==
Frequenty Asked Questions ==
Isn’t this
a LAN party? How is it different?
Well, traditionally a LAN party is more of
a game playing fest where people rock up with their “super
cool” cases and compete for supremacy. (ok, an exaggeration,
but it's the stereotype) A LAN party is usually focused around
gaming, competition, general showing off and sticking to your
own machine.
A Demoparty is a place where people bring
whatever computer they want to - old or new. While a casemod
or serious overclock is respected, what is running on the
machine is more likely to be of interest to most party-goers.
People will often crowd around a monitor watching animations,
experiments, listening to tunes or just chilling out. A Demoparty
is a place to showcase your work or experiments, share ideas,
pick fellow sceners brains and be a proud computer geek at
whatever level you feel fit. Beit a graphics geek, a code
cruncher, an electronic-music nut, an extreme Flash addict,
3D guru or Photoshop nerd… coz at a demoparty, most
other people are too!
At a LAN party, 90% of the people will
be playing games, copying data or showing off their benchmarks.
At a demo party, 90% of the people will be havin' a chat /
coding / photo-shopping / animating / tracking music / watching
demos / tinkering with hardware / showing off some obscure
program or oldskool hardware most people have ever heard of.
A demoparty is focused around the creative use of
computer hardware to learn and develop audio/visual
presentations which push the bounderies of your ability.
For more info about what the demo scene is, see
below.
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Q:
What is Syntax?
Syntax is a demoparty. In other words:
-> it is an opportunity to enter your work into small
competitions for demos, music, graphics, and animations
-> a chance to chill out and watch demos; to listen to
demomusic and to hang out / meet with other likeminded people
-> a place where you can get back to your computery roots;
to again enjoy that trusty old computer you grew up with
-> a place to find out more about realtime animation, tracked
music, and what this demoscene stuff is all about
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Q:
How much does Syntax cost? Can anyone come?
Syntax is free! Yes, anyone can come - but please register
or you'll be stuck outside.
Let's clarify what this event is though:
a) Syntax is a Demoparty for (any level of) coders, musicians,
graphicians, 3D people and general hardware appreciators.
It is NOT a gaming event and you probably won't see anyone
playing any games unless it's on a machine pre 1990.
A demoparty has an emphasis on creativity with computer code,
graphics and music. Depending on size, a few (or a few hundred
of) visitors bring their computers and set them up on location.
Attendants are encouraged to compete in shceduled competitions
(referred to as 'compos').
Spread across the duration of the event, these compos are
categorised in a way that allow the attendants to showcase
their artistic talents with the use of computers.
In short: a demoparty is a real-time multimedia arts festival
that usually lasts for at least a day or so. Some of the people
who come to the party will make art / music / technical demonstrations
and compete (for a bit of fun). You do not have to bring a
demo, tune or other artwork to attend Syntax but if you are
able to, it makes the event more fun for everyone :-]
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Q:
What is the demoscene?
The Demoscene considers itself as a loose connection of creative
minds with a shared passion of creating digital art. A 'demo'
is created by a group of people (called a demo crew or demo
group), or sometimes single individuals to "demo"
their skills. The traditional skill base of the demoscene
is considered to be coding, music, and design.
In the 80's, individuals traditionally used aliases instead
of their real names. This was because the demoscene started
as a subculture of the cracking / hacking scene where putting
a full name to your work was not a sensible idea! Having an
alias also helps avoid confusion. For instance, there maybe
multiple people called “Rob” at a party, but only
one person would have that name as an alias.
Of course, you can always consult the most reliable and quality
source of all information in the universe and see what Wikipedia
have to say about the demoscene :-D
You can also download a variety of demos from Pouet.net
which is where most demos live after a party. If you don't
know where to start, here are a few impressive international
releases of varying styles:
FR-08 (64k Demo by Farbrausch. A classic which is a few
years old but runs on practically everything)
Final
Audition (A chunky demo by Plastic. Needs a decent 3D
card to run)
We
Cell (Quality coding. Very smooth for something written
in 2004)
Gerbera (A typical Moppi Productions demo with a lot of
character and chill soundtrack. Years old now.)
