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 and Ramps
Blocks and other surfaces are the most common components and construct the basis of a level. There are many different sizes and styles. 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 a horizontal direction only would destroy the block, as well as "invisible" blocks, that turn transparent when the player is approaching it. Diagonal slanted blocks were introduced in 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 destroy players if the player comes into contact with them in any way.

Spikes
Spikes are triangular shaped obstacles that destroy a player if touched, are the most frequently occurring obstacles and are often jumped over. The original spikes were normal spikes and flat spikes. Update 1.4 introduces half and mini spikes, smaller versions of spikes. Update 1.6 introduced fake spikes, which won't harm the player when coming in contact as well as invisible spikes, that goes transparent when a player comes near it.

Sawblades
Sawblades were introduced in Update 1.4, are first encountered in Clutterfunk, and are typically larger and rounder than common spikes. They automatically rotate in place and can be seen in several different forms as well. Each variation has three distinct sizes. Original sawblades are the most basic type of sawblade, and cannot be seen at all in a black background, until the cube crashes into it. Transparent sawblades can sometimes be seen with dark backgrounds, commonly used in Electroman Adventures. Update 1.9 introduced gear-like sawblades (found in Blast Processing), thick "spiked" sawblades with customizable colors with C-Obj, and invisible sawblades.

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, and have multiple appearances. In official levels, they make appearances all 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. Theory of Everything introduced a kind of thorn resembling creepers or vines. Update 1.9 introduced castle-like thorns which made their first appearance in Blast Processing. Update 2.0 introduced animated thorns which make an appearance in Geometrical Dominator, much like monsters themselves.

Monsters
Monsters (also can be referred to as dragons) are animated obstacles introduced in Update 2.0. There are 4 different types: a large dragon-like one that chomp their mouths repeatedly, and 2 types of smaller ones with no mouths, that simply blink their eyes and bop up and down. These obstacles, similar to the other hazards, kill on impact. Their first appearance was in Geometrical Dominator. A bat-like monster appears in Update 2.1's new level.

Laser Gates
Two dots with a zigzag laser connecting them. They first appear in Update 2.1.

Lava
The bubbling spikes and flowing water blocks can be colored orange to make lava as in Viking Arena. Real lava first appears in 2.1 as a heavily customizable decoration hazard. The sneak peek shows static lava, rising lava and rising and falling lava, plus lavafalls.

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 them (and triangular rings need to be held down). Rings only work once, and will become inactive when used.

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. In some official and online levels, they are normally marked with an 'X' to indicate which jump rings should not be activated (however in Theory of Everything 2, one of the jump rings marked with an 'X' lead to a secret coin. The X is to throw the player off.).

Rings

 * Green is the only ring color not currently to have a pad equivalent.
 * However, if a green pad were to exist, it could be used in the air with no crashable items in the way. Placing a magenta or yellow pad on top of a blue pad will cause a interesting effect, which does not kill the player on ground but provides a green ring effect in the air.
 * Due to the downwards effect of the black orb, it probably won't get a pad equivalent, too.
 * However, a pad could force the player down hard when touched.
 * Creators achieved a similar effect to the green ring by placing a purple or yellow ring inside a gravity portal (allowing the player to jump immediately after switching gravity), which was used before Update 2.0. This however, requires precise timing.
 * However, that allowed the creators to decide the player to either press the jump ring before or after the gravity portal, which can allow two passageways.

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, or robot. They vary into two different types: Form portals, which changes the form of the player, or Manipulation portals, which changes how the player interacts with the level. These manipulation portals can change a form's speed, size, direction of gameplay, or direction of gravity. Update 1.1 introduced mirror portals, which reverses the screen's direction. Update 1.8 also introduced dual portals, which creates a clone of the player. Update 2.0 introduced the teleportation portals, where the player enters a blue portal and exits an orange portal in another location.

Cosmetics and effects
A number of map components are purely cosmetic, or may have effects applied to them. Physical objects can cycle through colours and opacity, which may be distracting while playing. In contrast, what may look like physical objects can also be background objects, which may again fool the player (for example fake spikes, sawblades, and thorns). Other objects may be used as markers to identify routes or hazards (punctuation marks, crosses, arrow signs, etc). Three-dimensional blocks were also introduced in Update 1.9 and in-game text with 12 different fonts was introduced in Update 2.0, which does not affect gameplay but makes a level look more polished. Moving, pulsing and disappearing triggers can also be used to either confuse a player or make a level better and more vibrant. Also introduced in Update 2.0 was keys and keyholes. Their function is only to serve as a visual guide for the invisible triggers (such as move triggers, toggle triggers, alpha triggers, rotate triggers, etc.)

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. With Update 2.0, infinite colour channels were introduced and the player can use them as convenience to change colours of the background and transition, as well as second ground colour, but only for grounds introduced in Update 2.0 and later.