Demo scene
The demo scene developed among supporters of the computer scene in the 1980s during the heyday of 8-bit systems . Their followers, often demosceners or simply sceners are called, produced with computer programs on computers called Demos - Digital Art , mostly in the form of music-backed real-time - animations .
In the meantime, the demo scene has become an established circle within the computer scene; They present their works on large screens at various events. Slowly but surely, the demo scene is also making its way into the museums and the progressive film and video festivals. Today programming is mainly done on conventional PCs , but dozens of other platforms - from the Xbox to the Game Boy - are also used for the programming skills. In German-speaking countries, the demo and the demo are used equally for the products of this art form .
The demo scene is essentially limited to Europe; in the USA and Asia only relatively small offshoots exist.
history
Apart from crack intros of the cracker scene itself, such as For example, in 1911 the groups SKIDROW and Razor still mainly produce these for higher-quality PC games in 1911 , today's demo scene places more emphasis on no longer being related to the cracker or warez scene. Even in the days of the C-64 and Amiga, this could not be separated, as the first pure demos developed from the simple intro-greeting tickers of the crackers, especially the acoustic side with the chiptunes .
While the cracker scene is mainly concerned with the distribution of illegal copies, the demo scene today is more dedicated to the art aspect of computers. Not every demoszener today was necessarily a former cracker or even part of such a group, but many members of previous cracker groups are active in the demoscene today. One of the reasons for this is that a good crack needs an artfully designed intro. These works by former cracker groups represent the most important artistic influence on the demo scene and also give rise to today's demo scene.
precursor
Early forerunners, which have similarities with the later demo effects and their motivation for "playing" with technical possibilities, are so-called display hacks , which go back to the early 1950s. Direct forerunners are the simple, exclusively text-based signatures ("crack screens") with which crackers first immortalized themselves in Apple II software in the late 1970s . Gradually these changed into more and more elaborate works, consisting of graphics, music and animation.
Origins in the home computers of the 1980s
The boom phase of the 8-bit computers, especially the Commodore 64 , abbreviated C64 (market launch 1982), Atari 800 and Schneider / Amstrad CPC is usually seen as the actual birth of the demos . During this time, computer games appeared on the market en masse , most of which were provided with copy protection at the software level to prevent illegal duplication. As a result, so-called cracker groups were created, which specialized in removing copy protection by manipulating the program. This scene grew relatively quickly, and individual groups began a sort of competition to see who removed the first at the games or the copy they crackte and the copyable version ( cracked ) then within their own scene spread ( released ).
Traditionally, the cracked games were provided with an intro , which was also called cracktro in the scene . Initially it was a small program that started automatically before the actual game and usually presented to the user with computer music and the name of the cracker group with the help of computer animations. In addition, were mostly scrolltexts used befriended scene members and other groups to greet ( Greetings ) and also advertise your own group by publishing contact details in the form of BBS -Telefonnummern operation. Due to the competition between the individual groups, both the quality of the game and the intro played a role in the group's reputation. More and more complex intros were programmed, some of which reached the limits of the available hardware.
Change of scene: from cracktros to independent demos
At this point in time, more and more scenes were specializing in the actual programming of intros - the cracking and the games themselves became secondary for them. The software companies kept coming up with new copy protection methods, but the overcoming of these software-related restrictions was relatively simple compared to the programming skills that were used for intros. The reputation ( fame ) of renowned cracker groups was often based only on their spectacular intros. The first demos ( DemoDisks ) were created without a cracked game.
The priorities within the groups were also redefined. With the appearance of the 16-bit systems , primarily the Commodore Amiga and Atari ST , the possibilities of the intro / demo programmer also increased. Fixed areas of responsibility emerged within the individual groups: graphic artists take care of the visual presentation by creating images, animations and lettering ( ASCII art, etc.). Musicians compose the music and acoustic effects, which were often created with the help of trackers . Programmers ( coders ) do the main programming work and combine the individual elements into a finished demo. Diskmags - electronic magazines that were passed on on floppy disk - promoted the exchange of information within the scene.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, "black copies" became a growing problem in the software industry. Due to insufficient profits, it partially completely stopped developing games for certain platforms. Some even accuse the cracker scene of having been largely responsible for the downfall of the Amiga, since there the illegal copying of the games got out of hand; Black copies of many games were in circulation before they even hit the market.
