WE ARE DEMO

In the heyday of home computers, resourceful programmers set about stripping games of their protective measures and thus making them copyable and distributable. In order to draw attention to their achievements, the product was given a signature in the form of an intro - a prelude to the actual game which, accompanied by graphics and music, named the people responsible (behind pseudonyms, of course). Over time, the intros became independent productions. The focus was on graphic effects that were as innovative as possible or considered impossible, accompanied by revolutionary sounds. One declared aim was to outshine the other groups technically and aesthetically. This gave rise to the "demoscene", which is mainly based in Europe. To this day, the "scene" meets at demo parties to compete against each other with the latest productions (called "competitions" or "compos" for short). Artificial hurdles also play a role here, e.g. the limitation of available memory or the focus on specific hardware such as the Commodore 64. The result is programmed digital art, which is now recognized as such by UNESCO - the demoscene was included in the intangible cultural heritage in 2021. The Digital Retro Park provides a small insight into these digital creative worlds. After a brief introduction to the scene, various demos can be viewed live on selected hardware.