Final Update!

A Guide to the PC Demo Scene

Provided as a service to the demo scene by Trixter / Hornet.
Prefer German? Malte Clasen (The Update / CoPro) has been kind enough to translate these pages into a German version.
This page has been accessed by users times since it was created on September 3rd, 1994.

Featured in Wired Magazine, July Issue, 1995
See the article!

Also listed in Tekno Magazine, nr. 1 - 1997

Final update: 9/21/98.
This website is no longer being maintained. The information on this website was current as of 1996, so most of the external links beyond this point have expired.

If you would like to use this website as a historical reference of the PC demoscene or a starting point for your own pages, feel free to do so as long as you give me (Trixter) credit somewhere.

Welcome to the first home page where people can learn about demos, the demoscene, and get a definition of terms. You can also get sound clips of demo music styles, pictures of cool demo effects, and more. (For starters, a Glossary of terms is available.)

As always, if there's anything here that you feel I've left out or needs to be clarified, please email trixter@mcs.com to have your suggestion implemented as quickly as possible.

For best viewing, a graphical browser is recommended.

This section's contents: (Use the buttons above to switch sections)

What is a Demo?
Frequently Asked Questions about Demos
How to get Demos
Other demo-related pages

Note to demo-freaks: Here's a quick list of the cool hot-links in these pages that you might miss if you're not careful:

What is a Demo?

A demo is a program that displays a sound, music, and light show, usually in 3D. Demos are very fun to watch, because they seemingly do things that aren't possible on the machine they were programmed on.

Essentially, demos "show off". They do so in usually one, two, or all three of three methods:

They show off the computer's hardware abilities (3D objects, multi-channel sound, etc.)
They show off the creative abilities of the demo group (artists, musicians)
They show off the programmer's abilities (fast 3D shaded polygons, complex motion, etc.)

Demos are an art form. They blend mathematics, programming skill, and creativity into something incredible to watch and listen to.

Grant Smith puts it another way:

	Jonny looks around, confused, his train of thought disrupted. He
collects himself, and stares at the teacher with a steady eye. "I want
to code demos," he says, his words becoming stronger and more confidant
as he speaks. "I want to write something that will change people's
perception of reality. I want them to walk away from the computer dazed,
unsure of their footing and eyesight. I want to write something that
will reach out of the screen and grab them, making heartbeats and
breathing slow to almost a halt. I want to write something that, when it
is finished, they are reluctant to leave, knowing that nothing they
experience that day will be quite as real, as insightful, as good. I
want to write demos."

	Silence. The class and the teacher stare at Jonny, stunned. It
is the teachers turn to be confused. Jonny blushes, feeling that
something more is required.  "Either that or I want to be a fireman."

					- Grant Smith, 
						14:32, 
						11/21/93

Frequently asked Questions

Houman and Trixter have prepared a FAQ on demos, in case you want quickie answers to your most common questions. An electronic version exists, as well as a hyper-text version.

How to get Demos

FTP sites

Well-known sites

These anonymous FTP sites are the best places to get demos and demo-related information.

ftp.hornet.org: Home base for the demogroup Hornet--an extremely diverse site offering music, graphics, magazines, programming info/source code, etc. A one-stop-shop--and highly recommended. If you have to visit only one site, make it this one (or, if you're not in North America, visit one of its mirrors, ftp.luth.se in Sweden, or ftp.uni-paderborn.de in Germany).
Sam's list of demo FTP sites
ftp.arosnet.se, a server set up and maintained by Zodiak / Cascada. You might have to use an actual FTP program to connect properly to this site.
hagar.arts.kuleuven.ac.be

Lesser-known sites

Lazy? Don't know what to get? Use Trixter's MobyList.

Other Demo-Related Pages

Other demo related WWW pages exist, as well as pictures of your favorite demo people.

And, of course, press those buttons at the top of the page to visit the different sections of this site.

Back to Hornet's home page.
Comments or Suggestions on these WWW pages? Email Trixter.
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