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The Alternative Party 2003 96

Posted by timothy from the well-as-long-as-there-are-llamas dept.
mkoskimi writes "The fourth consecutive Alternative Party is arranged this weekend (Friday to Sunday) in Helsinki, Finland. As before, we expect up to 300 people joining this round-the-clock event, bringing along all kinds of weird machines (previous times have seen a Magnavox Odyssey, a M6800 Evaluation Kit II and the Vectrex). It's not yet another retro computer show though; there will be Competitions, artists and our guest of honour, Jeff Minter! There be llamas here..."
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The Alternative Party 2003 More

The Alternative Party 2003

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  • hmm... (Score:2, Funny)

    by der_saeufer ( 139759 )
    A good ole geek party... maybe the name should be "The alternative *sausage* party" ??

    • Re:hmm... (Score:2, Insightful)

      by cap'n foolsy ( 635911 )
      i think having a *sausage party* is just about as alternative as it gets, rendering "the alternative sausage party" redundant.

  • Demo Scene (Score:2, Interesting)

    by KDan ( 90353 )
    I'm always amazed at the skill displayed in all those demos. I used to try my hand at some assembler programming back in the days, but boy, those people have genius. Recently I even went to a small rave and they had lots of big plasma screens in the club with what was clearly demo stuff running... it was really, really cool :-) .

    I wonder how they do it now, anyone know? Do they still run DOS to have access to all the intricacies of the hardware?

    Respects to them, in any case.

    Daniel

    • Re:Demo Scene (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 09, 2003 @04:01AM (#5045785)
      My favorite was when a C64 demo-group "ported" the PC demo "second reality" by future crew to the commodore C64. That was amazing!

      I think it's downloadable at www.scene.org under C64, think it was in 1995-1998 somewhere. Of cause you also need a good C64 emulator like CCS64.

      • Re:Demo Scene (Score:2, Informative)

        by Anonymous Coward
        Did a little google-search. It was smash design that did the port and it was released at 'The party 97'

        Here is a review of the demo (and a broken link): http://www.emucamp.com/frames.html?/reviews/c64/2n dreal.html

        To download 'Second reality' go to www.scene.org, press 'browse the archive', press 'demos', press 'parties', press '1997', press 'theparty97', press 'c64' and finally download "smash_secondreality_d64.zip

        To get the emulator go to www.c64.com, press the 'Tools' tab in upper-right, press 'Ms-dos' and finally download CCS64_1.09 or CCS64_20_betas (the best emulator).

        In the emulator, press F9 to do stuff like configuration and loading disks/tapes.

        It's bloody amazing that this demo runs on a 8bit 1Mhz computer with 64kb RAM!
      • The c64 version of Future Crews Second Reality
        is by Smash Designs from Germany.
        Infos on http://www.smash-designs.de/c64demo.html

        faxe
    • Nah, these days they all use Windows, how much they do to force the hardware I don't know, but since it's a demo the answer must be "As much as they damn well can". A mods have largely given way to MP3s.

      Still they do look superb still :)

    • Re:Demo Scene (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Goth Biker Babe ( 311502 ) on Thursday January 09, 2003 @06:00AM (#5045987) Homepage Journal
      It was attempting to code demos which use the hardware to it's limit (mainly on the BBC Micro) which laid the grounds for my future career in embedded software.

      Demo coding (and game programming) produced a generation of software engineers who know how to keep memory usage to a minimum and eek as much power as they can out of the hardware. To solve solutions or produce effects they had to be inspirational and use hardware in ways the designers had never envisaged. One example being using hardware timers, the screen sync interrupt a nd low level coding to flip pallets during the screen draw and so get more colours than are supported normally.

      I worry that the new generation have had it too easy and that these skills will be lost.
      • Hear hear!

        /me - old Atari ST democoder, now working as a telecom/embedded consultant.

