#megacollab

[dxl44]

MEMORIES 3 IS PREMIERING IN 30 MINUTES ON TNTZ'S CHANNEL GO GO GO GO GO

We remembered. It's finally out, after taking a bit too long. Everyone involved in this megacollab did an awesome job, y'all don't want to miss it :D

[dragonfruuit]

really proud of how this is coming out (besides some balancing). A serious Nine Circles level. probably some of my best wave gameplay

[nekofaust]

New megacollab up!

We finally killed Clef.

Art by @rosy-fox-art

[jorjikostava]

by the way! I wasn't exactly messing around. here is a drawing drawn on a tablet:

upd !! hey bros who want MEGACOLLAB with me?

[eighttones]

Airi I drew for an Instagram megacollab! The host gave me permission to post here before the full thing was done so here you go 👍👍 (transparent version under cut)

[mrmcwigglyman]

Coming soon, The Second Best Megacollab Ever, the most song you will hear this year. I, along with 5 guest soloists, have created a crime against music, and I'm making it everyone else's problem.

This collab has everything:

GarageBand loops

The worst samples from Vengeance Essential Clubsounds

The board fill sound effect from Jeopardy!

An actual YTP

Lots of Amen Breaks

References to obscure songs that probably won't even register as references to most people.

Hammers (5)

512th notes at 400 BPM

Melodica

And much more!

Premiering April first at 5:15 PM EDT

EDIT: The premiere has been moved an hour earlier due to a miscommunication in timing of the pack preview

[nofourfol4]

analysis of another level i weird think about a lot, except this time i fully enjoy it, despite its rather abrasive nature for those with "good taste", despite it being relatively conventional seeming, except this time almost no one's heard of it. i think instead of a preview image this time you should probably watch it first. this is Sailor of the Sun by YungBelll

ok did you finish watching it? cool

so depending on your tastes and/or experience in gd history and its various styles you may or may not understand why this of all levels i'm showcasing as especially unique. it's a combination of factors for me, the most immediately obvious being the whiplash between parts and the song choice

the song choice because it's cheesy possibly to an unpleasant degree (depending on your tastes) in a way very few songs used in gd are, and the most immediate warning i give any time i send someone this on discord. but the real reason i love it is its genuinely incredibly unique almost dreamlike outsider-y mashing of styles. if we're going superlatives, this is one of the most psychedelic levels in gd in my opinion, weird in a similar way as maze of justice, but with a completely different bag of tricks. i mean when's the last time you've seen a level with obvious influence from both culuc and crohn44? that's what i wanna focus on here

i think the best place to start is that apparently since i first saw this, the channel of the creator has metamorphized into a shitty minecraft shorts channel. i think that sets the tone pretty well. in art in general, a wellspring of creativity is found in the idea of a corruption of something commonplace, what you might call psychedelic, surreal, dreamlike, or hypnagogic. in gd, there's two main ways you get that. you either have a creator who understands what signs to mash together to achieve a mutant new result, or you have a creator who's an incompetent teenager with little idea of what they're doing. i think this level safely falls into the second category, between the title of the official showcase being very ambiguous clickbait, the current state of the channel, and the influences present on it. a good example of the former is devin, though he certainly tows the line, and the almost careless but still internally coherent mishmash of styles here feels a million times more like someone else's (likely accidental) take on devin than the unfortunate number of people who think they can make a 'devin styled level'. maybe a kinder way to say incompetence here, closer to what i really mean, is a unique perspective due to some fundamental gap of knowledge or experience between the artist and the relatively learned, uh, consumer? what's the fancy art philosophy word for the person who contentiously takes in the art that isn't too pretentious like 'aesthete'. that word. it's what people find so fascinating in outsider artists such as terry davis, a fundamentally different set of biases and experiences from the norm, but them still having an unwavering commitment to them, often resulting in something raw, speaking to deep, mysterious realms of the psyche. back on gd, it's what makes tidal wave so fascinating to me, one of the best analogs to this level, a level made explicitly for clout, but not sanitized and cleaned up attempting to create a masterpiece of some kind. it's what doesn't work about a tidal wave redecoration or further, more polished onilink levels, abandoning the incompetent roughness that makes it genuinely interesting in the first place. but whereas tidal wave wishes to garner attention pushing difficulty boundaries, ignoring a typical path of refinement until breakthrough that most well known creators follow, sailor of the sun *is* attempting to be that masterpiece, an aspiration of most levels of the 'art' style, your hyperdetailed megacollabs where everyone spends months on like 6 seconds each, refinement without consideration of if it's worth it, leaning on trust that it having taken so long surely means it's a masterpiece, more worthy of reverence and analysis than levels that took less time. but from a solo effort by a totally unknown creator, the result of this style is usually something fascinatingly uncanny, and when combined with the jarring stylistic changes, this level like firmly lands in exactly my kinda thing, resulting in it def being my top 100 levels at time of writing. i think the best way to analyze this is going roughly part by part then, given it's the progression and subversion of expectations that makes it work for me