With the dominance of the PC platform and the Internet , cracks became easily available and, due to the multitude of new programs and games, mass-produced. Unlike in the 1980s, the programs no longer had to be sent by post or exchanged in person - they could simply be downloaded from the Internet, including the crack. These had less and less an intro, mostly the information about the crack and the greetings were only stored in a simple text file . The authorities were also increasingly concerned with the fight against black copies: house searches and seizure of hardware and software and, in addition to individual scenes, entire groups were arrested. In addition to other interests, that was another important reason for the demo scene to split off from the cracker groups. There were more pure demos , i.e. the publication of computer art without the distribution of an (illegally copied) game, and a clearer differentiation / emancipation of the demo scene from the crack scene.
1990s: Emancipation of the demo scene on the PC platform
The actual demo scene continued to develop, especially in Northern Europe and Scandinavia, the scene grew strongly. In the mid-1990s it established itself with events such as the Finnish Assembly , the Norwegian Gathering and the German Mekka & Symposium , where the best demos were presented and selected, each with many thousands of visitors. Online publications were created specializing in the demo scene and its technology, such as B. Hugi or TraxWeekly a tracker magazine.
In the middle of the 90s, the demo scene became one of the driving forces behind the development of the PC platform in the direction of multimedia , which was also recognized by hardware manufacturers and to support demo events (e.g. assembly ) by companies such as Gravis or AMD led. The Gravis sound card, the Ultrasound , was discovered by the demo scene and therefore only more widely known. The importance is shown, for example, in 1999 in the retrospective selection of the Future Crew Demo Second Reality , which was published in 1993 by the online magazine Slashdot , among the "Top 10 Hacks of All Time" .
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, many start-ups were founded by or with demo scenes who brought their concepts and technologies to the table. An example is the Finnish company Remedy Entertainment , known for the Max Payne game series, which was founded by Future Crew members, and most of which are former demosceners.
2000s: Self-Limitation and Mobile Devices
In the 2000s, the demo scene discovered mobile devices with limited computing power as a new playing field for real-time demos. At the same time, self-limiting categories for demos on the PC were increasingly introduced, as natural hardware limits (e.g. disk size) no longer existed with increasing computing power and storage space . A popular category here are z. B. 64k demos , demos which do not exceed a memory size of 64kByte with sound and graphics. Newly developed technologies for this purpose are procedural generation , .krieger as an exemplary, award-winning demo of this from Farbrausch .
The scene also began to organize itself more professionally: In Germany, the registered non-profit association “ Digitale Kultur ” has been promoting the demo scene since 2003 , in particular by organizing Evoke and obtaining sponsors and funds. A specially developed CMS called PartyMeister is used by the demo scene to organize some demo parties , for example the tUM or the Buenzli .
Scene.org , another global demo scene organization, has been giving the Scene.org Awards since 2003 . a. sponsored by Pixar . The Scene.org Awards are given annually to the creators of the best intros and demos of the previous year. The winners (with the exception of the audience award) will be selected by a jury made up of respected demosceners from all over the world. The award was presented until 2010 at Breakpoint , the world's largest, pure demo party, and since 2011 at The Gathering , at the same time as the revision in Saarbrücken .
technology
hardware
Basics
The requirements for a good demo depend largely on the hardware available. There is an essential difference here between today's PC system and older platforms such as the Commodore 64, but also consoles such as the Sony PlayStation or the Nintendo Game Boy .
The performance of a system is primarily dependent on the main processor , RAM, graphics and sound processors. In the case of non-PC systems, these components are usually fixed and cannot be exchanged. For example, a demo programmed for the Commodore 64 ran at the same speed on all computers. It looks different with a demo for the PC, many current PC demos only run on high-end systems.