      • "One example being using hardware timers, the screen sync interrupt a nd low level coding to flip pallets during the screen draw and so get more colours than are supported normally. I worry that the new generation have had it too easy and that these skills will be lost." No worries. Anyone who has needed to code for the Gameboy Color needs these tricks and more to survive. We use HBlank interrupts for palette loading (to go from 32 colors to more than 256), sprite reloading (HW max 40 upped to 64 or so), split screening, wavy screen fades, etc. The same techniques will be ported to the GBA as well...
      • Except writing everything in assembler is

        1) totally unportable
        2) impractical for all but small applications or fine tuning

        Yes I agree with you that alot of software developers are lazy, but I don't believe its because they don't squeeze every last kilobyte out of their apps. Its because they design poorly and don't have a good understanding of algorithms
        • No, you don't write everything in assembler any more. But it still has it's uses. For example:
          • Optimising the core of compressed audio decoder when running on a processor that doesn't have an FPU (normally embedded).
          • Setting up the core to the interrupt handlers or the MMU on intialisation before the OS is booted in an embedded device.
          • If you are trying to write a real time OS to run on a PIC which will end up in a device in a car then knowing assembler helps.
          • When you are checking out the code of a set top box to shave off latency in an audio subsystem. You need to be able to check that the code generated by the compiler is as optimal as it can be and possibly replace it with some handcrafted assembler.
          • Or just debugging a weird bug which may be a compiler fault.


          Yes, you need a good design but knowing those demo skills can only help as well. I know comp sci grads who don't know what interrupts are, or the principles of multithreaded programming, or even how to work out whether an algorithm is efficient.
    • That wouldn't have been the Warp Pool Party in London would it?

      If so, the demo's you saw were none other than the Yak's VLM-3 (Virtual Light Machine) running on as-yet-unannounced hardware ;)

      Pictures and a write up can be found at the Warp Records site [warprecords.com]

      Cheers
      Chris

  • Demos (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Noodlenose ( 537591 ) on Thursday January 09, 2003 @04:00AM (#5045780) Homepage Journal
    I remember downloading and running a 3 minute demo on my Amiga 2000 that wasn't only mindbogglingly beautiful to look at but also had the coolest EBM-soundtrack you could imagine. Size of the file: 16kb

    Bloody amazing...

    Will there be a return of the mutant camels?

    • I'm in a instrumental funk-jazz band and we've named all our songs after Commodore 64 games; One of our demos was named "Revenge Of The Mutant Camels"
    • 16kB is def. not much space. When we are talking about small demos you should check out the ".fr-08: .the .product" -demo from farbrausch consumer consulting. It's 64kB, and its really amazing.
      It's beyond me how they managed to cramp down 16 minutes(!) into 64kB.

      quoted from their web:
      "how much graphics, sound and program code can be stored in 64kbytes? when .fr-08 .the .product was released at christmas 2000, it made a convincing statement by showing seven completely different 3d scenes with 16 minutes of realtime synthesized music."

      http://theproduct.de/

      You need an P2-350MHz, 128MB RAM and DirectX

  • It's a finnish party allright! (Score:4, Informative)

    by DrunkenPenguin ( 553473 ) on Thursday January 09, 2003 @04:01AM (#5045781) Homepage
    This seems like a traditional finnish party. You better not go if you can't drink booze ;)

    Think I'm kidding? No, I'm not. Check out these pictures [byterapers.com] from finnish geek parties!
    ---

    • Re:It's a finnish party allright! (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Drinking booze is not allowed, of course. Not that it prevents everyone, tho. :)
    • I spent 4 months in Oulu last winter so I can second this. If you can find any excuse to get to Finland, go. And if you can find your way into a party (which was usually very, very easy, as Finns seem to be the most friendly people after a few beers, kind of an anti-stereotype), go.

      But be prepared to pay for that booze though, it's quite expensive if it's not brought in from Estonia or distilled at home (like we would do).

      Oh, and most bars are open until 4a.m. unlike horrid England, where I just returned from.

      To order: Salmiakki koskenkorva (bad vodka made good with the addition of Salmiakki, think licorice and, um, tar), pear cider (sweet or dry, try both, it's great and I miss it), and Karhu beer (made by the same brewery as Koff, but this one's drinkable).

      And MAKE SURE YOU GET IN THE SAUNA! This is where the beer drinking is meant to happen. But watch out if they start singing that damn song and keep throwing more and more water on the rocks to see who the last one in is. Of course, as a foreigner it's always fun to not be the first one steamed out :)

      Oulu student sauna parties... God how I need to get back there.
      • Just on the sauna thing, as a happy Australian Finn, I find it disgusting how cold you people up North have your sauna's! It should be illegal to have 70deg sauna's! *shudder*!

