demoscene

033 #demonights

Oleg Lavrovsky

Jul 15, 2017 • 7 min read

The second Swiss DEM0N1GHTS of 2017 (see full invitation in English and auf Deutsch for background) went down at E-0010 in Bern, featuring an evening organised by Echtzeit - Digitale Kultur (realtime digital culture association) - thanks to whom a party place, snacks, A/V and "free water for all" was arranged for an evening of multimedia performances on outstanding hardware. Lively people filled the room for an evening of often-pixellated-never-duplicated underground electronic arts.

Report

The first DEM0N1GHTS were still prior to the renovations, so this time we could really enjoy a wall filling screen, improved acoustics and LED-icious ambiance. Many thanks to all who helped with set-/clean-up - and to all the sceners and newbies who took part and contributed to a memorable meetup!

Speaking of sceners and newbies, the same weekend one of the biggest demoscene events in Scandinavia, Solskogen was taking place in a remote woody location with lots of camping and demopartying. If technology and camping sounds like a winning combination, then you should check out Zeteco - Zeltlager der Technik- und Computerfreunde on 21-24 July 2017 in eastern Switzerland.

At the start of the DEM0N1GHTS, a small group broke off to the back of the room for an introduction to the demoscene. We talked about the different gatherings, competitions, platforms and online hangouts, and shared some tips to get started. We discussed in particular reasons for why the demoscene remains a friendly, chill, open-minded and very inspiring community for thousands around the world. Parallels were mentioned to movements such as Netlabel (the annual Netlabel Day was today as well), where artists release their works online and actively develop a remix culture.

Then it was time to get on with the show. The kickoff and definitive highlight of the evening was the release and presentation of Bern Parties Again by emufr3ak, a new, limits-pushing production for the Amiga platform.

New Amiga production showed at #Demonights to put Bern back on the #demoscene map! pic.twitter.com/GoEEtlGPqu
— E-0010 (@sodacamper) July 14, 2017

This was shown running on a MIST board capable of closely emulating various chipsets and configurations of the Amiga. Quite a bit of re-configuring was involved in getting various demos to run, and emufr3ak explained why this was the case. After his bit-rocking demo, he gave us a detailed tour of it's inner workings, explaining a series of "tricks" that he had to come up with to realise his creative vision. While we won't reveal the secrets here, the online Italian-language Amiga resource RamJam was an important ingredient to his success. We hear they are working on a book in English, that aspiring Amiga coders can look forward to!

Getting a course in bitplane flipping with helpful comments in Italian #demonights via https://t.co/fLviFk6vLt pic.twitter.com/8EeFDsfdID
— E-0010 (@sodacamper) July 14, 2017

Several other demos were played live on the hardware. The sometimes long loading processes were more than made up for by the fidelity and smooth pixel perfect playback of scene hits. In the second part, we played several classics and requests from screen captures which were too tricky to set up on the MIST board. We enjoyed hours of rich audiovisual bedazzlement, got deep into the nuts and bolts of demo-making, caught up with old friends and made new ones, and cleared out just before midnight.

Part II of #demonights feat. demoscene classics by Andromeda, Loonies, Ghostown, Maturefurk, Traction, TBL and more! pic.twitter.com/vH6fiFhTb0
— E-0010 (@sodacamper) July 14, 2017

Last year's BUENZLIREBOOT shows kept the Swiss scene spirit burning.. the next challenge is to reignite the familial, prod-uctive atmosphere that started the Bünzli and Demodays events. The team is already looking forward to, and planning, the next DEM0N1GHTS. Stay...tuned...and in the meantime, feel free to stop by E-0010.space and play some Amiga demos and games on the RetroPie!

Playlist

Each production is linked to a page on DEMOZOO where you can find full credits, videos, downloads, and information about the group.

As emufr3ak noted, a couple of the demos played were Amiga PPC: they will not run on Classic Amigas, but only on Amiga-like systems made after 2000 using special processors and graphics chips. Generally such demos are not allowed in official Amiga Competitions at demo parties, some are multi-platform releases. We have marked these with a warning sign ⚠

emufr3ak - Bern Parties Again - NEW RELEASE

Spaceballs - State of the Art

Lemon - Rink A Dink redux

Ghostown and Whelpz - Sunglasses at night

mad elks - Technological Death

Spaceballs - Makt

Andromeda - Nexus 7

Loonies - Ikadalawampu

The Black Lotus - Rift

Ghostown & Loonies - Smoke & Mirrors

Elude - Lightshaft

⚠ Fit & Bandwagon - Yellow Rose of Texas

The Black Lotus - Silkcut

Maturefurk - lapsuus

⚠ Traction - Ante Dominum

The Black Lotus - Ocean Machine

Hoffman - Everyway

Andromeda - Sequential

Ephidrena - Psylteflesk

crionics & silents - hardwired

⚠ Traction - Fiat Homo

Ghostown - Sushi Boyz

Lemon & The Deadliners - Blast From The Past!