Still
Sucking Nature (No 3D hardware used. Realtime Raytracing
(no polys). Slow but it is technically very clever)
Chaos
Theory (A demo by Conspiracy. Needs some hardcore 3D hardware,
but for 64k, it's incredible!)
Rob
is Jarig (Joke demo created as a birthday present for
a scener. It has become surprisingly popular)
Note that the above are amoungst the most impressive demos
out there! Some more typical Aussie
demos are below.
Australian Demoscene : Demo downloads
Beach
Party - Another Melbourne demoparty. Yes, as the title
suggests. It's outdoor and it's near the beach.
Nullabor Demo Party - A demo party held in Perth. A lot
of emphasis on animation / game developement.
Australia
xmas compo - An online demo compertition held anually.
Now replaced with Beach Party
Coven
(1996 - 2001) - A demo party which was held in Adelaide
for 5 years running. Some great demos here.
Australian
Demo Compo (1988) - It's about the earliest we could find...
There are many more parties than the above which have occured
in Australia, especially in the Amiga/ c64 scene but are largely
undocumented. If you have any floppies containing old demos
or other works bring 'em along to Syntax.
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Q:
When will Syntax 2009 take place?
October 31st 2009.
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Q: Do I have to be there for the whole event?
If you are any form of computer programmer, coder, graphic
designer, mathematician, modeller, 3D or 2D artist, composer,
musician, animator, animation buff, computer enthusiast, or
collector of old computers then you should certainly come
for the whole event which will kick off at 1pm.
Syntax runs over a weekend. Most of the climactic, official
stuff happens on the Saturday night around 7pm
when the music and main demo compos are shown. The rest of
the party is allocated for people to hang out and meet each
other, competitors to get their stuff finished (typically
add greets then bugfix when it decides not to compile!), and
generally share in some good ol' computer appreciation time.
It is a relaxed & social atmosphere and a good chance
to meet to people behind the handles and hang out with other
like-minded, demoish people. Everyone who has ever come to
a Syntax event (for the whole day) has had a ball.
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Q: Should I bring my own
computer?
Yes. A computer is a personal thing and we cannot easily
provide computers for people to use.
If you are travelling from far, we have a few "guest"
machines for people to use. If you are emulating there are
people at the party who can write Amiga and C64 floppies for
you. 1541 Ultimate is also available.
A Laptop is a great idea as they are easy to carry around
and save you bringing your whole box. But feel free to bring
"the works" monster of a machine. Bring your own
CAT5 Cable (at least 2M - 10M recommended). Please register
and tell us what you plan on bringing so we know power &
space requirements.
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]
Do I have to enter
a compo?
A lot of people are often left thinking "my work won't
be good enough" but this is rarely the case.
The cool thing about a demo party is that everyone respects
everyone elses work. Regardless of the quality or what stage
you are at, getting work screened or released at a demo party
is a massive buzz. It is a fantastic way of getting inspired
to take things to the next level or just make something full
stop. For many people a demoparty is the only reason anything
is actually reaches "near completion" - be it music
or demo - Syntax is a great excuse to get something out there.
There are always one or two amazing groups who make technically
impressive productions but it is the result of all the productions
that makes the party fun. Without them - there is no party.
(Jimage's 2008 entry is proof of this!)
If you are able to make a tune,
new or oldskool demo, graphics or anything oldskool - have
a crack!
Don't know where to start? An introduction to tracking (music
for Amiga and C64) has been written by our very own cTrix.
cTrix' introduction to making oldskool tracked music.
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Q: Can I help you organise
the Party?
Yep. Send us an email to info[hat]syntaxparty.org
Cheers.
EOF
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