        Last time i went back, it was such a shock considering we here in Sydney wont go in our sauna till it hit's 110! (Yes that's Degrees Celsius you wimps!)

        heh.. Unfortunatly the beer gets pretty hot quickly at those temps! :)

  • A diverse set of competitions (Score:4, Informative)

    by mmoncur ( 229199 ) on Thursday January 09, 2003 @04:01AM (#5045782) Homepage
    I was imagining some kind of retro computer programming contest, but along with "Most Obscure Computer Competition" the events include:

    - Photography Competition
    - Short Story Competition
    - Live Vocal Music Competition ("You do not necessarily have to sing, you can also make other sounds/noise with your mouth(s).")
    - Love Music Competition
    - Black and White Video Competition ("Shades of gray are not allowed.")

    I love it. It's a shame I'm nowhere near Finland or I'd stop by just to see the spectacle of 300 retro computer geeks in a love song competition...

  • Demo Scene DVD (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Duds ( 100634 ) <dudley@NospAm.enterspace.org> on Thursday January 09, 2003 @04:09AM (#5045802) Homepage Journal
    No, I'm not connected with these guys.

    But this is just such an obviously cool product I had to flag it. A load of guys have done a 4 hour plus DVD-Video of Demos running on the machines that ran them best. Everything from 1990-2001, including (of course) 2nd reality.

    I got it on release day and it's superb, even with easter eggs and original music from demo artists for the menu.

    http://www.mindcandydvd.com

    • Oh man, you had me all excited for a second there, until I went and checked the site - to discover that it's all PC shit.

      Now a DVD of stuff from the Amiga scene, that'd be worthwhile. Especially as there get to be fewer and fewer machines in the world capable of running these demos.

      • Re:Demo Scene DVD (Score:3, Informative)

        by Duds ( 100634 )
        Go to their forum.

        They're planning a volume 2, quite possibly with the Amiga stuff. Make your voice heard and we'll get our Amiga one.

        I love both, fine by me :)
      • Waaah waaah it's all PC shit waaah! <-- you

        From where I'm sitting (on my high horse), the Amiga was a machine that was optimized for running democode on, and not much else. I think it's more impressive that PC coders got some of those effects to run on a basic VGA display, even if Amiga coders could get something that looked 25% better on the Amiga's more advanced graphics systems.
      • Guess what? Our next DVD will most likely be Amiga. So please pocket your Amiga advocacy, because the *entire* scene is worth viewing, thank you :-)
    • A group of friends and I just did this very same thing, (before coming across this site that is) we dusted off the old GUS and original Pentium, and captured to odiv'x 40+ old PC demos! From Panic and Crystal Dreams to the whole Robot saga from Orange! :) The one thing i have to say about what mind candy did, is that they left out far far too many.. :( Well limited time space and all that, i just dont see the point in the "new school" disk they have?? (Why when they mostly will run under winxp do you need them on a dvd?)

      Anyway i would love to put together all the demos we did either on a web site or dvd for download, but at an average of 30MB per avi file I dont have the space for that.. :(

      Anyway I highly recommend doing it yourself (dig up that old 486!) I tell you i havn't felt such nostalgia ever in my life than what i felt to finnally see Second Reality roll up one last time on the pc. :)

  • Invitation competition and previous Altparty stuff (Score:5, Informative)

    by jjl ( 514061 ) on Thursday January 09, 2003 @04:11AM (#5045805) Homepage
    Entries for the invitation competition [altparty.org] are already available, featuring intros/videos, music/posters/flyers/pictures, text files and even a feast recipe invitation [altparty.org]!

    The intros have wide variety of entries, some working on Win32, some made with Perl, a 4k intro, invitation for GBA and Vic-20 and more.

    Some stuff from Alternative Party III [altparty.org] held in January 2002 is also archived and available.

    Here [pouet.net] is a pouet-link to one demo from the party, "Partaitiö" by tAAt [taat.fi] (Platform: 386SX, works in Win2k box with VDMsound [cjb.net]). (tAAt ry [taat.fi] is also helping in organizing the party this year)
    Check out also pictures from the overhead projector compo called "Valoköysiviljelijä [taat.fi]".

  • Mirror of some parts (Score:3, Informative)

    by jjl ( 514061 ) on Thursday January 09, 2003 @04:37AM (#5045844) Homepage
    Here's copy-paste of some parts of the site since it probably gets slashdotted quite soon.

