Rating Curve

awesome level!! very engaging, the first few parts are a ta HELP I WANTE TO COPY PASTE MY |) KEY BC MY KEYBOARd BROKE BUT I FORGOT I COPY PASTEd AN IMAGE OF A JAPANESE SHRINE AN I dONT KNOW HOW TO REMOVE IT????????????????? anyway the few first parts are a tad underwhelming which lowers my score a little bit but the rest of the level makes up for it! the animations are SO smooth and everything flows together nicely! im not a huge fan of this style but i have to admit yoreid and airzyy cooked w this!! 9 i think

tldr: this is my favorite level and i interpreted this level as a queer person being disowned by their family. gay people are currently at risk and now that trump's in power again we need queer media now more than ever.

hi!! so this is my favorite jade level and probably my favorite level ever and i want to write a really long review about this level to show how much i love it and why this level matters to me. im really really bad at interpreting art in a way that seems meaningful, hell i barely passed literature lmfao, but i think i have a semidecent interpretation of this level that speaks to me personally and which im able to connect my vulnerabilities with as a gay person whos scared of coming out to my family, with the fear of possibly being disowned for my identity. i dont know if jade had an experience similar to this that lead to her creating this level (iirc she has an accepting family and im rlly glad she does) or she has friends that went through something like this, hell maybe this isnt even the "correct" interpretation and this level doesnt mean anything impactful and this is all a huge reach and i should leave hyperbolus forever and quit geometry dash, but i believe art has its purpose in the world and i genuinely want to thank her for making this. i think this is the only level thats made me tear up in some way thinking about all the situations going on in my life and the world in general.

as you can probably tell if you read the first paragraph of this review, i believe this level represents a very real situation that happens more often than you'd think: a queer individual came out to their family (or a guardian that sustains and takes care of this person, which the main character calls their place home because they feel protected by them). however, these family members are not accepting of this person's identity, and end up disowning them. this person's home is no longer their home anymore, they're no longer protected by them. sure, its possible that they have friends or other family members that could provide for them so theyre not going to end up homeless (theres even text in this level that indicates very that - "I GUESS I JUST HAVE TO KEEP LIVING" at 92%), but the pain remains. you thought you could trust these people, and when you were at your most vulnerable, they let you go. thats a pain thats very impossible to alleviate. and i think this level represents this feeling beautifully. you briefly couldve called this place home, but not anymore, hence the name of the level, "briefly called home".

now, im finally gonna talk about the level itself! if you havent watched a video of the level yet (girl you absolutely should so this all makes sense and also because its just good like go fucking watch it RIGHT NOWWWWW), im just gonna let you know that jade's levels display a LOT of abstraction. her storytelling focuses heavily on showing with a bit of text along the way so you're not totally oblivious. i believe i can split this level into 4 main parts: before entering the house; about to enter; entering and being vulnerable to your family; leaving without a place to call home anymore. again this is my interpretation and im not confident about any of this and this is most likely a reach but again im just sharing all my thoughts on the world ^_^

1st part (0 - 32%): this part clearly depicts the outside, as shown by all the greenery and scenery such as trees and clouds. one thing this level absolutely excels at is color grading and theory, and this part is very very colorful. this could resemble a state of happiness or energy as the player might be accepted in the outside world, perhaps they have friends that like them the way they are! the fact that the colors are vibrant is VERY important because the next parts are not as vivid in its color usage, but ill get to that in their respective parts! from 15 - 23%, the level features a beautiful gradient which changes color as the part continues. i think equating this "rainbowy" gradient as a symbolism for queerness is a HUGE reach, but i like picturing it that way! maybe this person is happy being the way they are, and they have support in the outside world that they can rely to. with the amount of resources for lgbt people out there and on the internet, i think its realistic to at least assume that is the case. at 24% by the end of this part, i admit i was hesitant to include this part here because of the change in color, and the sudden shift in tone of the music with the string instruments, it feels a LOT more "climactic", however i assume this part has the same feeling of happiness and pride from the heart and the cute smiling character drawn in 27% so i still included it here. this part is VERY green with some slight hints of yellow. according to cameron chapman from shining magazine, "Green is a very down–to–earth color. It can represent new beginnings and growth. (...) Alternatively, green can also represent envy or jealousy, and a lack of experience." (https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/01/color-theory-for-designers-part-1-the-meaning-of-color/). i believe at this point this person wants to share this aspect of them with their family, its possible that this could represent a feeling of "growth" that the player feels on wanting to come out to their parents, and maybe envious of other people for having accepting family members. the "lack of experience" also makes complete sense, since they're naturally very nervous at coming out to their loved ones. according to the same source, "Yellow is often considered the brightest and most energizing of the warm colors. It’s associated with happiness and sunshine. Yellow can also be associated with (...) cowardice, though (calling someone yellow is calling them a coward). Yellow is also associated with hope (...)". the player has a glimpse of hope that their parents will accept them for who they are, and theyre happy about it. i kept cowardice in this quote because, even though the player is absolutely NOT a coward for wanting to come out (in fact, its one of the bravest things you can do as a queer person), i think the feelings of nervousness are similar and they're absolutely still prevalent from this color. there are only 2 glow pieces of yellow in this entire part, so i imagine green is a much more important color for this interpretation. essentially, this part represents the player's hapiness and pride of their identity, and wanting to share that with their parents, even if theyre a bit hesitant about it. (i forgot to mention that theres text right at the beginning of the level which say "IVE NEVER WONDERED BEFORE" and "I WONDER", i think these may also help with the overall feeling of the player wanting to come out to their parents)

