Geometry Dash - How to Self-Improve your Gameplay Style!

Join my Discord server!!! - / discord (emisv invited you to join)
Hey everyone! In this video, I take a look at 5 tips that I have come up with that aim to help you discover your gameplay style and self-improve your layouts. This won't be like other videos on KZbin that try to tell you how to actually make your layouts, as I disagree with that notion, and it instead aims to get you on the right track to learning yourself how to nurture your ideas and perfect your own style. This is pretty different from my usual content, and I am sorry about that, but I hope you guys enjoy it nonetheless.
Music Used (in order of appearance):
Pokemon B/W OST - Nuvema Town Theme:
• Video
Pokemon D/P/P OST - Eterna Forest Theme:
• Eterna Forest Pokémo...
Pokemon D/P/P OST - Snowpoint City Theme:
• Snowpoint City Daytime...
Pokemon X/Y OST - Anistar City Theme:
• Anistar City Pokémon...
Pokemon X/Y OST - Snowbelle City Theme:
• Video
Pokemon D/P/P OST - Mt. Coronet Theme:
• Mt Coronet - Pokémon ...
Channels for Footage Used:
Floppy - / @floppyyy
Nexus - / @nexusgd10
vitesse - / @vitessers
zylenox - / @zylenoxv
para - / @notpara
JonathanGD - / @jonathangd
Thumbnail by me :)
Contact me!
Discord tag: norkbork#9501
Discord Server: / discord

[@mattmarafino]

Norkbork: thanking his viewers for like 30 seconds Me: clicking to the gameplay in the background

[@devv9501]

too relatable

[@norkbork]

LOL

[@cirnolurk]

k

[@gdstyliz5086]

I’m on my phone :(

[@beepduck]

Mum Has a mum as well then just tap the parts of your phone that aren’t the screen

[@pixelac378]

"The visions that you see in your head are your style; your way of perceiving music." - norkbork 8:37 I think your the most powerful influence under my layout making. I cannot thank you enough.

[@norkbork]

:D

[@skilless935]

I guess my style is eating children

[@Destrixio]

That is such a hard line

[@shartynico]

i feel like people only feel that an extreme/insane demon layout is good when it is a speedcore layout

[@CrazyDash9]

Speedcore died like a year ago

[@nell076]

yea that ain’t tru bud

[@lucidmlem]

I'm sad no one has made a Holy Macaroni layout yet

[@retaliqtor542]

thats totally wrong

[@rndmbs]

speedcore layouts are trash

[@Lunaticboi956]

I've gotten some pretty dumb complaints about my gameplay, its kinda annoying, glad to see someone else agrees that you shouldn't just change things because someone else says you should. I've had this problem a lot tbh.

[@neutro1538]

Same lol, ppl say that my gameplay is annoying without saying why

[@Lunaticboi956]

@Spacious250 [GD] except that what may seem like everyone is really just a vocal minority. not all criticism is valid

[@RalveXly]

the thing i hate about most of the feedback is that they did't even say what they think crearly, i've seen people asking "what can i do to make this better" and responses like "structures are weird" HAHAHA

[@liamshaw3971]

Lunaticboi IMO it should always feel like the players fault when they die. As long as this is true then it’s good gameplay.

[@anomaly3215]

@@liamshaw3971 not always

[@Leetransform25]

"I believe that you show never be afraid to drop a layout if you aren't feeling it" I'm never able to finish layouts even if I _want_ to get it done, I lose motivation way too easily lol

[@truebino]

Same tbh

[@bloxyyt]

i just get bored lmao

[@Macat004]

True: I be like... let's build an incredible level!!!! After I made 30 seconds gameplay.... I'm out of ideas I'm not finishing it

[@porple4430]

low attention span

[@Leetransform25]

@@porple4430 Or maybe it's called lacking motivation like the comment says, no one said this was an attention span issue

[@sleepysombra]

"I hope you guys are as excited for the future as I am," he says in a the most monotone voice ever.