    Party Schedule

    Note that (almost) all times are estimates.

    Friday 10th January
    12:00 Doors open
    18:00 Opening ceremony
    18:30 Live music performances
    CPU stage:
    19:00 Folio
    20:00 Juhani
    21:00 Kris Kylven
    22:00 Bass Cadet
    FPU stage:
    18:30 Die Rebels
    19:30 Morlokkiarmeija
    20:30 Grey Park
    21:30 dA JoRMaS
    22:30 Merryrastila Hardcorps
    23:00 Invitation Competition
    00:00 Non-/disqualified Demo Competition

    Saturday 11th January
    12:00 Deadline for all competitions
    14:00 Guage Competition
    16:00 Realtime Drawn Gfx Competition
    17:00 Ludicrous Speed Gfx Competition
    19:00 Live Vocal Music Competition
    20:00 Love Music Competition
    21:30 Photography Competition
    22:00 Black and White Video Competition
    00:00 Alternative Demo Competition

    Sunday 12th January
    12:00 Voting ends
    13:00 TMDC5 Prize ceremony and showing of entries
    14:00 Alternative Party 2003 prize ceremony
    18:00 Doors close


    Mission Statement

    The demo scene has almost been a stifling force against creativity. It seems to be content to operate within its own secure borders, defended by angry troops and barbed wire. Almost afraid to explore new grounds and afraid of the world outside. Anything that is different is scorned at. It's not technically challenging. It's silly. There's no *wow bang*.

    Demo coders end up becoming game coders and tracker musicians become game musicians. They become anonymous. Why can we not look at the world beyond? With the fourth incarnation of the semi-legendary Alternative Party that is what we are trying to do. Trying to make sceners realize there's more to life than having simply technically superb results, with no personality, style, originality or attitude. We want people to look at new solutions -- both for their hardware and, more importantly than ever, for their productions.

    Please do contact us if you have ideas how best to do this. We are always looking for comments.

    I'd just like to throw an extra greet to Antti Silvast for making me realize why the Alternative Party is important again.

    --Kristoffer Lawson (Setok / Aggression)

    The Facts

    What: A new kind of computer party.
    When: 10th-12th January 2003.
    Where: Kulttuuriareena Gloria, Helsinki, Finland.
    How much: 20/25 EUR. Ticket info

    Background

    The last Alternative Party was the most successful event, and the most challenging event we have ever organised. It was a truly memorable weekend in many respects. The music, the contributions, the people and the unbeatable spirit. Everyone combining together to prove to the world that change can take place. We honestly believe you cannot experience anything like that at any other scene event. In January 2002 we passed the 200 mark. Can we now reach 300?

    The event is organised by Alternative Party ry [altparty.org], a non-profit organisation, in co-operatin with tAAt ry [www.taat.fi].

    Contribute

    If you wish to take part in discussions and hear the newest announcements, join the Alternative Party mailing list:

    mailto:majordomo@fishpool.com

    Body: subscribe altparty [address]

    If you are only interested in announcements, use subscribe altparty-announce [address] instead. Note that all announcements will be posted to the altparty list as well.

    Contact

    For more information about the party, contact Setok [mailto] or visit the Contact [altparty.org] page.

    Competitions

    • Photography Competition
      • You can submit either a JPEG or TIFF image or a paper photo (which will then be scanned by the organisers).
      • Visible marks of editing and other kinds of "improving" the picture will cause the picture to be disqualified.
      • The pictures will be shown on the big screen.

    • Non-/disqualified Demo Competition
      • You can participate with any machine or operating system - make sure that someone can show your demo or you must take your computer with you.
      • Only one entry per group.
      • The demo (or intro) must have been non- or disqualified at some party. You must state which party it was.
      • If the demo was disqualified because of some content that is not, for some reason, suitable for showing on the big screen, it will be disqualified again. ;-)

    • Short Story Competition
      • You must submit a text file containing your story.
      • The file may contain no more than 70 lines of text with no more than 72 characters per line.
      • Character encoding should be US ASCII or ISO Latin 1.
      • Any language is allowed.
      • The stories will be printed and shown on the wall.