2nd part (32 - 54%): at the start of this "part" in the story, the colors turn a LOT darker and bluer. blue is often symbolized as sadness and/or tranquility. theres also depictions of rain. rain, again, can also symbolize a feeling of melancholy in this context. there's also a "tent" looking house in the background. this part directly contrasts the "carefree" feelings and happiness the player was feeling in the part before. maybe they're sad about going to the place they call home. but also it's possible they're "okay" about it, possibly thinking "i already accepted that my parents may or may not accept me for who i am". however, i believe these feelings are fake or atleast a part of it is superficial and not what the player really feels, because at 43%, you can see this ^^" face that indicates they're very shy and nervous about coming out. and from 45 to 54%, the gameplay turns into a spider thats constantly changing directions, from up to down. i interpreted this as the player feeling indesicive on whether or not they SHOULD come out, sort of like alternating between "i want to come out to them" and "no, maybe i should wait another day", just like how the spider alternates between directions. notice how the player originally is in the normal gravity, which resembles their first thought, and the spider changes to the inverted gravity, which is the second, reluctant feeling. this part ends with you, supposedly being in normal gravity. which indicates that the player, at the end, choosing to go on with their original plan.

3rd part (54 - 76%): the player enters the home, the background turns black, everything else turns red and the music gets creepier. they're immediately greeted with "WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SAY TO ME?" and then, the level just turns into a fuck ton of chaos, to say the least! red is a color that represents anger, so this family member is EXTREMELY angry at the player for sharing this information. theyre not accepting at all. they even say "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY HOME?", which is what some certain people say to their children coming out, that they "ruined the purity of their family" or some shit. there are a LOT of assets that i believe contain symbolism in this part, namely: the hearts being collected at 60% and they disappear (you no longer respect them); the red eye and the roof being "destroyed" (you can no longer consider this place your home); the crying eyes (formed with rainbows btw), with a red lock in the middle (i think this could be an injury in the forehead, with a bloody hand in 72 - its very, very LIKELY these parents are abusive); the red bird with question marks surrounding it (possibly a family pet acting confused because its never seen their family acting like this). long story short, these "parents" or family members no longer accept their child for who they are, and kick them out for good. the very ending of this part is beautiful and probably my favorite "experience" of this level, in the end, at 76%, you quickly leave their home and get sent up, with a sudden tonal change in the music, becoming more melancholic. this could be interpered in 2 ways in my opinion; you leave quickly and never come back OR your parents push you and lock the doors, and you're no longer accepted as a family member. i believe the last one makes more sense figuratively.

4th and last part (76 - 100%): this part is extremely "dead" and soulless compared to the other parts, the sad piano and violin tunes accompany the depressing journey of the player, knowing they're no longer accepted in their original household. the scenery is present just like in the first part but its not the same anymore - its gray, dead, uneventful. nothing feels the same anymore. but at 90% onward, the player tries to find meaning in life again, as the part starts gaining some slight color with the text "I GUESS I JUST HAVE TO KEEP LIVING". at 98%, theres a depiction of a different house than the original tent one at 37% - its likely that the player found a new house which people that support them, with the player trying to find meaning and happiness in life again. so its not exactly a "bad ending", its more like, "bitersweet"... in a way.

