Rating Curve

This concept is so absurd that I honestly kind of admire them actually going through with it, lol. A lot of the parts don't even look half bad either

my (im) god! i think i mighta loved you too much

This is probably my "best" work, but my emotions on it are very mixed. I've already sorta done a full retrospective on it via a reply to a youtube comment on the showcase video, so I'll paste it below along with the original comment for anyone who cares to read it. It's not really fully representative of my thoughts since I intentionally tried to come off as more positive than I actually felt in the reply, but maybe I should be more satisfied with my own work instead of dwelling on what could have been, eh?

ORIGINAL COMMENT:

I absolutely loved this level to the point where it’s almost irrational. The music, stark design style, subtle sfx, but most of all the way that you find yourself doing cool stuff on accident before beginning to form a fundamental yet imperfect understanding of how to traverse this chaotic world which lends itself to this unbelievable game flow. This level felt so good to play, I can’t even put it in words. So often I question why I should play a level in a game where people willingly handicap the creation of potential video game masterpieces by creating them inside a game that’s not designed to make them instead of just playing entire separate dedicated ones instead, and then I play something like this. Levels like this is why GD will forever live on my radar for as long as I’m a gamer. This honestly reminded me of the Kongregate era of my childhood. Searching through thousands of flash games before finding a puzzler or a platformer or something that so often gave me a feeling of fulfillment despite the potent, sunken chest feeling of “wasting my time playing a video game” feeling I so often had (and that of course my parents perpetuated). Those small html games and the like have always stuck with me in such a powerful unique way that even my favorite full titles like Bioshock, Journey, Half Life and the like just can’t. This is definitely one of those cases. I couldn’t tell you why this hit such a strange spot for me so powerfully, and all I can do is thank you for giving me the pleasure of playing this wonderful level. As per all of those other games as well, I’m always filled with a distinct feeling of melancholy after finishing one of them, courtesy of the game being short enough to leave me yearning for more combined with the knowledge that after I leave this world, I’ll probably never play anything quite like it ever again. I sat there exploring the level, discovering new consistent methods of travel and convoluted paths through this chaotic neon world for a full twenty minutes before I could even consider ending this experience, and then spent another five staring at the screen after I had finished the level. The memories of that empty feeling I felt so often as a child after being dragged out of a world I so desperately wanted to stay in all came rushing back. I almost cried for the first time in a year. If you’ve played Super Mario Galaxy you’re probably familiar with the way the music and ambiance cuts out instantly and is replaced with an entirely different ethereal track when you’ve unlocked the power star in the world your at. That always used to make my heart drop as a kid. This was kind of like that. What a surreal experience. This is such a stupid brain dump, all I wanted to do was thank you for somehow getting me to feel such profound and fulfilling emotions I hadn’t experienced in years once again. I’m writing this quite a while after I’d actually completed my playthrough, and the effects of what I played that day are still fresh as ever. Thank you. Again.

MY REPLY:

hi, im two months late but i just saw this comment and i thought i should leave a response

there were many moments, during and after the creation of this level, where i questioned whether or not the effort i poured into this level was worth it. it started just as a random decoration dump and then i got all these grand ideas about how to turn it into a level, a level that provides a completely unique experience. a level that defies the convention of linear gameplay held by the vast majority of levels, while staying true to gd's roots with the orb/pad mechanics and also the decoration style, which you can distinctly tell is made from classic gd objects

all of this was fine and well, but then there came the problems with executing a project as ambitious as this. I was never great at using triggers in the gd editor, and the countless hours spent bugfixing was sometimes so frustrating that i wanted to quit creating altogether. there was certainly that "wasting my time" feeling that burned into me during some parts of the creation process, where i wasn't even making anything new but rather just trying to sort through some huge fucking mess that i created for myself. and even after i released the level there was doubt. sure the level got tons of praise for creativity, but it also seemed like one in two people who beat the level absolutely hated it. its certainly irrational but that fucks with me so hard for some reason, like i can handle people not liking my works but knowing that something i made caused many people to have miserable, hour long experiences... i shouldnt care, this is something that happens to literally any creator, and im certainly guilty of being harsh in level criticism sometimes. but it sucked, something that i thought would be an unique and engaging experience of exploration for everyone ended up being a source of frustration for many, because the fundamental way that the level is structured means that it could very likely be a huge hassle to navigate. it made me question if this idea was even all that great in the first place

but that's all missing the point, isnt it? if what i make can still provide a genuinely transcendental experience to even a small portion of people, what more can i ask for as an artist? Reading your comment through and hearing all these intense emotions orbdancer made you feel... it's almost like rediscovering my purpose for pouring all my effort into these levels. It's beyond anything I ever imagined, coming from my silly level of all things (even if a "unique" experience is what i wanted to provide from the beginning). geometry dash really is a game of all time, isnt it?

Just like the "melancholy" you described at finishing the experience, there certainly is something similar with finishing a project as big as this. its something that has consumed my life for such a long time, and suddenly it's not a part of my life anymore -- feels off, in a way. But with your comment and the support i have gotten from others regarding this level, its more than enough motivation for me to want to continue making new project.

Anyways, not sure how this somehow ended up being an even longer reply than even your original comment. just a bunch of rambling i suppose. again though, thank you so much for taking your time to write this comment. It truly means a lot to me