    • Realtime Drawn Gfx Competition
      • You have exactly 30 minutes to draw your picture and submit it to the infodesk.
      • You can use a computer (and return the picture on a disk as GIF/PNG/JPEG/TIFF) or just paper (max. A4) and pens. In the latter case, the picture will be scanned in order to show it on the big screen.
      • Your picture must follow a topic given just before the competition starts.

    • Ludicrous Speed Gfx Competition
      • You have exactly 30 seconds to draw your picture.
      • You must use A4 paper and any tools you wish.
      • The entries will be scanned and shown on the big screen.

    • Live Vocal Music Competition
      • Only vox humana (human voice) may be used - no instruments, filters, vocoders etc.
      • There can be a single singer or a whole chord - we have many microphones.
      • You do not necessarily have to sing, you can also make other sounds/noise with your mouth(s).
      • Maximum length of your performance is 3 minutes.

    • Love Music Competition
      • Allowed file formats are MOD, XM, IT, S3M, MP3 and OGG.
      • Maximum playtime of the song is 3 minutes.
      • The song must be about love. The style is not limited, though.

    • Alternative Demo Competition
      • Any platform is allowed, but remember to make sure that someone at the party place has a machine that your production runs on - perhaps by bringing your own machine to the party place.
      • Maximum showing time of the demo is 8 minutes.
      • The demo must be somehow alternative, not ordinary.

    • Black and White Video Competition
      • The contribution must be delivered as MPEG video and/or VHS tape.
      • Maximum showing time of the video is 5 minutes.
      • Audio is of course allowed.
      • Only two colors, black and white, are allowed. Shades of gray are not allowed.

    • Invitation Competition

      Note that the deadline is over -- this competition has been closed.
      • Any platform is allowed.
      • The invitation can be a demo/intro, music, video or something completely different.
      • The invitation must be submitted (emailed to setok@fishpool.fi) before December 1st.
      • You don't have to be present at Alternative Party to participate.
      • You can submit an MPEG video to be shown and spread on the site. You can't expect to win the compo if people can't see your work!
      • The invitation can (and should!) be shown at other parties and events and spread like hell. It also must be spreadable somehow...
      • Feel free to use text and pictures from this site.
      • The production must really be an invitation, so it must contain at least the following information in some form: Alternative Party 2003
        10th-12th January 2003
        Gloria Helsinki Finland
        http://www.altparty.org/
      • The contributions are downloadable on the Archive Page.

    • Guage Competition
      • GUAGE RULES!!!
      • This year we will organise a "traditional" Quake tournament.
      • The game will be played in text console (80x50).
      • More details will be announced at the party.

    • Most Obscure Computer Competition
      • As usual we will pick the most obscure, strange or rare machine we can find.



    Prizes

    • Silicon Graphics Challenge M computer from Damicon Kraa Oy
    • Custom made kilt from AmeriKilt Co.
    • Cray T3E supercomputer system (not all of it!)
    • Computer games from Atari and Llamasoft Co.
    • Some other, more or less ordinary prizes


    Common Misconceptions

    We keep hearing things from people about our party, or the people involved, which simply are not true. Here are some of them.

    • The Alternative Party is for old computers

      This has never been true, although it is by far the most common misconception we run into. So much so that it is potentially damaging. The Alternative Party has always been about doing and thinking things differently. Right from the very beginning we have allowed a wide range of computers to take part in the compos, from Vic 20s to Macintoshes. In fact we would very much like to see a modern supercomputer or UNIX workstation taking part. So just to emphasise this:

      The Alternative Party is not only for old computers

    • I cannot enter the party with a modern PC

      This is simply not true. We do not turn anyone away because of the machine they bring with them and welcome anyone and everyone who has paid the entrance fee. Specific compos might have rules which limit the machines or technology that can be used, but they do not apply to the party on the whole.

    • The compos are jokes

      While some people might think that, we put a lot of serious effort into working out new ideas for compos. This is indicated by the fact that a certain large computer event has used some of the ideas for their own compos. ;-) There have been many good entries in the past and we applaud the people who have gone to the effort. We would very much like to see more people do so. A bad joke entry just is not funny.

    • Alternative Party organisers hate Assembly or Assembly organisers

      Not true. In fact many participate at Assembly every year. While it could be said that we do not consider Assembly to be the best party in the world --- that would naturally be our own --- we are on good terms with several Assembly organisers and would like to keep it that way.