...and thats my interpretation of "briefly called home" by jade! i definitely reached or overexaggerated some of my interpretations during a few parts but i hope everything i mentioned made atleast some sort of sense. this story i made exemplifies a real occurence that happens in the real world and its not uncommon - according to the trevor project, a non-profit organization dedicated to the suicide prevention for young members of the LGBT community, in general 28% of young queer people "reported experiencing homelessness or housing instability at some point in their lives", with "16% of LGBTQ youth reported that they had slept away from parents or caregivers because they ran away from home, with more than half (55%) reporting that they ran away from home because of mistreatment or fear of mistreatment due to their LGBTQ identity." and "14% of LGBTQ youth reported that they had slept away from parents or caregivers because they were kicked out or abandoned, with 40% reporting that they were kicked out or abandoned due to their LGBTQ identity." (https://www.thetrevorproject.org/research-briefs/homelessness-and-housing-instability-among-lgbtq-youth-feb-2022/) .this article is very interesting and insightful, i recommend giving it a read!! also, this article is from 2022, when biden was president of the united states. now that trump is back in office, its possible that this data is outdated and this statistic has increased. and for example, me, a gay person, also feel a bit hesitant to come out to my parents. theyre not like, super religious or anything, and theyre indifferent about LGBT people if i recall correctly, but i vaguely remember them not wanting me to be gay. and this scares me, i dont know if ill be able to come out to them before i get my life together and buy a house and get a job or whatever the fuck. im worried for me and my boyfriend because i dont believe his parents are super accepting of gay people as well, it's all super fucked here, but i still have hope that we'll manage to get out of this. not just that, but despite all the progress we have made in our community, it feels like all our rights are being taken away now that trump is in office, and it feels like america and the world in general are in ruins now more than ever. i dont really know how to solve this or anything, im clearly not the savior of the gays, but i believe that now that our lives are all at risk, we ABSOLUTELY need queer media more than ever. sharing our experiences as gay people living and experiencing this world is absolutely detrimental right now. we need to stick together ...maybe this isnt the right level to say this, this level is a year old and probably not even about queer people at all and i just made this all up, but i know jade has made many levels about her queerness and i believe theres atleast some sort of correlation. and still, i believe finding some sort of interpretation that can relate to me through art is incredibly important, and i can relate to this level in some way, and i hope this can relate to someone else as well. conclusion: this level is incredible and i love every aspect of it, and this is the biggest 10/10 i have given to a geometry dash level, ever. whenever i think about this level i start tearing up i think. huge shoutout to jade, shes my favorite creator in the entire game and this lvl proves my point.

cute lvl made by a homeless person i gave shelter to <3 #activism

Fucking awesomeeeeeeeeeee, love the energy and the colors, a bit unoriginal but im happy that this level exists and its genuinely the closest thing we can get to a jayuff styled level after he quit

cute!!!!!!! love the designs, colors and the frutiger metro aesthetics, has some sweet ideas all around, also a huge fan of the jayuff inspo!!!

awful lol. really bad attempt at trying to speak up against the rating system. puts several creators under the bus, and it also just doesnt look good. comes off as incredibly desperate.

very impressive lvl made in an hour and a half, but the messaging behind it is absolutely ridiculous. jayuff said in his final message that he made this as an "own" for the rating system and he explained "if i can make this in an hour and get featured then i can just spam the rating tab and climb the leaderboards" which like yes you could!!! split and yunhaseu have done this!! but like this level is literally good ?? why r u complaining that ur lvl got featured girl.... it looks fucking incredible ???? hell he fucking named it Cat Pee because it's an acronym for fucking "CP" KFJGHFIOIHBFIOGBHGJOGBNHGJKIGJNJHGO. look i get the sentiment even if i disagree with it, but i think this was a really bad attempt at "owning" robtop and the rating system

this honestly aged really well and it actually looks incredible im not joking

very silly with some very awesomesauce ideas!!!!!!!!!! u can tell quazery had a lot of fun w this!!! i think some parts are a bit too messy and cluttered even for a sweetdude inspired lvl, but some parts end up looking great!!! i really like the part with the black bg, 8/10 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!