Setting Goals

Goals are an aspect a lot of creators overlook. A lot of creators don't set goals and build for the sake of building without any clear direction. Geometry Dash is not only a platformer game, it's an artistic canvas that allows you to transform your imagination into immersive and challenging experiences for players worldwide. However, navigating this creative landscape requires more than just raw talent. It demands a clear vision, motive, and the ability to set goals that guide your progress and keep you wanting to build.

A goal is something you want to achieve or do over a specific period of time. Goals can be mainly divided into Two Categories: Long-term Goals and Short-term Goals.

Short-term goals are small, achievable objectives that you can accomplish in the near future, usually within a few days or weeks. They help you break down large tasks into manageable steps, keeping you focused and motivated. Long-term goals, on the other hand, are broader objectives that you want to achieve over a longer period, often spanning months or even years. They give you a sense of direction and purpose, guiding your actions and decisions towards your desired outcomes.

A good example of using long-term and short-term goals in the context of Geometry Dash would be building a level, where the long-term goal would be to finish the entire level. There are a lot of things you would have to do, like making the gameplay and decorating each part. This is where the short-term goals come in. Some examples of short-term goals in this scenario are to finish making the gameplay, then to finish decorating the first part, etc. 

Setting goals in Geometry Dash level creation offers numerous benefits that can enhance your creative journey and overall experience as well as increased motivation and direction. Here are some advantages of setting goals:

• With goals, you'll be less likely to get lost in the vastness of possibilities, ensuring that your efforts align with your vision. Goals provide a clear direction and purpose for your level creation.

• Goals act as powerful motivators, driving you to improve and make efficient progress. As you work towards achieving your goals, you'll experience a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction with each milestone you reach. This positive reinforcement fuels your motivation to continue pushing and become more efficient in your level creating journey.

• Setting concrete goals allows you to measure your progress effectively. You can track your accomplishments, whether it's in improving decoration skills, refining gameplay mechanics, or completing sections of your level.

• Time-bound goals encourage you to manage your time efficiently. It prevents procrastination and helps you allocate time wisely with playtesting and designing your levels. This also allows for efficiency when creating so you can meet deadlines you have set for yourself or have been set for you, whether it’s a collab part or your own levels.

Overall, setting goals is a transformative practice that not only enhances your level creation abilities but also empowers you to grow as a creator. It provides direction, motivation, and a framework for measuring your success, ultimately making your creative endeavours in Geometry Dash more fulfilling.

In order to set realistic and achievable goals you can follow the SMART goal setting method. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This is how you would set SMART goals for making a Geometry Dash level:

• Specific: Clearly define what you want to achieve in your level. Are you aiming to create challenging and unique gameplay, a visually stunning environment, or a combination of both? Be specific about the elements and features you want to include and what your level's theme is.

• Measurable: Determine how you will measure your progress. For instance, you could set a goal to complete a certain percentage of the level's layout or have a specific number of block designs you want to decorate.

• Achievable: Ensure your goal is realistic and within and your skill level. Setting an achievable goal prevents frustration and burnout.

• Relevant: Make sure your goal aligns with your overall objectives for the level. Is it contributing to the theme or style you're aiming for? If so it may be best to include this as an objective.

• Time-bound: Set a clear timeframe for completing your goal. This could be a deadline for finishing the level layout, adding decorations, or testing and refining gameplay mechanics. Having a time limit keeps you focused and accountable.

For example, a SMART goal for making a level could be: "By the end of the next two weeks, I will complete the basic layout for the first 30 seconds of my level, including three unique gameplay mechanics." Doing this when making levels would make the creating process much easier and rewarding.

As important as it is to set goals in order to stay motivated when building in Geometry Dash, there are a few downsides to not setting proper goals. A good example of this would be to finish building an entire 3 minute level with a very short time frame. Not only is this unrealistic, but creators have the tendency of setting high expectations for themselves only to fall short and lose motivation afterwards, which can be disappointing.

This mindset is unhealthy and can lead to mass burnout. That's why you'd rather extend your timeline when it comes to making high standard levels, unless you have the experience to do so. If you set a goal but end up not accomplishing it, it could demotivate you, especially if it's a project you were really excited to work on. In order to avoid this you'd have to:

• Extend the time frame of the goal you want to achieve.

• Break it into even smaller goals you'd be able to achieve and with ease.

Doing this can give you significantly more time to work on big goals or having small short term goals can help you take the little steps you need to slowly but surely make progress towards bigger goals.