the first part is not the most interesting one but sets up a lot of the themes and techniques used in general. the internal tensions start here with some details being incredibly object heavy and others just a couple of objects thrown together creatively, both common in art levels since their inception but not usually to this level of having both, clearly working from a mindset of filling up space on the screen with something, regardless of how long it took or inspired it is (see how much more detailed the red of the two mushroom platforms is than the green.) also worth mentioning is the incredibly awkward looking gameplay that stays for the entire level, simple obstacles buffed to needless levels or not even buffed at all as some kind of filler, and weird subtle gimmicks that often don't really represent the song

and then the second part, the contrast of which kind of acts as a microcosm of the whole thing for me, and what got me interested in this level in the first place. it uses a few similar techniques but a lot of completely different ones, from a space that does generally look like it could exist in some sense into a completely abstract surreal storybook thing, the influence in specific i can't really pin down. surreal is definitely what they're going for (gd creators aren't exactly subtle and the distorted clock in this part is almost definitely the overdone reference to the dali one), and in general the story of this level (as many 'art masterpiece' levels are wont to have) is the alternation between the high fantasy 'reality' and the psychedelic stylized parts, but what exactly this means, beyond having to do something with the sun, is spared in an act of merciful ambiguity. also incredibly geometry dash is the text 'walt dont lie to me walt you sussy baka' scrolling in the background, if it wasn't clear enough already this was made by some 15 year old. i didnt notice that until i decided to start writing this

a little transition which again looks nothing like anything before it, back into reality with the gameplay having a double click of all things, before the purple castle area, where the distinction between the parts they decided to be detailed and the parts they decided not divides even further, the set of armor with 5 frames animated for the helmet going down vs some of the block design not even having any extra detail to it beyond colored standard blocks

and then another part which looks nothing like anything else prior, where the culuc realistic style had texture, and the storybook was flat but had line art, most of the art here is totally flat, the structuring breaking down even further to simple pillars sparsely placed. this level's recent enough to have a distinct neodesign influence and that comes through here the strongest, as again geometry dash creators are not subtle and if they wanna evoke neodesign, they put big star shapes because overdefo levels have star shapes so that means that's how you do it. what this means story wise is another layer of abstraction, finally on the sea (it's called sailor of the sun after all) but clearly in an unreal state, i always took it as the ambiguous protagonist taking an order from the royalty of the castle to go out and do something but no kind of goal or bounty is ever hinted at, the rest of the level is just things happening

after a very rough but very cool transition telling us the sun is doing something to our mind (i love how shitty the expanding eyes look), or something, the chorus part is another stylistic shift being the closest to design but also by far the most overtly psychedelic part, always giving me vrymer for some reason so that's another random influence. the gameplay style is totally different too, still dispensing one weird obstacle at a time but looks much more like typical gameplay than the weird timing gameplay in the rest. the hand that lifts you out i always thought was maybe stolen from the ones at the start of the terminator by skywalker14, but they're not exactly the same. level definitely has strong stolen object energy so i wouldn't be surprised if there's some, but it might just be a bunch of "references" to a bunch of other levels scattered about