[@_ego11]

Soon enough I’ll be flexing that I was here before 1k once norkbork hits 100k lmao

[@LINK-is3oc]

I was here before 400 subs lmao

[@xcvb9201]

i was here when he had 700 or 800

[@ong3995]

Idk when I found nork

[@solarean]

i was 4011 sub ‘=.=‘

[@your_fathers]

I've watched this guy since 1.5k ish but I've never actually subbed lol

[@emisv_]

yes I HAVE invited you to join

[@alanbecomesastar]

HE HAS

[@b6oy1004]

HE HAS THO 👊👳🏿‍♂️

[@account1a]

HE DID

[@cirnolurk]

PRO

[@atomandanine]

funny cat

[@urnamellamcsnail1093]

I'm gonna get discord just for this Also very interesting take on improving gameplay

[@realcloverchan]

What a great video tbh. All the information was organized and well explained, the information itself was beyond useful, and the only complain I have is your voice (it made me sleepy), so it's not that big of a complain at all. I wish I had discovered your channel sooner, 'cause you seem like the kind of guy that knows what he's talking about, and more than that, talks with passion about what he knows about. I'm also an avid Layout maker, love to experiment with new stuff all the time, have gotten into Duals lately and have been having a blast with them. I could've only gotten here building whatever I like with these tips tbh, this new generation of creators has it easy with videos like this detailing each and every step of the way to becoming a great "Layouter". Thank you for this video, as it will help a lot of people that need it. Also, why the hell not, I'm subbing.

[@norkbork]

UnluckyClover aww ty

[@chazzerine7650]

@@norkbork The way you speak is how you perceive words. Don't change something just because someone tells you to ;) (If you couldn't tell, I'm using the context of this video to point towards a different topic. Primarily in a humorous way)

[@VibreX]

This is one of the best channels for Geometry Dash commentary. Unlike other people, you speak genuinely and actually explain stuff very clearly. :)

[@DasherMBehe]

I am also a layout creator. I've dropped few of my layouts because that didn't looked good to me but when I made my latest layout, I've seen that I was improving. For structuring I used slopes,rectangular blocks and normal blocks and that went nice! I also made couple of assymetrical duals and they were amazing! I was really glad by my improvement and my inspiration was DeVeRel GD. Still I'm not that good at making gameplays but I will improve more and try to keep this up...

[@MikeIce4SG]

Ey man. Thanks for the 5 tips. Hopefully my layout's gameplay style change to look more interesting.

[@paletapayasofan]

I’m super happy to see one of these tutorials that isn’t just a list of do’s and don’ts. I actually found quite a bit of this advice helpful myself, props for making such a well written and thought out video!

[@edaangd4551]

Thank you for the tips It will show in my levels. Congrats for 2k you really do deserve it.

[@nitro2684]

I wish I could like this a hundred times. This was so useful, thank you so much, I needed this.

[@lucidmlem]

Just have over 2 hours of free time and put the video on loop.

[@bloxyyt]

AALB .__.

[@ballisticalrift]

Thanks for making this video. I knew most of these tips already, but you expanded upon those with more of your thoughts, examples, and information, which is unlike most other KZbinrs!

[@adhnj]

Amazing video, extremely informative and entertaining! GG on 2k man, you deserve every bit of attention you have!

[@VilleSSS]

What a great video! This changed my view completely and I’m exited to start creating

[@ZEUSGD]

This is so true! People need to explore their own style. There are a handful of things that I think shouldn't be used, but they're pretty insignificant.

