GameDev.net

GameDev.net is a website dedicated to game development launched in June 1999 by Kevin Hawkins, Dave Astle, Michael Tanczos, John Munsch, and Don Thorp, among others. It serves as a central trade resource and media outlet for the video game industry, with particular regards to hobbyist and independent developers, who form a community.

GameDev.net used to host an annual competition known as the "4 Elements" contest (abbreviated 4E, usually followed by the numerical iteration), which typically started in September and lasted for 6 months. It was a sponsored game development competition that required the contenders to create a game based on four different elements (revealed before the start of the competition). The contest was originally centered around the classical elements, although the focus has since shifted to random and seemingly unrelated elements to encourage innovations in game play rather than graphics.

GameDev.net is a free website but now offers a paid membership called GDNet+. Among the offered services and features are: additional site features, access to beta programs, giveaways, and recognition for supporting the site.

GameDev.net also hosts a number of other game development sites. The most popular is NeHe, a comprehensive suite of OpenGL tutorials originally written by Jeff "NeHe" Molofee, and NeXe, a wiki-based website on DirectX containing various tutorials and other information. Another hosted site is the Game Development Wiki (formerly the Game Programming Wiki or gpwiki).