next part is the least interesting, just helps pacing as a return to the style from the start, but that devin ass dual, the traced vomit emoji(???) and whatever's happening with the invisible size portals at the end are all pretty weird

i have no clue what the part after is meant to represent, real or surreal, a bunch of neurons(?) in the background, a rocky block design, and giant text screaming DARKNESS at you it's just. yeah. nothing really more to say than it looks cool and feels right somehow

and the second chorus which is why i say crohn cuz this part always felt like a sunset sandstorm drop thing to me, an influence which pervades the whole thing (probably why the gameplay's like that) despite yknow, sunset sandstorm being pretty weird and unconventional and the art influences this takes from are like culuc shit. it's a blindness to the reasons why the things it takes influence from are famous, beyond that they're famous, that gives this (and a lot of other gd levels) the outsider energy it has

last little part which like that one transition looks like some echonox, darwin glow effect stuff. theres a bird, a dude with a weird head thing, and that one really easy to make helix effect plastered all over the background. and then the end cutscene/endscreen which is an entire 15% of the level, always interpreted it as the sailor succumbing to the effects of whatevers happening and dying, probably due to bodily neglect from the psychedelic adventures or being out at sea or both. but the hand rly looks like one of the white space hands (which now watching that back, also has a bunch of custom text plastered all over the place like this does so i guess that's probably why that's there). and the endscreen which is an endscreen. thats it i already stated my theses early on bye

[tidalwvae]

what do you think of flamewall

i'm very fond of it .... i suppose it's technically "generic hell level" but i'm still fond of it . big ole megacollab ,,, <3

[tallyhall-lyrics-that-match]

hey fans of the rare occasions, just wanted to let you guys know that the tro discord server is hosting a

cover album megacollab!!

come and join in if you want! here is the server link if you want to join :)

i'll see you guys there!

[jennymas289]

mi aporte para el Megacollab de capsulas de thomdrower!

me diverti mucho dibujando mi capsulita, fue un placer haber podido participar de la collab ^^💙

[panmanxd]

flappy bird megacollab?

[dxl44]

new pa level, nerds

BODY JAMMER is an experimental megacollab. I chose 10 people at random, told them each to make a different part. They didn't know who else was making one. They didn't see what other people were doing. Then, I put it all back together.

The results were...really interesting, and surprisingly coherent. This was a blast to organize, so please do check it out!

[tolyaphoenix]

ME AND MY BRO'S MADE THIS MEGACOLLAB

1. @isp_anets (on tiktok)

2. Tazik (no socials 😔)

3. MEEEE (i also have tiktok 🤭)

4. @3loy-ehot

[funkyphonophorae]

Tell me about the cubes.

assuming you mean geometry dash, unfortunately there is no angsty gd cube lore for you to hear of, but i can tell you about some of my favourite levels in no particular order!!!! (decoration and vibes-wise, i am not about to actually beat these anytime soon unfortunately)

xo by krmal

xo is a very controversial level because many think it is "lazy" as it uses extremely basic blocks with no decorations on them whatsoever. the most complicated it gets decoration-wise are the effects which are cool but not particularly flashy. this is why people don't like it and don't think it is worthy to be officially uploaded onto the servers.

however, i really like xo!!! it has genuinely incredible music sync, surprisingly well thought-out design and extremely interesting structure for the limitations the creator was putting on himself!!! levels like xo are great because of how original they are. in times like these ones for the community, where most extreme demons are generic glow with tight wave spam and straightfly as the only reason they are difficult, xo isn't afraid to completely challenge the oversaturated market of extreme demons by prioritising making an interesting level over making one that exists only for it to get attention for being on the demonlist (top 150 hardest levels in the game).

i'll put the rest under a cut because WOW i didnt expect to rant that much about xo...

