FOR LEVEL EDITOR PUBLISHERS
The Level Editor is one of the things I'm most proud of in Gravitydrift. Anyone can open it, build something, and have it appear in the shared library for all players to discover. That freedom is only possible if everyone using it respects a few basic rules.
These guidelines cover what you can and can't publish, what makes a good level, and how moderation works. They complement the Terms of Service, which covers the legal framework. These guidelines are more practical.
The short version: publish levels that are genuinely fun or interesting to play, with appropriate names. Everything else follows from that.
The following will result in level removal, and repeat violations may result in restricted access to the Level Editor:
Level names, and any other text you submit, must not contain:
Gravitydrift is playable by people of all ages, including children. Content in the shared library should be appropriate for a general audience.
Do not publish levels that are:
The Level Editor includes a Test Mode so you can verify your level is solvable before publishing. Please use it.
Do not publish large numbers of near-identical levels to flood the discovery feed. If you're exploring design space and generating many variants, pick the best ones and publish those.
You don't have to follow any of this — but if you want your level to be discovered, played, and rated highly, these observations tend to hold.
The best levels feel like a puzzle with a satisfying answer. Players should be able to feel the "a-ha" moment when they find the right trajectory. Levels with too many similarly valid solutions can feel trivial; levels with a single brutally narrow gap between crash and success can feel unfair. Somewhere in between is the sweet spot.
The most memorable levels are ones where a planet's gravity is what makes the solution work — you fly past a massive object to steal speed or change direction, not just avoid it. A level where all the planets are obstacles to dodge is less interesting than a level where at least one planet is a tool.
When you publish a level, you rate its difficulty. Try to be honest. A level rated Easy should be solvable with a few attempts by someone who understands the basics. A level rated Hard should genuinely require careful planning and probably several attempts. Players filter by difficulty and will rate levels poorly if the stated difficulty is misleading.
Levels without names are less likely to be discovered or remembered. A good name doesn't have to be clever — "Two Moons and a Star" tells you roughly what to expect, which is more useful than "Level 1." Names that hint at the solution mechanic ("The Long Way Round," "Gravity Slingshot Required") reward players who notice them.
If possible, get a second person to try your level before you publish it. What feels obvious to the designer is often not obvious at all to someone approaching it fresh. If your first external tester solves it in two minutes, it might be too easy. If they give up after ten minutes, it might be too hard.
A level that looks good on screen makes a better first impression than one that looks cluttered or random. Planets don't need to be symmetrically arranged, but some intentionality in spacing and placement tends to signal to players that the level was designed with care.
Gravitydrift is a solo project, which means moderation is done manually by one person. Levels are not pre-screened before publishing — they go live immediately. Problematic content is removed reactively, based on reports from players or periodic spot-checks.
To report a level that violates these guidelines, please use the contact page and include the level name or ID. Reports are acted on promptly.
If your level is removed and you believe it was a mistake, please reach out. Removals are reversible if the concern was a misunderstanding. We prefer conversation to silent deletion, but some content (hate speech, for example) will be removed without discussion.
Gravitydrift has been used informally in classrooms to teach Newtonian physics. If you're publishing levels for educational use — to demonstrate a specific concept, or as part of a structured lesson — the same guidelines apply, but with additional latitude for creative naming (e.g. "Newton's Second Law — Demonstration Level") and more technically focused designs.
If you're using Gravitydrift in a classroom setting and would like a curated set of levels created for your curriculum, or have suggestions for features that would help, please get in touch. Educational use is something I want to actively support.
If something isn't covered here and you're unsure whether your level is appropriate, the safest approach is to ask first. Use the contact page. The answer will almost always be "yes, that's fine."