Communicating

TLDR - What this guide covers#

• Communication is important if you want to work with other Geometry Dash players. This includes working inside a collab, asking for feedback or playtesters, and anything else along those lines.
• Make sure that when you communicate, you’re as specific as possible so others don’t get potentially confused about what you’re talking about. Try to plan out what you’ll talk about, like your level’s vision and your goals, before you ask others for help. This’ll make communication easier for everyone involved.

1: Why Communicate?

The vast majority of projects die because of a lack of communication. This is especially prevalent when you’re building with others in collabs, but it also holds true with solo projects where you must get feedback from others.

Why is this the case? To put it simply, projects die because people don’t communicate. If a collab dies because members aren’t building, that’s inherently a communication issue; either the host didn’t clearly state their level vision, the members didn’t make it clear when they could build, or both. If you’re getting frustrated over feedback because it doesn’t address the factors you wanted help with, you may not be conveying your wishes effectively.

Furthermore, many people don’t communicate well. If you ask someone for help with an issue, they may not understand what your problem is if you aren’t as specific as possible. Think of this as showing your work in math; it’s something that can feel useless and tedious, but it makes it a lot easier for other people to understand what you’re doing if you struggle on a problem.

2: How to Communicate

The solution to this is to communicate as best as possible. Make sure you explicitly organize your level’s vision and goals so you can quickly state them when necessary. This will help you to understand the best way to communicate your ideas to others, which is also important when you ask for feedback or assistance. If you’re working in a collab, make sure you communicate as much as possible. Remember that communicating is a two-way thing; you have to do it, and the people around you must also do it.

This is ESPECIALLY true when working in a collaboration, as you’ll have to share resources like Group IDs and Color Channels with other creators. Additionally, you’ll have to work together to make sure that the level feels cohesive and parts transition well. Be sure to use a vision document so everyone involved in the collab understands exactly who has which part & which IDs to use.

Finally, don’t be rude. This is another thing which goes without saying, but when you communicate, please make sure that you’re being respectful. Otherwise, you’re unlikely to get anything meaningful out of trying to communicate in the first place.

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