everything is.
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You don't want people confusing a gravity portal with the wave,
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or something like that.
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It's not a coincidence that modern 2 or 3 star levels play super differently compared to older ones.
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This is because in order to get a star rating that low,
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you basically have to treat the player like a 2 year old.
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Pretty much every jump in the level is done for you,
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and any flying parts require 2 or 3 clicks at most.
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I don't have too much to say about this one other than,
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please stop babying the player.
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If the level truly was easy,
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then players would already know where to go,
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so you wouldn't have to carry them through the entire thing.
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Chances are, you already know what I'm going to say for this one, so yeah.
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Make sure your moving objects are predictable.
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Well obviously it's nice to have surprises and such,
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but the number one rule is to make sure any moving
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objects don't interfere with what the player thinks is coming up ahead.
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And if it does, put some sort of visual indicator so it's easy to tell where you're supposed to go.
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For objects with multiple movements,
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you can communicate the movement by putting the object on a makeshift track,
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or by finding some creative way to telegraph where it'll move next.
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If you've played Mario Maker,
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you're probably familiar with the idea of a little tinny level.
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Essentially it's just a level that looks like it was designed by a four year old.
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Unfortunately, they exist in Geometry Dash as well, usually with demon layouts.
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It goes without saying that making hard levels is much,
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much, much easier than making easy ones,
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but if done poorly, they're just going to come off as annoying.
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Demon levels should be about technical
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and fast-paced gameplay rather than just a big gauntlet of a million challenges that you squish together.
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Gimmicks like straight fly and tight robot jumps are definitely hard enough for demon difficulty,
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but they're not really fun to players,
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it's just a method of artificially raising the difficulty a little.
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Demon level should still be fair and readable,
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the only difference being that the gameplay is much more technical and has less room for error.
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If your idea of a demon level is just spamming straight fly and crazy UFO parts,
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well, really you're just being a jerk to the player at that point.
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And that about does it for this list.
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This video is pretty different from my usual content,
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but I feel like it had a lot of really good ideas worth sharing.
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There's a million other points I could have gone over,
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but my advice is to just let a friend play test your level and take note of wherever they die.
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If you have any thoughts or things to add,
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be sure to share them in the comments,
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and I'll try to read as many as I can.
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I'm really interested in hearing what you guys thought of this list,
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whether you're a creator, or just someone who enjoys playing levels.
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With that being said, thank you for coming to my TED Talk,
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and I'll see you in 2022 when I upload my next video.
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Later, nerds!
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Why practice speaking with this video?
This video focuses on enhancing gameplay design in Geometry Dash, offering valuable insights into what makes a gaming experience enjoyable or frustrating. By engaging with this content, learners can practice their English speaking skills in a context that revolves around user experience and game development. This topic is not only entertaining but also stimulates discussions about creativity and problem-solving. As you shadow the speaker, you'll get the opportunity to improve your English pronunciation and articulation, particularly around technical vocabulary that is useful in gaming and design discussions. Speaking about such topics can also help deepen your understanding of how to communicate ideas effectively, which is invaluable for any aspiring English speaker.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
The speaker in the video employs several key grammatical structures that can enhance your English speaking skills:
- Passive Voice: Phrases like "the gameplay can be pretty annoying at times" demonstrate how the passive voice is used to shift focus from the doer to the action itself. This is useful in discussions where the subject is less critical than the action.
- Conditional Statements: The speaker mentions, "If you play easier levels frequently," using conditionals to express hypothetical situations. This structure is crucial for forming opinions and speculating in English.
- Imperative Sentences: The video includes directives such as "be sure to give a clear indication," which can be very effective in persuasive speaking. Using the imperative mood can add urgency and clarity to your statements.
Common Pronunciation Traps
When shadowing the speaker, pay attention to specific phrases and tricky pronunciations that may challenge non-native speakers:
- "geometry" – The 'g' sound can often be tricky for learners. Practice saying "geometry" with a clear 'g' to avoid confusion with similar-sounding words.
- "s-blocks" – This term is unique to the gaming community. Make sure to pronounce the 's' clearly, as it’s essential to understand what is being referred to in the context of the game.
- "dash orb" – Focus on the word "dash," ensuring the 'sh' sound is crisp. This kind of precise pronunciation can significantly improve your clarity in discussions about game mechanics.
By practicing these aspects through shadow speech, you will not only improve your pronunciation but also become more comfortable with discussing complex topics in English, making it easier to "learn English with YouTube" resources like this one.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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