Level Components

Map Components are what the player has to navigate through in order to make it through the level. There are a number of varieties, some which are used as methods of travel, while others are intended to destroy the player on contact. The layout of these make every level unique and of varying difficulty.

Blocks
Blocks and other surfaces are the most common components and construct the basis of a level. There are many different shapes and sizes. Just about all can be jumped upon and serve as platforms. However, colliding horizontally with a block will destroy the player. In Update 1.6, Destructible blocks were introduced where colliding into the block from any direction would destroy the block. Diagonal slanted blocks were introduced as of Update 1.8, and act as ramps/slopes that a player can slide on without being destroyed.

Hazards
Hazards usually introduce difficulty into each level. They will often destroy players if touched in any way. Through the levels in Geometry Dash, hazards are introduced in several different forms.

Spikes
Spikes are the most frequently occurring obstacles and are often jumped over. These obstacles often appear with varying appearance, and can be invisible or transparent. They can also differ in size. Three spikes are sometimes placed in a group to escalate the level of difficulty. They are commonly seen in Time Machine, which includes the most three-spikes out of any official level. They are also majorly found in Cycles. Electrodynamix even include 4 spikes, which the player must jump while at double or triple speed. Spikes can also be different sizes or widths. The color of some of these obstacles can also be changed using the COL1, COL2, COL3, and COL4 options in the level editor.

Sawblades
Sawblades, which are first encountered in Clutterfunk, are typically larger than common spikes. They automatically rotate in place and can be seen in several different forms as well. The original sawblades cannot be seen at all in a black background, until the level ends or the cube hits it. Transparent sawblades can sometimes be seen with dark backgrounds, commonly used in Electroman Adventures. Each variation has three sizes. The Update 1.9 introduced gear-like sawblades, thick sawblades with customizable colors with C-Obj, and invisible sawblades. There are also short spikes found throughout some levels, including xStep at the first ball section.

Thorns
Thorns are one of the most common hazards in Geometry Dash. They are generally long but thin, black, obstacles that are placed between columns of blocks. In official levels, they make appearances throughout the game. They generally came in either a spiky, jagged form or a waving form until Update 1.8, which introduced diagonal thorns at either angle, as well as peaked-thorns. The Update 1.9 introduced block-like thorns which made their first appearance in Blast Processing. Theory of Everything also introduces a kind of thorn resembling creepers or vines. They can have multiple appearances. Update 2.0 will introduce animated thorns, much like the monsters themselves.

Monsters
Monsters (also referred to as dragons) will be introduced into Geometry Dash within Update 2.0. They vary in size, and have animated mouths. These obstacles, similar to the other hazards, kill on impact.

Pads and rings
Pads and rings influence the direction of travel. Pads only need to be touched to activate their effect, while rings need to be tapped as the player passes over for them to function. There are three variants identical to each. Although these components are often part of completing a level, they can be positioned in such a way that redirects the player into a hazard, needing to be avoided in such instances.
 * Yellow pad initiates a jump larger than normal, introduced in Back on Track. Yellow rings were introduced in Polargeist, and while tapped it enables a mid-air jump.
 * Purple pads initiates a normal jump. They are formally introduced in Theory of Everything (It was also found while getting the last secret coin in Can't Let Go)
 * Purple rings initiates a small jump. They are introduced in Theory of Everything (The very first purple ring is introduced in Time Machine while taking the third coin).
 * Blue pads and rings change the direction of gravity, formally introduced in xStep (Both were also found when getting the first coin in Back On Track and the third one in Polargeist.)
 * Green rings appear change the direction of gravity and provide some upward momentum afterward, which is a much smoother transition than what is achieved by either the blue ring or the gravity portals. They were seen in the sneak peek for Deadlocked, which will be released in Update 2.0. No green pads have been seen yet, though it isn't understandable how they would work.
 * Creators had achieved a similar effect by placing a purple or yellow ring inside a gravity portal (allowing the player to jump immediately after switching gravity).

Portals
For the complete article, see Portals.

Portals can modify the way the icon interacts with the level, and can force the cube to assume another form, such as the ship, gravity ball, UFO, wave, and robot. They vary into two different types: Form portals, which changes the form of the player, or manipulation portal, which changes how the player interacts with the level. They can also change its speed, size, direction of gravity, and mirror the screen. The Update 1.8 introduced dual portals, which creates a clone of the player. These objects are often expertly placed in correlation with the background soundtrack. On most occasions, the background and ground color also change with the icon.

Cosmetics and effects
A number of components are purely cosmetic, or may have effects applied to them. Others may be used as markers to identify routes or hazards (punctuation marks, crosses, arrow signs, etc). Physical objects can cycle through colours and complete visibility, which may also be distracting to gameplay. In contrast, what may look like physical objects can also be background objects, which may again fool the player, for example, fake spikes and thorns. Blast Processing introduced a new effect, giving blocks a three-dimensional appearance. This, in no way, affects the gameplay.

Background and transition
The background can change colour as a way to create a more vibrant gameplay experience. Other map components can enter and leave the screen, not physically affecting anything, as further visual enhancement, but may reduce the amount of time the player has to react to their entry.