Hi DanDude, hope you reconsider one day! Thanks for trying greenboy, but we would need a few hours to write that post...;-)
Anyway, what is really important here is the return of the "scene" to this community. :-D
The Demo Scene really began with floppy discs being sent from friend to friend across international boundaries long before the start of the internet, and evolved long before the current widespread availability of access to the world wide web via graphical browsers like Netscape or Internet Explorer. There was no cohesive or coercive structural influence that brought these sophisticated computer users together and in our opinion it was this "scene" that really made the Amiga what it was. Derived from these talents came the games and the interest that later fully allowed the platform to succeed in the early 90's. Hackers sprung from this culture too, but we will come back to that (another day :-) ).
Most files that were also maintained and distributed on private scene bulletin board systems which of course has evolved until today into sites like this one. These were operated by keen amateurs while the internet was still the exclusive domain of government instruments and research institutions. Many sites still are operated in this way, but much more of the world has access (with plenty of room for growth). If you can find an article about Digital Graffiti which appeared in the UK edition of WIRED magazine, issue 1.03 in June 1995, by Dave Green, and republished in the US edition, issue 3.07 in July 1995, retitled Demo Or Die! (the unacknowledged slogan of demo group SANITY), you will notice that our ideas then are not too different than they are now. But, this had to do with the set-top box and our old company VisCorp (if you are interested see
http://www.amiga-news.de/archiv02/020417_interview_bb_pt.shtml). Let's come back to the present.
The scene was/is an aspect of a wider information technology related cultural environment which had it's origins with the beginnings of the automation of national and international telecommunications, and is characterized by an impetus among its adherents towards the discovery and exploitation of features available within the technological environment which are not publicly documented. The hacker ethos within today's information culture has been journalistically incorporated within a fashionable cyberpunk image, which while sharing some philosophical positions and possibly providing attributes in terms of personal accessories which might be adopted by individuals, is NOT however representative of what the demo scene was.
WE WANT TO BRING BACK THE DEMO SCENE AND THE CREATIVE AND TECHNICAL SKILL THAT WAS SO CHARACTERISTIC OF IT!!!
Here are a few characteristics worth mentioning:
1. The programs' overt function is message passing and skill exposition.
2. Kinetic qualities were unachievable using commercial multimedia software.
3. Real time computer generated music is part of the presentation.
4. Visual effects push the supposed limits of the machine's capability.
5. Chronologically developing repertoire of visual kinetic effects.
6. Visual presentation generally non narrative, often linked to or by music.
7. Almost entirely male gender produced (we need to find some young ladies as today's world is different).
8. The software code is inaccessible without highly specialized knowledge.
9. The software frequently employed a non-standard (disk) operating system and we have a new one -- ;-).
10. Graphic design content is often skillfully executed.
11. Graphic style frequently derived from science fiction or fantasy genre.
12. Visual effects often copied from other demos with increased sophistication.
14. International origins attributable (predominantly to northern Europe).
15. Evidence of cross national cooperation in production.
That is what Amiga was about once and what the Pegasos and MorphOS will be about in the future... :-D Sponsoring Equinoxe is just the beginning of that process.
If your Demo Team is looking for a Sponsor -- send us an email!!!
Sincerely,
R&B :-)
