28c3: Behind the scenes of a C64 demo

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Description: http://events.ccc.de/congress/2011/Fahrplan/events/4814.en.html

Ninja / The Dreams: Behind the scenes of a C64 demo

C64 "demos" were the root of the whole demo-scene-thing and they are still the main force keeping the C64 alive today. Audiovisual pleasure, still pushing hardware limits, still exploring different ways of expression. But what is typically happening inside the machine when you watch a demo? What effort is needed to entertain the audience? This talk will give you an inside look at the steps taken for the award winning demo "Error 23" given first hand by one of its main programmers.

This talk extends previous talks and documentation about the Commodore 64 and its demo effects by adding real-life challenges and experiences to it. What were the basic ideas? What obstacles were on the way? How did they get solved? 6502 assembly knowledge is really not required, some general understanding about assembly and low-level computing will be useful, though (think of stack, timer, cycles...). This isn't about theory, this is for real ;)

Topics include (but not limited to): Explaining design choices Basic ideas behind the effects Data compression techniques Load stuff while displaying effects Dirty tricks which make your computer science professor run away Synchronization and linking how to keep it all in 64KB RAM

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• 28c3
• ccc
• Ninja
• The Dreams
• Behind
• the
• scenes
• of
• C64
• demo

[jogo2000]

First of all, very impressed with the demo and the talk. This guy has the right to call himself Ninja :)

What's up with the question about version control in the end? After this display of imagination, determination and mad programming skill you want to bash these guys for using Subversion? Really?

[imfunftenzuhaus]

Wow awesome! Thanks a lot for that lecture, so great to hear all those insider infos that I was so greedy about back then but never got, you guys rock!

[factor6]

This is really cool workshop. I'm from the Spectrum scene, but the principles of making demos are the same. Big respect!

[kduhtdkzrt]

Not interesting at all.

Integer overflow in variable interresting.

[666hill0ck666]

neat . thanks

[silkessnurra]

Wolfram FTW

[Laoch111]

The C64 lives!

[TheEndlessSilence]

Quite interesting;

[MissPeggle]

Very interesting!

[falkaseltza]

interesting