picture this: the year is 2018, and i’m an energetic ten-year-old who’s been drawing for as long as i can remember. i love video games and often doodle character designs for imaginary games that only exist in my head. when a friend introduced me to an indie game called geometry dash, i was instantly hooked—not by the jumping cube, but by the in-game editor. it was super limited and required tons of creative problem-solving, which made it all the more fun. that challenge pulled me in.

in 2019, i started entering open-entry tournaments where creators make pieces based on prompts (kind of like game jams). i didn’t place at first, but i kept entering—quickfire challenges, bracket tournaments, even geometry dash-themed game shows—until i eventually won in every format.

as my work improved, team leaders (kind of like record labels but for level designers) started reaching out. i joined my first team that same year and started working on big group projects called megacollabs. these are huge collaborations where creators from all over the world blend their art styles into one seamless level. since then, i’ve joined five teams and contributed to four megacollabs—three of which i’ll talk about more later.

being in these teams taught me how to collaborate. i’d spend hours in voice calls, sharing ideas, drawpile links, and helping polish designs. i’ve met amazing people from all over the world—some of whom i’ve now been friends with for over five years. i also started doing freelance work as a visual artist, both inside and outside of geometry dash, earning income from the stuff i love to make.