  • For corporate use (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Dexter77 ( 442723 ) on Thursday January 09, 2003 @04:43AM (#5045856)

    The company I work for ordered a demo from one of the demogroups. It was displayed on a wide screen plasma-tv with hifi speakers at popular trade show. It was like a magnet for the customers. Most of the customers had never seen anything like it before and they stood there for minutes just staring and blinking their eyes.

    The demo cost only few hundred euros because it was made by teenagers. But the quality was way above anything what we would've got from a design office for thousands of euros. I sincerely recommend everyone in a management position to use the skills of these democoders.

  • Definition of Party / Alt_party? (Score:3, Funny)

    by fantomas ( 94850 ) on Thursday January 09, 2003 @04:54AM (#5045885)

    Party: Good music, dancing, drugs (some maybe legal in different countries, some maybe not, careful in your choices, you wouldn't want alcohol in Saudi, you wouldn't want tobacco in California..), girls, boys, mixing it up and some people getting very friendly, lots of laughter...


    Alternative Party: ... ok guys, you really sunk this article with this headline, you want to tell me why I want to come to an Alternative Party which presumably has none of the above ? :-))

    • normal demoscene(lan)party nowadays.. cs playing kids with daddy bought p4's, shouting at old sceners they're destroying the scene by drinking and having fun with friends(bbq & stuff)..

      alt for that baby..!
    • I guess that's why they called it an "alternative" party eh?
      instead you'll get:
      booze, cool demos, INTELLIGENT people, possibly some of the best music you'll ever hear and wires... lots of wires.

  • going there. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by gl4ss ( 559668 ) on Thursday January 09, 2003 @05:38AM (#5045945) Homepage Journal
    though my hardware that i'm taking isn't exactly computer related, i'm just taking my(i'm supposed to be fixing it, which i guess i did already but i can't know for sure since i don't have tapes for it) grundig tape player(NOT c tape player, this one has tubes and all, and jury rigged line in, for hooking up to c64/lpt-dac whatever). pics are at here [netsonic.fi]

    and then i'm taking my camera, 'canon still video camera', that saves the stills on a video floppy disk(kinda hard to find them, the video is afaik saved in straight analog form on the disks too.). 50 bad or 25 better(interlaced) pics per disc.
    a piece of totally pointless technology :P.

    one irc-friend is bringing an alpha..

    still, the more important thing is the people.. as this doesn't lure 14y cs 'vets'... too bad it's a little too cold for the right style scene bonfire outside(i don't know though if theres even proper forest near enough for it, no sense making it somewhere where you can drive because coppers are sure to come and put it out.)
  • WHY did I throw out my old 17 inch screen that got busted about 2 days after the warranty ran out?

    it made these beautiful strata of sparkling colored lines, and everythime you're do *something* on the screen they'd shift and turn...

    it was REALLY cool (if somewhat annoying when trying to actually USE your pc...)

    someone should make a home for defective hardware with artsy side-effects...

    • I know some people that would've gladly taken that off of your hands. Although, I guess any shipping of the monitor may have disturbed the fine balance that produced the effects.

  • Bring your pentium ! (Score:3, Funny)

    by mirko ( 198274 ) on Thursday January 09, 2003 @05:44AM (#5045954) Journal
    With temperature of between -5 degrees (Celsius) and -30 [www.fmi.fi], you'll sure need to heat the room ! :)
  • Just had images pop into my head of my first job back in 1984, and how I programmed demos into some IBM compatibles by, I think, Sanyo. Not sure.
    Before that, I really wanted to do some before that, but all I had to work with was a Tandy Model I. Anyone remember the graphics capabilities of that one? Anyway, just staring at hex code for like hours seemed to be fun at that age. I wouldn't last three minutes now...

  • Jeff Minter (Score:3, Interesting)

    by oliverthered ( 187439 ) <oliverthered&hotmail,com> on Thursday January 09, 2003 @05:58AM (#5045985) Journal
    Jeff Minter used to live just around the corner from me(when I was about 5!), I still at the same place, I don't think he does any more (haven't seen him down the pub?)

    Talley is a small town right, out in the countryside , next to the Aldermaston Nuclear establishment (The reactors probably less than a mile from my house, he says radiantly). I should imagine the radiation contributed to the llama fetish.
    well that's my claim to fame.

