GameDev.net has evolved over the years just as the games industry has evolved. And now we're about to evolve again - maybe our 6th or 7th time in 20 years by one of the Moderator's count.
Sometime in the next few days, when you visit GameDev.net, you're going to see something different:
Quite a change
But Why?
GameDev.net has been a resource for game and interactive media developers for over 20 years, and the world is a much different place than it was when we started.
We've made a few changes over the years to adapt to the times, but the core site with Tutorials, Blogs, Projects, Forums, Jobs, and so on is pretty much the same as it was 15-20 years ago.
While we've done well to maintain our core existence, the reality is the world is a bit different. Developers have different needs for information and consumption is much different than it used to be. Technology platforms have democratized game development. The skill level spectrum is *huge* and the game developer audience as a whole is massive.
I want GameDev.net to be the best resource for game and interactive media developers. It needs to adapt to the gamedevs of today.
So with that, here's a short list of highlights coming with this new platform.
What's New?
The new platform is the same site at its core, but like any launch we added a few new things.
Dark Theme
Over the years this may be the most-asked for feature on the site. It took a while, but it's here. Hope you like it. You can enable the Dark theme in your account settings.
Side Note: The theme settings include a toggle for full width layouts.
New Layout
- Articles are now Tutorials
- Gallery is now Portfolios
- Added a Challenges area
- Jobs and Careers with Contractors
- Search bar at the top
- Forums are.. kidding. Forums are still Forums!
Profile Dashboard
The Dashboard is where you will find some basic profile stats, settings, and access to *all* of your content posted on GameDev.net.
It's from the Dashboard that you can manage your Blogs, Projects, Tutorials, Forum Topics and more.
Profile Dashboard
Manage All Your Developer Blogs in One Place (You can still import your blog feeds via RSS!)
Bookmarks
Ever come across content on GameDev.net that you wish you could refer back to because you're researching a topic? I have.
Now you can bookmark that content for easier access. I don't know why we didn't do this one years ago, but hey, it's here now - with bigger and bolder plans to come.
Channels and Tags
Throughout the site you'll notice badges of topics on content:
These are what we're calling Channels and Tags. Click on them. You'll see all content associated with that topic, and depending on where you're at on the site when you click you might see all content types for the topic, or you might see all content across the site for the topic.
Either way, this is Step 1 to making GameDev.net easier to navigate, explore, and find the information you're interested in seeing.
Side note: You can now use any content tag you want (within reason).
The Editor
The Editor on the current site has always been a bit of a sore point. It's a WYSIWYG editor, and generally speaking a technical audience wants more control than WYSIWYG gives you. Completely understandable.
We aren't ditching WYSIWYG just yet, but we're compromising with a markdown-capabable WYSIWYG. It's new and might have some quirks, but we'll keep working to improve it.
A New GameDev Coming Soon
We'll be launching this new platform very soon. As you can see, most of the platform will remain very familiar, but we're starting to add a few new items to improve navigation, discoverability, and your ability to share. While we expect the transition to be mostly smooth, we are prepared to handle any issues that may come up post-conversion. We think that overall it's a better, easier to use GameDev.net, and we hope you enjoy it.
Don't worry, it already is by far.
But anything to re-enforce that foothold even more is always more than welcome.