[@SparKendaryMC]

Congrats on 2k subs :) you deserve it

[@Noah-gn5re]

I can confirm that working with music that you like and vibe with, the layout will just make itsself. I used my favourite song for a layout once, an dhad no problem making it longer than 2 minutes

[@SexyJay]

I came across this in my recommendations, all though I already do all these things you said I can still appreciate people like you taking time out of your day and helping people understand what gameplay is. Now days people just say use jump pads and portals to sync layout add a few parts where you click and that’s your layout, I think that it is not very good the way people teach gameplay and I can agree with what you are saying, you really need to take time and build layouts how you imagine them and go from there don’t be afraid to make 10’s of unfinished layouts, all you are doing is learning what works and doesn’t work. This video is gonna help a lot of people :) Good luck on 3k I’m gonna have to join the server.

[@DiceGames]

Big congrats on 2k subs!! Also I love these tips, they can definitely help :D

[@norkbork]

thank you!!!

[@1Joselyn]

I really needed this because I want to be happy with my gameplay style before I start fully creating or atleast trying to

[@simside102]

awesome video and gg for 2k, those subs are well deserved ;D

[@gd_verily9548]

Great job on 2k! Keep up the amazing geometry dash videos! :D

[@gd_verily9548]

ayyy thanks for the heart!

[@mrmoo727]

thank you norkbork for this amazing video. i have always thought that creating tutorials which tells you what gameplay not to make and to make didnt help because it limited what you could build.

[@ggman.]

Omg. When you turned on the music at 7:34, i was having so much nostalgia. I played pokemon x too much when i was little

[@bloxyyt]

me: makes extreme demon layout everyone: *_looks like an insane demon to me...._* bruh how good are you

[@bloxyyt]

@DynaXiasT oofity

[@NameName-rs1rk]

i just subbed. im pretty new but i love your content so far. keep it up :)

[@terminal354]

THANK you for mentioning the thing about how if you don't conform to the basic and boring layout style that everyone else uses, I typically build extremely fast and portal intensive GP that gets heavily criticised and I seem to consistently recieve the phrase: "Looks unfun." I also tend to use size portals and dual portals to add extra effects and flavour to my level without changing the gameplay and yet for some reason people seem to hate that, and call me lazy for using them to sync to the song, it's like they want me to make every note an input or something.

[@bladefox5082]

The songs that work best for my GP style are Fast and Upbeat songs, as my GP style is Fast-Clicking / Tapping based, and you need to focus a lot. An example of a level that doesn't use my style of GP is Leyak, where once you learn the duals, you can pass them most of the time.

[@setablazee3570]

Same! literally almost every cYsmix song just fits perfectly into my style

[@jasoninirllife]

My gameplay style is sync, it can be fast or slow. For this reason songs like the Africa circles song work best for be

[@OpticIlluzhion]

A few comments on the tips: 1. I think an often overlooked thing is sure, you can set no boundaries for yourself, but I find it more interesting if you set yourself interesting (non-community defined) boundaries such as only being able to work with one gamemode. This challenges you to think about what song fits the gamemode you're using and you can figure out all sorts of interesting mechanics that help you discover your gameplay style with that gamemode 2. Avoiding conformity is something the GD community I feel like is struggling with in general. Just like it used to be that we had so many levels that a lot of them looked same-y, we're now going through that same phase but with layouts. I don't think that any video, no matter how popular, is going to be able to influence that at this stage, it's like making videos about generic levels Also I'm definitely not jealous of the fact that it took you six months to achieve double of what I've done in a year and a half... nope... not at all...

[@Mivilix_]

This is exactly the video I needed :O Thaaanks!!!

[@w3cky]

this is an amazing tutorial tbh, I'm gonna be a supporter

[@greatvonyt]

Bruh, you deserve way more subs, for these type of tips and work you put into this, it’s just dumb how you don’t have a lot of subscribers. But you definitely got a subscriber +1. :D - A random person.

[@MaybeLatah]

this actually really helped. thanks a lot!

[@Horaheehoo]

this is the first tutorial i have seen that isn't mindlessly telling you to build something. Great job man.

