Rating System
Rating System
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How do you get a rated level? Does a rate ensure success or fame? Should you even care about rates at all? This guide answers many questions like this and explains how Geometry Dash's level rating system works at large.
Made by Sparktwee and notamoderator
Required Guides: Sharing Levels
Easy difficulty
Medium (13-15 minutes)
It can’t be understated that Geometry Dash has existed for this long because of community-made levels. In essence, you can build a level, verify it, and share it to the wider public. If a level is noticed by Robtop and likes its quality enough to his standards/preferences, he will rate it, giving stars to the players who beat them, and award creator points to the uploader. This motivates creators to build more levels, and the cycle repeats. This standard process of classifying levels based on their performance and quality makes up Geometry Dash’s rating system.
Main Participants
Main Participants
Let’s start off this topic by answering: Who participates in the rating system? In broad strokes, 4 main participants come to mind: players, creators, moderators, and the executive.
Players: They beat levels and collect stars. (e.g. Michigun, Smiffy777) Within the context of getting a level rated, players are the main target audience. However, due to the variety in their behaviour and playstyles, we also have a variety of levels that range in difficulty, themes, and skill-sets. Players complete rated levels for tangible rewards like stars, moons, and mana orbs, which serves as an incentive.
Creators: They build levels using the in-game editor. If Robtop likes their levels enough, he may give them an official rate which awards creator points. In addition to this, rated levels typically receive more traction than those unrated, which serves as an added incentive.
Moderators: Enforces GD’s ecosystem, and they come in three types.
Leaderboard Moderators: Enforces the Top 100 and Global Leaderboards
Standard Moderators: Enforces the rating standards, and sends levels to be noticed by Robtop.
Elder Moderators: Has the same perks as standard moderators, and are at the forefront for beta testing for future updates. They also handle whitelisting from Newgrounds, and enforce moderating standards.
Executive (Robtop): Develops the game, and holds the authority, discretion and final say to rate levels.
With these main participants in mind, there are two possible reasons why a rating system exists: quality control and setting standards.
Super Mario Maker is a good example of quality control. Super Mario Maker provides the same issue in regards to “Little Timmy” levels, in which a level was poorly made, almost as if a 9 year old sprawled their tablet all over. Within the sea of online levels, how can players navigate through a consistent collection of levels of the same quality? As a result, Mario Maker has its own version of creator points, incentivizing the pursuit of this quality control. As a result, some levels will just never get rated no matter what.
Now you might be saying, “Wait, what are you on about? Robtop doesn’t always keep a consistent rating of quality levels. The fact that [Insert Level Name] got rated means that Rob doesn’t focus much on quality control.” That’s a fair point; this is more prevalent especially in previous updates when the editor had less objects and features to go with; not to mention the joke levels for April Fools.
However, that’s where the second reason comes in. Albeit, it gets more subjective.
Levels that get rated and classified are used to reflect Robtop's standards. Since he developed the game and set up the rating system, levels are rated depending on his standards denoting a “good” level. The community may provide some influence or backlash to Robtop’s decisions, but he still has the final say. If you know what his standards are, that increases the chances of a rate.
With more rated levels, the more opportunities to establish some sort of pattern. But at a certain point, you understand that the pattern… is arbitrary. Then again, no rating system is perfect. But let’s save that for a later section.
The Journey
The Journey
As the official Rating System guide already covers the technical side of the process, I’d like to cover what a typical levels journey would look like. Levels come in all shapes and sizes, but regardless, they go through the same journey. It’s similar to how the product life cycle works.
Stage 1: Introduction
Stage 1: Introduction
Assuming that you’ve already uploaded your level publicly as per the Sharing Levels guide, your level will be unrated. Every level ever made and will be made goes through this stage. It’s the common denominator that ties every single uploaded level, whether it’s a serious project, a collab part, a gift, or a complete joke. This is similar to how businesses do a product launch.
Stage 2: Growth
Stage 2: Growth
Assuming that you’re new to creating and this uploaded level is your first time, your level will lack exposure and attention from other players. This is a great time to experiment and learn because as an empty canvas, you have no reputation to uphold yet.
Other players will play your level and have the ability to rate the difficulty of that level, converting the NA face to a different difficulty face. This ranges from Easy to Insane difficulty.
After some time, your level may get noticed by the public as shown by the increasing download count and sometimes the like/dislike count. But there are moderators who can suggest your level's rate to Robtop. How do you reach out to them and send your ID? There are three possible ways:
Discord Servers
Most moderators have a Discord server where creators can send their level IDs to a queue. A lot of moderators will have a system for people to get a notification role when requests open. The more servers you join the better chance your level is seen.
Level Request Streams
Some Moderators and content creators will have a level request stream or streams scheduled so you and many others can submit levels for them to play and possibly send. The GDS has a channel for stream alerts and will be open for usually at least an hour. However, it’s either a random queue or controlled by a bot like Loqui, so it’ll take a while for your level to be played, or it may not be played at all unless you submit requests early.