2. LIMBO by mindcap + more

limbo is very hard to describe because, as cheesy as it sounds, its less of a level and more of a visual experience. even just watching a run of this level (which almost every player will have to do since it is very difficult) is surreal. there is so much creativity poured into every section of limbo that sets it apart from other levels. it is also incredibly consistent for a megacollab (a level where lots of people made small parts of it) but each part still feels distinct enough to be memorable while keeping to a central theme.

3. killbot by boldstep

killbot has one of the coolest concepts for an extreme demon out there. the supposed "story" behind the level is that the player has downloaded a corrupted computer program that is out to kill them (hence the name, killbot), and throughout the level textboxes appear showing the system attempting to delete the killbot virus. the level starts out green and as it progresses, turns into red and black as the virus corrupts more and more parts, until finally at the end the virus is said to have been forcefully deleted.

the level kinda hurts to look at because of all the flashing and general air decoration but still maintains a very cool atmosphere. it does not look fun to play though.

4. decode by rek3dge

finally a level within my skill range! decode is a simple level, but very effective. it has a great song, a certain iconic wave section, and it technically isn't anything special, but who cares. i've never seen anyone hate decode. it's a universally loved level, which is incredibly rare for the gd community, and even rarer considering its rated demon (albiet only easy demon).

fun fact: spaceuk, the perpetrator of one of the game's most shocking and destructive hacking scandals, beat decode as his first ever demon level.

5. emerald realm by castrix + more

this level is based on ori and the blind forest/ori and the will of the wisps, which are great games so that already makes this level super cool. but i think i speak for everyone who's ever seen this level when i say that emerald realm has some of the most beautiful decoration in any gd level. you can appreciate emerald realm as a piece of art regardless of whether you've played the ori games or not. (yes, culuc's part is obviously the best one, all hail culuc, etc).

6. jigsaw

nothing extraordinary about this one...but it's a saw-themed gd level that looks super cool. so of course it's one of my favourites, even if it's not had a huge impact on the community.

7. congregation by presta

(insert funny congregation jumpscare meme). congregation is controversial, similar to xo, because it has less than 40,000 objects, which doesn't sound like much to someone unfamiliar with the game - but the current hardest level has over 200,000 objects. so naturally some people were irritated when congregation was rated - another case of a level being seen as "lazy" by a large number of the community.

but...congregation is so cool! it has a technological atmosphere emphasised with a fitting song that creates a feeling of mystery, unease, and the incredibly long build up to the drop of the level as more and more things begin to appear that makes it surprisingly suspenseful. the second section of the level does bring it down for me but this is still a great example of an extreme demon that stands out from the rest.

also, it has no wave or ship, the gamemodes that extremes usually rely on to create difficult segments, which makes it even more original!

8. b by motleyorc and scorchv2

b is a medium demon set in a beehive. you must navigate the beehive while avoiding some scarily large bees with ._. faces. simple but effective level that pretty much everyone loves.

oops it is now 11:21pm i should probably sleep now. yay

[electroman-adventures]

Level: “SERENITY” by irrene, TkcpeR, shman, skyeeuwu, @redlionlol, @arekushi14, @itzabunnyy, @neohhhh, Toothpeck, oneill4, rosekawa, @redoneburgz, xHeiDax, Kutsu, CHEFLIZ and @deactivelol (Hard Demon 10 ★?)

Finally, here's the "showcase" I was talking about!

So back in July, I saw someone on Twitter post a preview to a level they were working on. And I promised if they finished building it, I would write a level review about it. Well, here's a lesson: never propose a bet that you cannot win.

(continue under the cut)

Because irene banged this out as a megacollab in a matter of months! And if I wasn't mistaken by the first preview, the level looked potentially extreme-demon difficulty. Thankfully, the gameplay was nerfed since then, so 2,445 attempts later, I can now review the gameplay and deco in full detail!

First, we have to address the elephant in the room: the song is "왜? (Why?)" by Mid-Air Thief, who is a REALLY good music artist. It's unusual for Geometry Dash levels to use songs like these, but in this level it works amazingly well. However, the song is NONG, which stands for “not on Newgrounds”, meaning you have to download the song.