[@Cobgd]

Wow thank you! Congrats! :D

[@PikaSempai69]

I really didn't need to make too many layouts to make my gameplay better xD I just did a level focused on Gameplay and that's it :v Also even if PARA it's pretty creative with his Layouts, the enjoyability of his gameplay it's horrible, I think it's better having Enjoyability over Creativity even if it's pretty generic or maybe repetitive

[@maxann20]

aaaaaaa you surpassed me in subs xD. Congrats though, very well deserved! Great video as always btw

[@Aespha]

Thank you for this video c: this helped me a lot when it first came out

[@Lation]

Found your content awhile ago, and although they're a little too doom and gloom sometimes, I really love your content :)

[@norkbork]

wdym doom and gloom :c but thank you!

[@heinzmustard7267]

@@norkbork you're monotone

[@norkbork]

Heinz Mustard fu

[@mateopetit1745]

the thing you said about music is the key point to make gameplay we like, in the series of know your editor by samyfying, he said that song is the basement of the gameplay, without it everything that comes after the song will fall apart, and i've seen this my self, when i've posted on my youtube channel that is Wyltoon all the differents gameplay i made, the one that were the most watch and liked was the one i've enjoyed the most building on. if you post on youtube regularly gameplay, the statistic can be for the majority of the time a very good indicator of if the peoples like what you've made.

[@titanmesozoicgd6943]

yes I sometimes do fall into those traps sometimes... An actual video that respects our creativity :)

[@SuperstarStudioGD]

Thank you for this tutorial! I agree with everything you said in this tutorial, especially with boundaries. I feel like the community is setting up a list of rules to how to make good gameplay and deco. Like, the community will disapprove of certain aspects like invisible portals or outdated decoration (like 1.0 deco). Although, there are several levels with outdated deco and/or invisible portals and end up being really good. It’s like saying “you have to create what the community expects you to create”, and that just isn’t right at all! I mean, there should be some guidelines telling you what you should and shouldn’t do, and you should always ask for feedback if needed, but 95% of the time everything should be done your way and not what the community expects. If you don’t like the feedback you’re provided with, then that should be your decision. That’s how creating is more fun. I feel like the community is making level creating harder and less fun imo. Thank you for this video, because this definitely helps more than most GD tutorials.

[@SuicidalShitIGTKMS]

Thank you! I finished one layout i was proud of and liked. ❤

[@fuclk5571]

Just found your channel, great content man!

[@artemmeleshko6942]

Bro is the most honest, the calmest and the most gentle person I know.👍💪💯💯

[@torievans727]

Very useful. Just subbed

[@m3tal.]

8:37 that is the best explanation that I could never speak about, my mind is so much more advanced than my levels and I could never get it on there like I saw it

[@ariamentio]

had you had not started creating videos only a year ago I would’ve questioned why you haven’t gotten your silver play button yet nonetheless congrats on 2k and amazing video

[@zInslanex]

I havent watched the video yet,but you really deserve 2k subs :)

[@appleyt6757]

Norkbork: explains his very helpful tips Me: that gameplay is sick

[@LINK-is3oc]

Very spot on! I take inspirations but mostly copy some of the gameplay from other layout creator when i first joined in But yeah after making around 200+ unfinished layouts, i finally found my taste Anyways Can you do a review on the hardest upcoming extreme demons? Like giving your thoughts on them one by one (Ps there is a new hardest upcoming extreme demon called sentient space and it aims for no.1 in the demons list, its currently worked on but the layout should be 3 minutes long) Edit: Sentient space is harder than galaxy collapse and unnerfed orochi

[@norkbork]

mayb ill think about it :p

[@DylanN1ne]

8:15 I thought that was just ym ADHD; It's nice to hear that i'm not alone.

