Editing Demoscene (section)

{{Short description|Computer art subculture}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}

{{Demoscene}}
The '''demoscene''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|ɛ|m|əʊ|ˌ|s|iː|n}}) is an international [[computer art]] [[subculture]] focused on producing '''demos''': self-contained, sometimes extremely small, computer programs that produce [[audiovisual]] presentations. The purpose of a demo is to show off [[computer programming|programming]], visual art, and musical skills. Demos and other demoscene productions (graphics, music, videos, games) are shared, voted on and released online at festivals known as [[Demoscene#Parties|demoparties]].

The scene started with the [[home computer]] revolution of the early 1980s, and the subsequent advent of [[software cracking]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=About the Demoscene|url=http://demoscene-the-art-of-coding.net/the-demoscene/|website=Demoscene - The Art of Coding|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-22|archive-date=17 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200517230526/http://demoscene-the-art-of-coding.net/the-demoscene/|url-status=live}}</ref> Crackers altered the code of [[computer game]]s to remove copy protection, claiming credit by adding introduction screens of their own ("[[crack intro|cracktros]]"). They soon started competing for the best visual presentation of these additions.<ref name="WiderScreen 2014-04-15">{{cite web|last1=Reunanen|first1=Markku|date=15 April 2014|title=How Those Crackers Became Us Demosceners|url=http://widerscreen.fi/numerot/2014-1-2/crackers-became-us-demosceners/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210524005117/http://widerscreen.fi/numerot/2014-1-2/crackers-became-us-demosceners/|archive-date=2021-05-24|access-date=2021-06-04|publisher=WiderScreen}}</ref> Through the making of intros and stand-alone demos, a new community eventually evolved, independent of the gaming<ref name="reunanen2010" />{{rp|29–30}} and [[Warez scene|software sharing]] scenes.

Demos are informally classified into several categories, mainly of size-restricted intros. The most typical competition categories for intros are the 64k intro and the 4K intro, where the size of the executable file is restricted to 65536 and 4096 bytes, respectively. In other competitions the choice of platform is restricted; only [[8-bit]] computers like the Atari 800 or Commodore 64, or the 16-bit [[Amiga]] or [[Atari ST]]. Such restrictions provide a challenge for coders, musicians, and graphics artists, to make a device do more than was intended in its original design.