Monster audio-visual demos in a TCP packet

This is a quick post about the talk I had the pleasure to give at JSConf EU 2014 about the demoscene and the web platform. In this post and video, we will explore some little known JavaScript tricks, but more importantly, learn to unlearn and find creative and pragmatic solutions.

The demoscene and the web

The demoscene is a vast group of creatives producing real-time computer graphics & audio animations, thereby pushing the technical and artistic limits of the platform — any platform, really. Developing such animations involves a lot of tricks and is a great exercise to make the most out of the given constraints.

Demosceners gather at events called “demoparties” to enjoy live concerts, seminars, and more importantly, to compete with their latest productions.

Nowadays, the web platform is not only the best distribution platform, but it can also pull some impressive demos.

Take it away

Without further ado, here is my “Monster audio-visual demos in a TCP packet” talk from JSConf EU 2014:

For those interested, there is also a full transcript of my talk available on the JSConf EU 2014 site.

Explore more

• Curio shows a curated list of outstanding demos.
• The Scene.org Awards honors the best demoscene releases of the previous years.
• Youtube has a couple of Demoscene High-Quality Videos for easier consumption.
• The archive of the Assembly demoparty contains many jewels.
• Demoparty.net lists past and upcoming demoparties.
• Demozoo, Pouet and CSDB list the latest productions, with comments, forums, etc.

Your turn

As you saw in the talk above, this demoscene thing is no black magic. It is very rewarding and teaches to think in new ways. It doesn’t have to be big, it doesn’t have to be small. Just go and make something cool, share it with the world, and why not present it at a demoparty?

Cover photo credit: Matthew Bergman.