[@rapid1145]

Great video tbh. Of course,general good gp is great, but I’m glad to know someone actually remembers that gp have our own styles and good gp isn’t only quality but its own uniqueness I may be 4 years late

[@nell076]

Really cool video, I didn’t expect to like this as much as I did, but good stuff. I agree with quite a lot of these things. However, I don’t think you’re giving the gp community as much credit as I feel they deserve. I think that conformity is a problem with some people definitely, and sometimes I feel like I’m watching the most generic collab part ever, but I think a unique style comes with technical skill. Very talented people who have really refined and well executed gameplay are the ones that have unique styles. You can tell the difference between people like R3ul and Lagnugg and Convie and Sequex etc, even when their stuff is decorated. I don’t think that you need to be someone like th31 or para to be incredibly unique. I might’ve misinterpreted the length to that you felt this though. Also while there isn’t one way to make gameplay, I think there certainly some fundamentals that if people don’t do well or choose to ignore, the gameplay in terms of the quality of production is a lot worse. I don’t think you specifically disagreed with this, just thought it’d be worth mentioning.

[@strawberrymilkshake6014]

Most informative gameplay related KZbin video thankyou

[@crei4702]

Very helpful video! I Subbed and I'm also watching this at midnight bc why not? I'll join ur discord server later!

[@mrdeer7633]

Hey! You are really good and profesional youtuber. I hope you will be much more popular in the future.

[@ncyber]

Tysm! You encourage me to keep making my terrible gameplays🙃

[@willshepard985]

honestly the best mic of any youtuber

[@Clairvoyancy]

I have been making a flow style layout, when all my other ones have been overly precise and technical and I actually have lots of motivation to finish it!

[@olli9984]

Thanks. This was really helpful to me.

[@Asimpledude3241]

thanks for the tips, now my plane and ufo parts now are great.

[@plasmazer0380]

So I watched this in terms of trying to make a good, Harder or Insane layout for the level, and when I heard about Second Opinions, I feel like my friends give good input. One plays the game semi casually, one doesn't play, and the other one hunts demons. The one that doesn't play told me to "Play it in 16:9, and see if you can still easily sightread." I play in 4:3 btw. Few orbs were more offscreen than I wanted them to be.

[@she3rlucks600]

Subscribed!

[@deftve8669]

Best geometry dash how to video :D

[@tsr-animations7798]

Because I make a lot of layouts, and they tend to be fast paced. The songs that tend to work best for me, are songs that have a good beat that makes you stomp your feet to the rhythm. (Electronic genres like Eurodance, Dance, Trance. And metal genres like Heavy Metal and Power Metal) I usually structure after I finish the gameplay, but some portions may have structure before that. I use a lot of different types of gameplay to see what fits with my style. My favorite gameplay creators is Chase, Alkali, Hinds and a few others (I've been compared to those 3 at different times, but I usually just do my own thing) I get valid opinions from friends and also sometimes from other people I may not know very well, but they may come with a less biased view.

[@CryzVoid]

I thought myself the first tip and let me tell you ITS AMAZING. you know that you would dislike the gameplay when you can say "whatever i'll delete it" and then start a new one

[@crumche]

based video, I agree with literally everything here even though I've already figured out how to develop my style on my own, this really helps put things into perspective for me for the future

[@SilverCape1802]

This is the best gameplay video I have ever seen.

[@dmned.7464]

Dude, thank you so much

[@itzduhneh3558]

congrats :D

[@sp1dr380]

my layouts usually have simple gameplay but i feel like its too empty thi is inspiring me to make harder gameplay thanks

[@gdfallen6980]

I really like this very well done!

[@norkbork]

thank you!

[@StarkyTheSalad]

Finally, a layout video that doesn't encourage the same flow type style i see in every megacollab montage ever

[@fabiandarkness2090]

not a level builder but damn i could watch these videos from you for hours :D

[@jacobhouser7672]

I have been building for years and have two features. I've published probably 10 complete levels in my many years, but I've gone through HUNDREDS of unnamed levels. If your creativity is flowing, that momentum will get the level done. If it isn't meant to be, you'll know because you hit a block in creativity. Your first tip is so accurate and extremely important

[@PowerHausMusic]

most levels i play i can tell in the first few seconds if its gonna be worth my time to beat it just by how the gameplay is

[@nvrgonnagv]

8:16 I felt that so badly! I used to make a layout of almost every single instrumental music that I heard!