// FREITAG / 14/07/2017

@ EFFINGER UG-2 / E-0010

Vor 32 Jahren hat Commodore den Amiga der Öffentlichkeit vorgestellt. Kaum zu glauben, dass es auch heute noch neue Produktionen für diesen Rechner gibt - nicht nur Software und nicht nur aus der Demoszene. Wir wollen die DEMONIGHTS 002 dem Amiga widmen.

Seit den DEMONIGHTS 001 dediziert zu Revision 2017, hat sich viel getan im E-0010, dem neuen co|re|creation-space für digitale Zusammenarbeit. Wir freuen uns sehr auf deinen Besuch und viel Scene Spirit!

aeh? 8bit? Ihr meint 16bit, oder? 68k forever
— Patricia Moeller (@PatiMoeller) July 5, 2017

Programm

Einführung in die Amiga-Hardware, evtl. kurzer Abriss über die Geschichte des Amigas

Amiga Demoshow, ca. 45 Minuten - 1 Stunde, die Demos werden auf einem FPGA-Amiga-Klon namens MIST gezeigt
Mehr Amigaaa!

Dazwischen, davor und danach ist Zeit für Diskussionen, schwelgen, Projekte starten und sicher auch anstossen.

Alle Details

Datum......... FREITAG, 14. Juli 2017
Zeit.......... ab 19.00 Uhr - ca. gegen Mitternacht
Kosten........ Eintritt/Unkostenbeitrag 10.- (Tip-Jar)
Ort........... Effingerstrasse 10, Untergrund -2

Anreise idealerweise mit dem ÖV, der Veranstaltungsort ist in 5 min zu Fuss vom Hauptbahnhof Bern erreichbar; Es gibt keine Parkplätze vor Ort; ansonsten bitte Parkhäuser in der Umgebung verwenden.

Verpflegung: Getränke und Snacks zur Verfügung (faire Preise), eine grosse Auswahl an weiteren Getränken kann an der Effinger-Bar bezogen werden.

Über eine kurze Anmeldung via unserer Facebook-Event-Seite oder per Email an info@echtzeitkultur.org sind wir froh.

FAQ

Amiga? Lange her? Hier ein paar aktuelle Amiga-Demos (Captures).

Bis bald, Echtzeit - Digitale Kultur & Effinger E-0010

// FREITAG / 14/07/2017

@ EFFINGER UG-2 / E-0010

32 years ago, Commodore International introduced the Amiga computer to an admiring public. Hard to believe that new code productions would continue to be written for this computer - not only software, not only from the demoscene. The legacy continues to this day. We are therefore dedicating the next DEMONIGHTS to the indubitable Amiga. This is a meetup and electronic arts performance organised by Echtzeit - Digitale Kultur, the Swiss association in support of the demoscene.

Since the first DEMONIGHTS dedicated to Revision 2017, a lot has been going on in E-0010, the fresh new underground digital co|re|creation space in Berne. We are looking forward to your visit and all the scene spirit you will bring! Memories of previous events are here and here.

Program

A short introduction to the hardware and some history of the Commodore Amiga

Amiga Demoshow on an FPGA-Amiga-Clone by the name of MIST
More Amiga Stuff :)

Between, before, and after these, there will be time to discuss, remember the glorious Amiga days (for those so fortunate to have experienced computing before Apple and Microsoft's time), start new projects and have a drink together.

All your details

When.......... Friday, July, 14th 2017
Doors......... 19:00 - Midnight
Entrance...... CHF 10.- to cover costs (please deposit in tip-jar)
Where......... Effingerstrasse 10, Bern. Underground -2

Ideally reachable by public transport, 5 minute walk from the main station in Bern; No parking on site: please use nearby designated city parking houses.

There will be a few drinks & snacks available on location, and a great selection at the Effinger Kaffeebar upstairs.

Please sign up and let us know you're coming on our Facebook event page ~ or by email to info at echtzeitkultur.org