  • Jeff Minter (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Cally ( 10873 ) on Thursday January 09, 2003 @06:27AM (#5046035) Homepage
    Jeff's a rather strange chap. There's a reason why his blog [llamasoft.co.uk] used to be called "Yak's Zoo"... that said, I've been reading his ramblings since the late 80s (when he first got an Apple and started producing a newsletter - I especially remember his lengthy description of hiking up Machu Pichu at dawn *soley* to watch the sun rise whilst listening to Pink Floyd on his Discman...

    A shame that the relaunch of Llamasoft [llamasoft.co.uk] doesn't seem to have taken off. Anyone else remember Psychedelia? I was into that long before I even *saw* a spliff...

    • > A shame that the relaunch of Llamasoft
      > [llamasoft.co.uk] doesn't seem to have taken
      > off.

      Hasn't it? As far as I've heard he's had lots of sales from those games and has now gotten a contract from a console company and is writing a game for them. (Although he isn't allowed to say which console it is, it is one of the "big three".)
  • I live in Sweden, so it wouldn't be too hard to get there. But now I've already promised my girl friend to go to her parents this weekend!

    Why couldn't you guys have posted this earlier!!?

    I think this party seems really cool. A mixture of all and all platforms and ways of artistic expression, even "analouge"...
    Seems a lot more fun then the demo/swap parties I've ever attended...
    • Sorry to hear that. My first thought when I saw this article was "gosh, a lot of potential comers will be disappointed by it being too soon." Hopefully they'll be able to announce it earlier here next time. Then again, the place can only hold a few hundred people :/

      I'll probably pop by although I have no idea what I'd be doing there except getting jealous of others' unuseless skillz.

      Old-skool-skene people should have some means of int'l communications of their own.

  • Clearly... (Score:3, Funny)

    by slipgun ( 316092 ) on Thursday January 09, 2003 @06:52AM (#5046101)
    My friends are welcome to use these pictures without any obligations.

    Clearly he's not a lawyer.
  • ...Ok, I'm a square...can somebody please define the "demo scene"? I gather it has something to do with indie music and computer graphics...
    • The demoscene is really about demos. Think of demos as animations, which are rendered in realtime. Ie. everything you see on screen is calculated as it is being displayed and not a big animation file flicked through on-screen. Naturally this definition is stretched as far as possible!

      Basically it started from being showing off their coding talents and has expanded from there.

      The Alt Party is rather different from the normal demo affair as we are ever more strongly trying to promote demos as a form of art and for releasing people's creative capabilities. To push the scene forward.
  • AltParty is not always the most popular of the demoparties - usually there is Mekka [demo.org], but this year they have cancelled it. Speaking from the perspective of an 8-bit GameBoy scener, I can only hope that this doesn't have a negative impact on the scene - luckily there's Breakpoint [untergrund.net] this year. 8-bits still rock!

    --j
    P.S. if any of you langaymers are trying to get into Breakpoint, good luck. we DON'T allow gamers in, you'll be deemed 'non-creative' and possible ejected.
    • While the Alt Party certainly is not the most popular demo party on the planet I do think it is worth a mention for it's total uniqueness. There is not a single demo party on the planet with as bizarre a range of compos and with so many weird and wonderful machines packed together. We don't even really care if people are gamers or anything else (why pass judgement?). If they feel they're enjoying themselves in the midst of experimental music, cables, Orics, Ataris and god knows what .. fine ;-)

      But you are right, Mekka deserves mention too.
  • I'm not a coder, but I've been following the demoscene since the days of the Amiga. I've always loved it.

    Back then, and before 3D hardware and Windows became mainstream, demos were a lot about the programming skills and pushing the hardware, and less about the artistic side. (Although much of the music has always been fantastic.)

    If you go to scene.org and start downloading the demos from Assembly '02, you'll see that the scene has changed quite a bit. The demos are amazing. Since most use 3D hardware now, demos are changing into a display of art; coding, music and design meshed together very effectively.

    The demo scene is also changing into something bigger then demos; it's about all things creative on computers. Everything from post-rendered computer animations, freeform music (use any tool), computer art and drawings, to making a playable game.

    I totally dig it.
  • Apparently Mr. Tempest 2000 has been working on PocketPC games. (We need 'em ported to Zaurus. Eon Games, where are you!?) :^)

    -bill!

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