==
Frequently 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 case
mod 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! No cover charge and yes, anyone can come
- but please register.
Let's clarify a few things though:
a) Syntax is a Demoparty. It is NOT A GAMING/LAN PARTY.
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 a day or so. The people who come to
the party make art / technical demonstrations. (see examples
below)
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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)
Gerbera
(A typical Moppi Productions demo with a lot of character
and chill soundtrack. A few years old now.)
Still Sucking
Nature (No 3D hardware used. Realtime Raytracing (no polys).
Slow but it is technically very clever)
We Cell
(Quality coding. Very smooth for something written in 2004)
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 : Recent Parties : Demo downloads
(via Pouet)
Nullabor
Demo Party - A demo party held in Perth. Otherwise known
as "the other Aussie party" Organised by e64
Australia
xmas compo - An online demo compertition held anually.
Organised by ript (meet him at Syntax)
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.
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Q:
When will Syntax 2008 take place?
TBC : Probably later in the year late september or mid october.
We will probably use the same venue in North Melbourne (see
above).
More details will be comminucated to you via email after registration.
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Q:
International and Interstate Travellers
The information pack emailed to you (if registered) contains
the closest trainstation and public transport info. The venue
is quite easy to reach. We also provide a number to call so
if you get lost we can give you directions. Or one of us will
jump in a car and get you if you get totally lost.
Accommodation is available in close proximity to the event,
but if you want a cheaper option and don't mind sleeping on
a floor and being a bit flexible, you will find that another
scener will be happy to put you up for the night (and maybe
the evening before). Hit the aussie forums on scene.org or
give us an email here at info[hat]syntaxparty.org
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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 around 1pm. The running
of the day is quite casual.
Syntax runs over a weekend. Most of the climactic, official
stuff happens on the Saturday night around 8pm when the main
demo compos are shown. The rest of the party is allocated
for competitors to get their stuff finished, meet each other
and share in some good ol' computer appreciation time. It
is a relaxed & social scene so a good chance to meet and
hang out with other like-minded, demoish people.
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Q: Should I bring my own
computer?
Yes. A computer is a personal thing and we cannot easily
provide a room of computers for people to use. If you are
travelling from far, we have a few "guest" machines
for people to use.
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). And please tell
us on the registration page what you plan on bringing. We
have to ensure we have the right power specs ;-)
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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. There are always one or
two amazing groups who make amazing productions, but anyone
who has ever been to a demoparty will tell you it is the demos
and prods that get placed later in the “ranks”
that make a demo party fun.
In short : if you are able to make
a tune, a demo, some graphics or something oldskool - please
do!
(added after Syntax 2007: Yeah, there was total respect
for all productions - even ones coded in BASIC and completed
20 mins before the compo were given some big applause!
Thanks to everyone for the prods.)
If you are new to the audio side of things, you can read our
introduction to making oldskool music
at this site.
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Q: Can I help you organise
the Party?
Yep. Cheers. Send us an email to info[hat]syntaxparty.org
See you at Syntax '08!
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