This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 62.47.179.3 (talk) at 21:28, 27 February 2002. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 21:28, 27 February 2002 by 62.47.179.3 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Demo Scene is a curious sub-culture that came to prominence during the rise of the 16 bit micros (The Atari ST and the Amiga). Demos began as a software cracker's "signature"; when a cracked program was started, the cracker or his team would credit themselves with an impressive-looking graphical introduction or intro. Later, the intros became so involved that they evolved into their own subculture independent of cracking software. The main aim of demos was to show off the abilities of the writers machines and were often deployed in the "Platform Wars".
Demo writers went to great lengths to get every last ounce of performance out of their target machine. Where games/application writers were concerned with stability/functionality of their software the demo writer was typically interested in how many CPU cycles routines would consume and how best to squeeze as much activity on the screen as possible.
Most demos were written by "crews" with interesting names (e.g."The Care Bears", "The Lost Boys") usually including at least a coder and a graphics man and a musician.
Some famous Atari Demos
- The Union Demo (by assorted groups under the Union banner)
- The Cuddly Demos (by The Care Bears)
Some famous Amiga Demos
(it's going to be a flamewar when we decide what the famous demos are)
For more comprehensive list of Amiga demos, see Amiga Demos.