December 12, 2026 (Saturday)

A demoshow, where you can experience visually stunning computer animations, so-called demos (shortened from the word demonstration). Demos are most similar to music videos, but contrary to a video, they're not pre-recorded animation files but executable programs, which - similarly to computer games - produce their output in real time. Demos vary wildly in style and mood, but one thing is common: they are amazing!

Nowadays most demos are created for desktop PCs, and for Windows. Of course the faster the PC is, the better. Most demos require strong configurations with a decent CPU and GPU, similar to most AAA+ games. Another category of demos are called intros, these are limited in maximum size. Nowadays the most popular categories for intros are the 64K intro, where the size limit is 64 kilobytes, and the 4K intro where the size limit is 4 kilobytes, but a lot of coders find inspiration and challenge in creating an extremely small 256 byte intro. Of course the smaller the limit the bigger the challenge is, and it really shows the programmer's abilities when they can produce something visually stunning within these limits.

The demoscene is a community of people making demos and related productions and art. They mainly do this for the joy of creation, but some do it to learn new things, and at a few demoparties there are valuable prizes to win too. Not all demosceners are programmers. Some do graphics or animations, some are best at producing music. Usually demosceners team up in small demogroups to combine their talents.

Demogroups usually consist of 3-10 members, but the membership is not static, people join and leave groups all the time. The best demogroups are usually in friendly competition and rivalry with each other. Most long standing demogroups are famous and respected. They usually have their own logo and/or slogan, and they built up their "brand" in the community.

Demosceners are people who create and enjoy demos, and visit demoparties and follow the events in the demoscene. It's a very diverse community with people of all ages, genders, and professions, but most people work in IT or related fields. The demoscene is a great learning field, if you want to grow to be one of the best computer professionals, and find friends all across the globe at the same time.

• The coder is the programmer, who'll prepare the backbone of the demo. To be a good coder, you need to have a deep understanding of some relatively advanced mathematics and a wide range of programming areas. In the early years - in the 80s and 90s - most demos were written in assembly, nowadays most demos are created in C or C++, but it's possible to write demos in almost any programming language. Some coders developed demotools, to allow people without programming skills to create demos.
• Usually a graphics artist paints the pictures in the demo, creates 3D models, and defines the overall look, design, and theme of the demo.
• The musician creates, well, the music and the sounds of a demo. Good music can elevate an otherwise average demo, while bad music can ruin an otherwise excellent one. Most demos have music from one of the electronic genres, but there are exceptions.
• An organizer usually doesn't participate in demo creation. They act as a manager - helping communication between team members, generating PR and buzz before a major release from the group, and last but not least, organizing a demoparty. As the internet usually solves communication problems these days, this position has shifted to focus more on party organizing during the last decade.

• Demoscene on Wikipedia
• Watch some demos on YouTube
• Download some demos on pouet.net
• Find the nearest demoparty to you on demoparty.net
• If you have questions, reach out to us!