What's interesting is this level was hosted ENTIRELY on twitter. Everyone who built a part in this level is close friends with irene, and some interact exclusively in gdtwt. As a consequence, they have little presence in the wider community (I struggled to find their GD usernames for this post like I would normally do).

The color scheme is sky-blue and white, and the level constantly employs "cloud" and "flower" motifs, which make for a unique atmosphere. A similar level is "moment" by icedcave, Stormfly, and lexycat (coincidentally, lexycat also built a part in this level). My favorite part is at 27%, where cloud decorations are turned into solid obstacles that you have to weave between. This just so happens to be irene’s part, and was the part I saw in the first preview.

As the speed changes throughout the level, the player is thrust into clouds of smoke or flowers, in line with the intensity of the song. This makes some parts of the level difficult, especially in the middle—one of the hardest parts for me was 73%, where the player is hidden behind a cloud made of player colors, and you have to dodge spiked structures that look hazy and blurry.

The theme and difficulty juxtapose each other: on the one hand the level appears bliss and heavenly, while on the other it clearly looks challenging and feels restless. Finally, the endscreen at the end says "SERENITY" in Korean characters that look very similar to their respective English letters, which may reference how the music artist is Korean. Great job to everyone who worked on this megacollab!

[nofourfol4]

i think finding the truly weirdest piece of art in a medium is less an exercise in extremity than an exercise in subtly- to an extent. if the weirdest piece of art is the one 'farthest' away from every other piece of art, then its incorporation of convention in a stream which theoretically maximizes that distance will place it off even that tattered path. so anyway, Maze of Justice

[screenshots from Cosmo (left) and Ota Owa (right) on youtube- not both images of the same part but it's about that different between the deco and layout lol]

while answering what the truly weirdest geometry dash level is i don't think i could do, i gotta say it's like at least top 5 or 10. it's the epitome of this confluence of convention and experimentation, starting life as a very unfriendly to even bot impossible maze scribbled under a blade of justice noclip, it eventually was decorated with by far some of the highest production value from the ILL community (certainly responsible for some of the strangest levels ever made already) until the much more successful TRUE SCHAFS (a surreal level in its own right, the surprisingly conventional megacollab stylings contrasted with the utterly unhinged ILL style gameplay, not to mention it being revealed for the first time near the end of a 5 hour, like, ILL community broadcast thing?) but that decoration half looking like entire boj parts stolen and overdetailed to the point of breaking them, but where the stolen objects, if there are any at all, start and end is incredibly hard to tell, giving almost like a B3313 or some such effect where it just looks Wrong. and of course, it's a red "remake"(?) of blade of justice, one of the blue levels of all time, especially since it comes from an era of especially red extremes. it's the kind of idea i'd find hours into deep meditation and wish i could make but not have the patience/colleagues for, it's probably the closest a geometry dash level has gotten to feeling like something you'd see in a dream if you have gd brainrot. the song helps too, a "remix"(?) of the song used in boj with some parts just taken directly from the song with minor edits and others being entire orchestral/sound design remakes that flatten the great song like how the decoration flattens the great level, but this bastardization works, because i actually like this level slightly more than blade of justice (and i quite like blade of justice!), it having produced something much more subtle than conventionally good but utterly fascinating

i haven't even really talked much about the gameplay either, greatly confounding this by, in the decorated mode, being almost completely uncorrelated with the structuring resulting in the icon in any showcase of it just haphazardly clipping around the level, the Maze in question requiring extensive knowledge of the game and analysis in the editor to even understand, a wave near the end being so hard to even bot it's been deemed impossible to do so (while still theoretically physically possible), and it not really reminding me of many other impossible levels, memory levels, or really even many levels in general. my lust for bizarre game breaking gameplay is a big reason i like it as much as i do but the deco is kinda mid so it's like a high 8/10 but i'm not sure a level this strange in this way even could reach higher for me, it's kinda a requirement for it to be slightly visually boring to be as bizarre as it is