It's that time of the year again. GameDev.net brings you the fifth incarnation of the Four Elements contest, refreshed, with a new look and new challenges!

If you're new to Four Elements, welcome! Four Elements (or "4E," as many of us call it) is GameDev.net's biggest annual competition, running for about half a year. We give you four "elements," and you go off and make a game based around them. Piece of cake, huh? There's not really that much more to it - you can use whatever you can (legally) get your hands on to make your entry, and at the end of the contest, we'll judge it for things like stability and originality. Submit one of the best entries, and you'll find yourself receiving a prize!

If you've seen Four Elements before, then you'll be pleased to hear that this year brings refinements to the structure we established last year. The rules have been tweaked; the judging schema has been rebalanced; the minimum spec has been raised; and we've thrown an extra month on the schedule. The elements, of course, are different...

We're also very happy to say that amongst our sponsors are EJoyStudio, who are giving every contestant a license for their FastCap Pro software! So as long as you submit something acceptable, you're guaranteed a prize. Show 'em some love, folks.

Also, listen up, OpenGL developers: sponsor Graphic Remedy have offered to supply any contestant with a license for their OpenGL debugging and profiling suite gDEBugger for the duration of the contest. Could be just what you need to eke out those last few FPS and rendering glitches! See the forum thread for details.

Schedule