Portals are special level components in Geometry Dash, Geometry Dash Lite, Geometry Dash Meltdown, Geometry Dash World and Geometry Dash SubZero. They modify how the level is interacted with as well as change the icon into different forms, each with unique gameplay.
Types of portals
Manipulation portals
| Type | Portal | Introduced | Effect | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Activation | Deactivation | Geometry Dash | GD Lite | GD World | GD SubZero | |||
| Gravity | 
|
|
Initial release: Dry Out | Update 1.4: Dry Out | Initial release: Frontlines | Initial release: Press Start | Inverts the icon's gravity | |
| Mirror | 
|
|
Update 1.1: Time Machine | Update 1.921: Time Machine | Initial release: Striker | Initial release: Nock Em | Reverses the screen direction | |
| Size | 
|
|
Update 1.4: Clutterfunk | Update 2.11: Clutterfunk | Initial release 1 | Initial release: Nock Em | Changes the icon's size | |
| Speed | File:SpeedPortalS.png | Update 1.7 2, Update 1.8: Hexagon Force | - | Initial release 1 | Initial release: Press Start | Adjusts the horizontal movement speed | Slow (~0.807×, 8.382 tiles/s) | |
| File:SpeedPortalN.png | Update 1.7 2, Update 1.8: Hexagon Force | - | Initial release 1 | Initial release: Press Start | Normal (1.0×, 10.386 tiles/s) | |||
| File:SpeedPortalF.png | Update 1.7: Electrodynamix | - | Initial release 1 | Initial release: Press Start | Fast (~1.243×, 12.914 tiles/s) | |||
| File:SpeedPortalVF.png | Update 1.7: Electrodynamix | - | Initial release 1 | Initial release: Press Start | Very fast (~1.502×, 15.6 tiles/s) | |||
| File:SpeedPortalEF.png | Update 2.1 2 | - | Initial release 1 | - | Extremely fast (~1.849×, 19.2 tiles/s) | |||
| Dual | 
|
|
Update 1.8: Hexagon Force | - | Initial release 1 | - | Creates a second icon with inverted colours and gravity | |
| Teleportation | 
|
|
Update 2.0: Deadlocked | - | Initial release 1 | Initial release: Press Start | Teleports the icon between portals along the y-axis | |
Form portals
| Type | Portal | Form | Introduced | Description | Technical details | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geometry Dash | GD Lite | GD Meltdown | GD World | GD SubZero | Regular size | Mini size | Vertical grid | Safe contact | |||
| Cube | 
|
|
Initial release: Stereo Madness | Initial release: Stereo Madness | Initial release: The Seven Seas | Initial release: Payload | Initial release: Press Start | Performs small successive jumps three times its height and falls steeply | Performs smaller jumps so can jump faster in succession | 80+ units, no ceiling | In the direction of gravity; H-blocks above and below |
| Ship | 
|
File:Ship01.png | Initial release: Stereo Madness | Initial release: Stereo Madness | Initial release: The Seven Seas | Initial release: Machina | Initial release: Press Start | Propels rapidly upwards and naturally descends gradually | Ascends and descends faster | 10 units | Above and below |
| Ball | 
|
File:Ball01.png | Update 1.2: Cycles | Update 2.0: Cycles | Initial release: Airborne Robots | Initial release: Embers | Initial release: Press Start | Moves steeply by alternating gravity given that there is contact with a surface; does not move in succession | Ascends and descends faster | 8 units | Above and below |
| UFO | 
|
File:UFO01.png | Update 1.5: Theory of Everything | Update 2.12: Theory of Everything | - | Initial release: Space Pirates | - | Performs small non-successive midair hops and naturally descends gradually | Performs smaller hops and descends faster | 10 units | Above and below |
| Wave | 
|
File:Wave01.png | Update 1.9: Blast Processing | - | - | Initial release: Monster Dance Off | Initial release: Nock Em | Propels at an upward diagonal and naturally descends at a downward diagonal, each at a constant speed | Ascends and descends faster and at steeper angles | 10 units | Ground and ceiling; D-blocks above and below |
| Robot | 
|
File:Robot01.png | Update 2.0: Geometrical Dominator | - | - | Initial release 1 | Initial release: Press Start | Performs controlled non-successive jumps that can reach up to four times its height and falls steeply | Performs smaller jumps and descends faster | 80+ units, no ceiling | In the direction of gravity; H-blocks above and below |
| Spider | 
|
File:Spider01.png | Update 2.1: Fingerdash | - | - | Initial release: The Challenge | Initial release: Nock Em | Teleports to the nearest overhead surface and alternates gravity; does not move in succession | Performs identically | 9 units | Above and below |
| Unreleased | TBA | File:Drone00.png | Update 2.2: TBA | - | - | - | - | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Footnotes
- 1 Available from user levels
- 2 Available from user levels and usable in the level editor
Trivia
- Prior to its formal introduction, the deactivation gravity portal is encountered in Back On Track and Polargeist as part of collecting secret coins, being implemented in Update 1.6.
