The GD editor can be intimidating the first time you open it — there are a lot of buttons. The good news is you only need a handful of them to make a real, playable level.
Open the editor
From the main menu, tap Create, then +. You'll get a blank canvas. The toolbar across the bottom is your entire world; everything else is a refinement of those four modes:
- Build — place objects.
- Edit — move, copy, rotate, delete.
- Delete — remove objects.
- Swipe / Multi-select — select groups.
Your first 30-minute level
- Choose a song first. Open the Settings → Audio panel and pick a song. Build to the song, not the other way around — it'll sound more natural and give you a structure to follow.
- Place ground and a starting cube. The basic blocks are in the first object tab. Lay down a flat floor for the first 5–10 seconds of song.
- Add jumps on the beat. Drop a few spikes and small blocks aligned with the kick drum. Test-play (the play button, top right) and adjust positions until your jumps line up with hits.
- Add one mode change. A ship portal halfway through, or a small wave section — just one transition to break up the rhythm.
- End with a finish line. Place an end trigger (in the Triggers tab) where the song should stop.
A few first-level tips
- Sync, sync, sync. Place every obstacle on a beat. Off-rhythm obstacles read as bugs.
- Don't over-decorate yet. Your first level should be gameplay-first. You can dress it up later.
- Test frequently. Hit play every minute or two. Long edit sessions without playtesting always end badly.
Where to go next
Install BetterEdit (see the Mods page) — it adds keyboard shortcuts, better copy/paste, and a much faster editor workflow. After that, dig into triggers (color, move, alpha) which are the heart of decoration.