There are huge differences between older systems and today's PCs, especially when it comes to RAM. While a Commodore 64 had to get by with 65,535 bytes of RAM (for comparison: this Wikipedia article including all the pictures would no longer fit in its memory), RAM of several gigabytes is not uncommon these days. For this reason , categories with defined maximum memory usage were introduced for demos for the PC architecture, but also for other hardware platforms (Amiga, C-64, mobile devices ...) in order to make the various demos more comparable (→ section Competitions in parties ).
Criticism of the pc
Many sceners from the early days of the demo scene disapprove of today's PC demos, especially those from the “Unlimited” category, that is, without any limitation on the main memory or the program size. Their reproach is that the advanced technical framework means that complex graphics such as textures or rendered 3D models can be completely read into the main memory, whereas in the past, due to the very small memory, you were forced to read such details in real time while the demo was running to be calculated.
For these critics, one of the most important challenges in demo programming is to use programming tricks and more sophisticated algorithms to push the limits of the hardware restrictions. With PC demos, this is no longer a challenge because these restrictions are removed. This is also one of the main reasons for the increased attention in recent years to intros with a maximum of 64 KB, 32 KB, 4 KB or even 256 bytes.
Objectives of the PC demo scene
The PC demo scene, however, is faced with completely different challenges, such as the optimization of new technologies, such as pixel shading . Due to the rapid development of technology, especially among the younger members of the demo scene, there has been a shift from exhausting technology (“pushing the limits”) to artistic design (“art creation”). While the hardware limitations of the past meant that the theoretically formulated limits of a hardware were pushed further and further (e.g. in the form of 3D environments in real-time calculation on the C64), on the PC the focus was rather on aesthetic media design and uses the newly available PC extensions.
For fans of older platforms, however, the further development of technology also brings new challenges. They have long since discovered mobile devices such as PDAs , MDAs and cell phones for their purposes and are also using them to demonstrate their demos.
software
Programming basics
In accordance with the large differences in hardware, the programming technology requirements for a good demo are fundamentally different. The main problem for programmers on 8-bit systems was getting by with the limited memory. With a Commodore 64, for example, 64 kilobytes of main memory were available. In order to keep a program as small as possible, assembler was used as the programming language on such computers . This had the additional advantage that routines such as graphic calculations ran much faster than, for example, with the BASIC interpreter built into the C64 .
In order to create an impressive and impressive demo, the main challenge is to find fast algorithms and to program them to save space. In addition, resourceful hackers are constantly discovering tricks to use memory reserved by the system, for example. One of the first groundbreaking methods was the raster line interrupt , which made many effects possible.
An example of a limit performance of this “pushing the limits paradigm” is the ShiZZle demo from Team Pokémé. This demo programmed for the small handheld console Pokémon Mini won the "Wild Competition" at Breakpoint 2005. The device has only two kilobytes of RAM, 768 bytes of video memory, a 96 × 64 px monochrome display and an 8-bit CPU . Nevertheless, the demo was celebrated by the visitors as one of the best demos ever.
In the PC sector, the art of programming consists more in the use of existing graphics libraries such as the DirectX or OpenGL interface. Special routines for lighting, light and shadow effects as well as special techniques such as pixel shaders enable the programmers to create increasingly impressive demos.
Structure of classic demos
Original intros initially had a relatively fixed structure: various visual effects were shown musically and with effects, such as rotating starry skies, general games with shapes and colors or virtual flights through imaginary landscapes. The focus was mostly on text messages, which were often implemented using scroll texts. In these texts, mainly those involved in the intros were listed ("credits") and friendly sceneers and groups were greeted ("greetings").
Compilation of megademos
For the first independent works, which were initially designed as intros with no illegal play behind them, the term screen quickly caught on, also to delimit the cracktros of the illegal cracker scene. Since there was a much larger amount of storage space available on the data carrier without a game, several screens were soon connected to form a megademo .
The selection of the components of a mega demo usually took place via a simple (rarely more complex) interactive selection menu. However, since switching back and forth between menus was often perceived as tedious and unnecessary interruption, such menus were quickly frowned upon. Over time, the separation became established and the screens were linked in a fixed order. Gradually, a coherent overall context developed, with a common theme and a coherent process. The first demos in the form common today were created.
organization
groups
Most demo artists organize themselves in groups of like-minded people and work on this basis in project teams.