[@kanimagd7617]

This was so good what

[@Natteboss]

I actually already do all of the points said in the video, so I would say that yes, these points do work.

[@KaelHitchcock]

Him: "Never not use something because the community as a whole looks down upon it" Mirror portals: 👀

[@davinorozoro6695]

Cool video :)

[@yammez1]

Very nice video and very agreeable. A layout is a form of artistic expression. There are no real rules or techniques that will make a layout objectively good. As well as not feeling forced to finish a layout just like a drawing. You can creat just to practice or experiment. Although I disagree that gameplay has homogenised in recent times. It's been a thing since like forever. Look back at early 1.9 and every level was trying to look like ToE2 with ball mazes and invisible sawblade spam. And don't forget what happened after Nine Circles was created.

[@rockisland6337]

about the using lots of songs part, sometimes I just get attached to a song and picture a fully decorated masterpiece with my layout and the song so it would be pretty heartbreaking to throw it away even though I always do

[@crewzy42]

thanks dude :)

[@Tobi-zr9cs]

tbh this legit helped me improve my layouts because of the advice and tips

[@norkbork]

i’m glad

[@-eclipse5411]

my new fav youtuber lmao

[@truebino]

I make ''simple'' gp and the people around me say it's not that good (the fact that it's simple) and that I shouldtry more ''complex'' things. Now I think that it's fine being as it is, and that the way to improve is to make more and better of those simple lay outs (also it's true that the vairety is cutting short and it sucks a lot). Also, loved this vid! Really needed something like this and not another (make this type of layout 'cause everyone makes it like that) type of thing.

[@norkbork]

hey, if you’re content with your gameplay style, it doesn’t really matter too much if other people like it or not :o

[@phewiss3066]

Thank you :)

[@teduded7188]

8:16 Ok, what the hell you just said exactely what it's like for me. Finally someone understands how it is!!! :O :D

[@Enderia2]

I think that if you want to use invis portals, please just have it SLIGHTLY seeable, as then it isnt ugly or unexpected

[@lululegende1407]

Gg on 2k! You're not like Sea but more like an ocean

[@Rayquaza137]

I always end up with unfinished layouts, whenever the songs BPM is under 150. I have learned that, and i know my levels end up very fastpaced, but its my favorite type of gameplay, so i always end up using high BPM songs like Dj Ghenki, Camellia, Cshow - Cycle Hit.(Im actually using this song for a layout)

[@lunarpsychocpg]

That's what I want to do and what I want it to be because the real reason I bought this gamme in the first place is that I want a decorated gameplay that could feel like some kind of artistic expression with a side of consistency. I made a lot of layouts and some aren't finished, some are horrible, and most importantly, I just learned how to use the color triggers and it came out as good but not too much. I was more insterested in making my favourite song levels, NONG levels, and most importantly, XL full song level that only JonathanGD and a hnadful of creatorrs can accomplish. I already publised at least 9 or 10 levels most of which are challenges. Some are full version of a specific song because this is also one of the reasons I got into this game. 2 xl levels, 1 meme level, and I plan on finishing some levels mostly revolving around melodic dubstep and some of my personal songs. This video along with listening to songs that felt like "I want to make a level out of it". whenevr I found a new song, I dream about the finished product because it felt good and syncs well and the theme would be based on how I felt on the song and what is the song about. Thanks to this video, one day or another, I shall be continuing creating levels and put some or a lot of effort on it to capture the dream of why I got into this game in the first place. Thank you for giving your opinion on this and now I can find a reason to put my dreams into a level

[@FRANCIUM-KILLA]

@Norkbork This is probably buried but, my main problem for making layouts is that I'm a good creator but a bad player, my difficulty threshold is 1* - 4*. This makes it difficult to diversify my gameplay. Do you know any ways to fix this?