- Using a mirror portal will slightly decrease the level's marked completion percentage and progress bar, with no lasting effect.
- While under the effects of the dual portal, a crash with either icon will terminate the other, although they cannot collide with each other.
- While under the effects of the dual portal, the grid is locked to 9 vertical units, unless at least one of the forms is a ship, a UFO, or a wave, where the grid is then locked to 10 vertical units.
- While under the effects of the dual portal, it is apparent that the intended gameplay will be counteracted if both icons of identical form acquire the same direction of gravity, causing an overlap and rendering only one icon for interaction. For this reason, in any case of dual icons of the same form, should one trigger a flip of gravity, both icons will have their gravity flipped to remain at inverted vertical positions. However, both balls and both spiders under the effects of the dual portal have independent gravity states so are not bound to inverted vertical positions. Moreover, the overlap issue is mitigated with an additional mechanic that if both balls are brought into the same direction of gravity, as the oncoming ball makes direct contact with the initial ball, the latter will emit an outward pulse and will reinvert the gravity of the oncoming ball automatically. Although the spider is also subject to the overlap issue, this mechanic as implemented for the ball is absent, allowing both spiders to overlap, nullifying the dual mechanic.
- Using teleportation portals that exit outside of the grid will result in the icon being returned beside the nearest boundary with no realignment of the grid. This does not occur for the cube or robot since they are not limited by a ceiling.
- If entering a form portal corresponding to the icon's current form and the portal is of a higher or lower position to the previous portal, the grid will vertically shift to realign with the new portal, with the exception of the cube and robot portals which do not lock the grid. This is demonstrated only once in a main level, Stereo Madness, with the alternate route for the third secret coin.
- Years, Space Pirates and Embers are the only main levels that do not start with the cube form.
- They are also the only main levels not to feature the cube form.
- Until Update 1.4, the ship only used the selected primary colour with slight shading. This can still be observed from the images in the How to play section of the Settings menu.
- The ship and UFO each carry a slightly smaller version of the selected cube design.
- Under the effects of the size portal, icon designs are compressed into smaller sizes.
- Under the Options section of the Settings menu, the cube and ball can be configured to each use an alternate mini icon design which are not found in the Icon Kit, in all instances that they are under the effects of the size portal regardless of the currently selected icons. While the ship and UFO are under the effects of the size portal, they also display the cube's mini design. Prior to Update 2.0, this was the default and only configuration.
- Mathematically, the wave's movement can be mapped as:
- Regular: slope = ±1 / ±45°
- Mini: slope = ±2 / ~±63.435°
- Due to naturally unchanging momentum, the wave does not respond to jump pads or rings, while gravity pads and rings flip gravity on contact without further effect on momentum.
- Fingerdash is the only main level of the main game to omit the use of a previously released form, being the ball.
- Similar to other decorative level elements that pulsate to the music, the wave's trail will also pulsate to the music in Normal mode.
- Entering manipulation portals triggers additional visual cues with colours matching the active portal:
- The gravity portal triggers brief coloured lines moving in the direction of the gravity.
- The mirror portal triggers every object to move horizontally towards the opposite side of the screen.
- The size portal triggers a bolt of coloured lightning striking the icon along with the screen flashing twice.
- The speed portal triggers coloured particles moving against the direction of the icon for a short time.
- The teleportation portal triggers a bolt of lightning between the two portals along with the screen flashing briefly.
- Entering form portals triggers a brief coloured inward pulse to occur as the icon passes through:
- The cube portal lacks this effect.
- The ship portal has a purple flash.
- The ball portal has a red flash.
- The UFO portal has a yellow flash.
- The wave portal has a yellow flash and thin green outward pulse.
- The robot portal has a red flash.
- The spider portal has a red flash.
- The activation gravity portal is the only manipulation portal that does not share its colour with a form portal.
- The size portal is the only manipulation portal that neither its activation nor deactivation variant uses the colour blue.
- The colours of the teleportation portals are a reference to the game series Portal, with blue being the entry portal colour and orange being the exit portal colour.
- The robot and spider portals are the only form portals that do not share their colours with a manipulation portal.
Form animations
Robot movement
Robot jump
Robot airborne
Spider movement
Spider airborne