In-game messages/Discord DMs
Not many mods do DM requests, in-game and otherwise. You can do this anytime, but it takes the longest since mods will have to go through many DMs. In-game messages take even longer, since they don’t provide notifications like Discord DMs and are usually left unchecked.
Stage 3: Maturity
Stage 3: Maturity
This is where your level’s popularity is at its peak. This is usually the stage where Rob would give that coveted notice and make an official rate. Factor in the influence from mods, Rob can provide 5 different ratings:
Star Rate (1 Creator Point)
Featured (2 Creator Points)
Epic (3 Creator Points)
Legendary (4 Creator Points)
Mythic (5 Creator Points)
Popularity ≠ Rate
Popularity ≠ Rate
To resolve a misconception, a level’s stats have no bearing on it getting rated. While reception opens you up to opportunities, it doesn’t have much influence on the executive decision to rate levels. Many levels have taken ages to be rated despite plenty of community pressure, like Crimson Planet and Tidal Wave, while some levels have been rated almost instantly.
This random correlation also suggests that when it comes to how levels are rated in the system, it partially boils down to creating skill and luck. Even if you made a masterpiece, it may have gone under the radar while others may not, or the level itself is fundamentally flawed. (e.g. Sonic Wave Infinity’s crash trigger) (e.g. The Vocab Quiz lack of popularity before the 100mil level, resulting in a later rate)
It may also be useful to note that a handful of rated levels get placed on the featured tab, with a higher placement meaning more people will play them. If your level is placed at the top of the 1st page, more people will download and play it than if it’s placed 10 pages in.
Stage 4: Decline
Stage 4: Decline
Over time, some levels get unnoticed, some others receive instant popularity and leave a permanent mark in GD history, some others just permeate. Some levels get rated which will award Creator Points to its uploader, while some others never will regardless of the effort, strategy, and luck. Why is that? What’s the missing element that these creators need in order to get creator points?
The Missing Element
The Missing Element
To put it simply, most creators are missing a sponsor. These sponsors are people who have positions of authority in the rating system who can influence the executive decision of a rated level.
Any level that receives a rate from Robtop was not based on a 100% objective criteria. Considering the moderation system, there was someone who was putting your best interest in mind in order to persuade Robtop enough to get your level rated.
This is exactly why collecting your first Creator Points is the hardest battle to collect compared to future creator points. When nobody knows your name, all you have is someone else’s support to confirm that “Oh this creator? They may have 0 creator points but their levels are solid.” Where can you find these sponsors?
This is where socializing and building strong relationships comes into play. If these moderators have a level request stream and/or Discord server specifically for level requests, join them and follow their guidelines on how to submit levels. Remember that these moderators don’t owe you a rate, so please be respectful.
My Level Got Rated! Now What?
My Level Got Rated! Now What?
At the end of the day, what does getting a level rated mean? A badge of honor to show that you’re a part of some elite task force for creating? A pedestal that will lead to your greatest fame? Or does that rate represent some kind of ideal self that’s missing from you? A reminder that you could have done something else but decided to create instead? Or could it be… just a number?
Regardless of reasoning, here’s where caution is needed: the moment you place creator points as your highest main priority to create, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. This is for the same reason that putting your chips on any external factor beyond your control such as money will lead to a stressful life: it leads you to constantly chase them like your life depends on it. Yes, creator points have their stardom perks and get you to places you wouldn’t have known before, but once that pursuit turns to an unhealthy obsession, it’s a long road to recover from.
GD incentivises a mentality where one of the achievements in this game involves getting a rated level, that achievement being a UFO. But this leads to a huge question: So what?
Aside from a number on your name, a reminder that Robtop noticed your level and a new UFO, what does having creator points ultimately mean? The rating system at its current form merely depicts the opinions and standards of the executive branch. If you disagree with their opinions and arguments on a level’s rate and feel that a rated level isn’t worth your attention, you don’t have to play the level. Even with the rewards and community recognition in mind, you don’t have to succumb to peer pressure if you subjectively have a level that you enjoy, even if it’s unrated. If there’s no level out there you like, build the ones you like. To quote Franz Kafka, “By believing passionately in something that still does not exist, we create it.”
Treat the editor like a game/exercise. It’s meant to be fun. If it’s not, treat it like a studying session. The best of creators don’t conjure up masterpieces on their first attempt. Just because you’ve seen their end-results doesn’t mean you’ve seen the journey and cost of producing it. Enjoy the process when creating. Most of what people see as motivation is just creators enjoying the pain of tediously placing objects into the editor, realizing it’s terrible, then discarding it to plan a more improved version. Sometimes it looks improved, sometimes not. The journey is not always straightforward. Sometimes you’ll encounter problems that you can’t solve by yourself, and by then, reach out and ask for help.
Wrap-Up
Wrap-Up
The creating process is difficult. It’s just work with extra bells and whistles than a typical job would have. Not everyone wants to deal with it. And for those who enjoy it, cherish it. Don’t sell your passion for the sake of creator points. If you have a vision bubbling in your head and you want to bring that to life through the editor, go for it.
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