Important groups on the PC in the 1990s were Future Crew ( Second Reality ) or Triton ( FastTracker ), who also did organizational tasks for the entire scene, such as organizing parties. The best-known groups from Germany active in the 2000s include, for example, Farbrausch or Haujobb . Within these groups, the individual members do their part in different areas of responsibility. The group membership of those involved in a project is taken less seriously today than it used to be; tough competition, which once could degenerate into mostly friendly disputes ("Wars"), has largely given way to a spirit of multiple cooperation today. Group names take on the roles of product brands that stand for certain styles or a certain level of quality.
Parties
An important part of the demo scene are demo parties - events where the scene comes together for several days, shows the best demos of the groups on big screens and awards prizes. In contrast to a LAN party , programming technology and computer art are in the foreground at a demo party . Even if the boundaries of such events are mixed, as with the Finnish Assembly or the Norwegian The Gathering , the largest such parties in the world, the demoszeners want to stand out from the gamers at LAN parties. Gamers are frowned upon at many events, such as the largest German events Revision and Evoke . Although occasional gaming is tolerated here, it is important that the creation and presentation of the demos is in the foreground.
In addition to the demo parties already mentioned, the Buenzli in Switzerland and the Ultimate Meeting in Germany are also of greater importance.
invitation
It became common practice that one of the inviting and organizing demo groups published a digital invitation in the form of a small demo, called an invitation , with the relevant information about the process, timing and competitions of a party.
Competitions
The focus of every demo party is the competitions and demonstrations of the demos, so-called competitions or compos for short . Both groups and individual artists compete in different categories. The attending visitors will vote. It is quite common for contributions to the compos to be completed at the party. The party coding to date is considered under enormous stress as a special experience that firmly belongs to many sceners the demo creation.
The competitions are divided into different categories so that the submitted demos can be compared. There is often a separate competition for particularly popular platforms such as the Amiga or Commodore 64. For PC systems one traditionally subdivides into a memory limit of 64, 16 or 4 kilobytes. For all other platforms - the more exotic, the better - there is the "Wild" category. There are also sub-categories such as pure animation , rendering , best piece of music or even best ASCII art .
Also browser demos, flash demos or Java demos can compete in separate competitions.
literature
- Doreen Hartmann: Digital Art Natives: Practices, Artifacts and Structures of the Computer Demoscene , Kulturverlag Kadmos , Berlin, 2017, ISBN 978-3-86599-343-4
- Daniel Botz: Art, Code and Machine: the Aesthetics of the Computer Demoszene , transcript Verlag , Bielefeld, 2011 (Culture and Media Theory), also: Munich, Univ., Diss., 2008, ISBN 978-3-8376-1749 -8 , review by Maik Schmidt in: c't , 22/2011, page 192.
- Tamás Polgár (Tomcat): Freax: Volume 1 , CSW-Verlag, Winnenden, 2005, ISBN 3-9810494-0-3 .
- Lassi Tasajärvi: Demoscene: The Art of Real-Time , Even Lake Studios, 2004, ISBN 952-91-7022-X .
- Denis Moschitto, Evrim Sen: Hackerland - The Logbook of the Scene , Tropen Verlag , Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-932170-29-6 .
- Boris Bertelsons, Matthias Rasch: PC Underground , Data Becker , Düsseldorf, 1994, ISBN 3-8158-1117-1 .
- Demoscene Research , kameli.net (online), annotated bibliography of scientific publications on the demoscene.
Web links
- scene.org non-profit organization of the demoscene , presented the Scene.org Awards to the best demos every year until 2012
- digitalkultur.org Non-profit association for the promotion and education about the demoscene , especially in Germany
- bitfellas.org , demoscene portal with articles, interviews, radio, podcast, links and a huge picture gallery.
- pouet.net , extensive database with links, screenshots and reviews of many demos from all computer platforms.
Interviews and reports
- Exotica , detailed information and history about the demo scene (especially the Amiga) in wiki form
- demoscene.info , information about the demo scene
- Chaosradio No. 62: demo scene (June 27, 2001)
- detailed interview (2 hours, OGG, 100 MB) with KB from Farbrausch at Nerdalert on FSK (May 13, 2009)
- Podcast with demo music and an overview of the demo scene Interview on funkUP - Campusradio Potsdam (23 January 2013)
- Demo scene: Hollywood in 64 kilobytes - ZDF report on the demo scene ( electrical reporter ) (December 5, 2008)
- Gamers' Corner: Bit magicians let computers paint - Article on Spiegel.de about the demo scene (Moses Grohé, October 15, 2006)
- Behind the Scene , free documentation about the demo scene
- The demo scene - digital infinities , German-language documentation about the demo scene
Individual evidence
- ↑ What is the demo scene? (PDF, 678 kB) Digital Culture e. V .:, October 15, 2003, accessed November 27, 2012 .
- ↑ Moses Grohé: Gamers' Corner: Bit magicians let computers paint. In: Spiegel.de . October 15, 2005, accessed November 27, 2012 .
- ↑ Widdy / Antichrist: The Scene Story ( Memento of 30 September 2007 at the Internet Archive ). On: lemon64.com
- ^ E. Vincent Young: The Best of Trax Weekly. In: novusmusic.com. May 31, 2005, accessed November 27, 2012 .
- ↑ Stefan Göhler: 1991 - competition! - (Advanced) Gravis Ultrasound. In: Phonomenal! crossfire-designs.de, p. 9 , accessed on November 27, 2012 .
- ↑ Slashdot's Top 10 Hacks of All Time. slashdot.org, December 13, 1999, accessed December 25, 2010 : “Second Reality by Future Crew - Awesome, Mindblowing, Unbelievable, Impossible. Some of the words used to describe what this piece of code from demoscene gods Future Crew did on 1993-era PC hardware. Even by today's standards, what this program can do without relying on any kind of 3D graphics acceleration is impressive. As if the graphics weren't impressive enough, it can even playback in Dolby Surround Sound. "
- ↑ Bobic: sceners in the Games Industry. 4players.de, January 18, 2007, accessed on February 17, 2011 (English).
- ^ Bernhard Fritsch: demo scene: Hollywood in 64 kilobytes. In: The Electric Reporter . zdf .de, December 5, 2008, accessed on November 27, 2011 .
- ^ German Developer Award 2006: Hall of Fame. GAME Association of developers of computer games e. V., December 13, 2006, archived from the original on July 22, 2011 ; retrieved on November 27, 2012 : "Innovation Prize of the Jury → The Product - procedural 96kb game .kkrieger"
- ^ Trixter: A Guide to the PC Demo Scene. In: scheib.net. September 3, 1994, accessed November 27, 2012 .
- ^ PartyMeister: Used at the following parties. In: partymeister.org. 2010, accessed November 27, 2012 .
- ↑ 9th Annual Scene.org Awards streaming 30 Mar 2011
- ↑ Boris Burger, Ondrej Paulovic, Milos Hasan: Realtime Visualization Methods in the Demoscene. In: CESCG-2002. Vienna University of Technology , March 21, 2002, accessed on November 27, 2012 (English).
- ^ "Shizzle" demo on YouTube. Retrieved November 3, 2019 .
- ↑ Patrick Brauch: Computer Art on the Rhine. In: c't 9/2005. 2005, accessed May 23, 2014 .
- ↑ Petri Kuittinen: Computer Demos - The Story So Far. Media Lab Helsinki, April 28, 2001, accessed November 27, 2012 .
- ↑ Jeremy Williams: Demographics: Behind the Scene. archive.org, 2002, accessed November 27, 2012 .
- ↑ See List of Demoparties . on demoparty.net.
- ↑ See homepage www.danielbotz.de
- ↑ See the homepage www.freax.hu ( Memento of October 16, 2005 in the Internet Archive ).
- ↑ See the homepage www.evenlakestudios.com/books ( Memento of October 9, 2004 in the Internet Archive ).
- ↑ Bibliography , kameli.net ( first outdated version ).