Demomaker
Encyclopedia
Demomakers are multimedia authoring programs used in creating real-time rendered non-interactive audiovisual shows known as demos
. Demomakers have usually been developed by demoscene
groups
for their internal use, but many of them are also publicly available with no cost.
Excluding the early notemaker
s that had been around since the late 1980s, one of the first publicly available demomakers was the 1991 Amiga program DemoMaker
by Red Sector
and LCC, which also gave name to the whole category of software. Notable modern demotools include .werkkzeug by Farbrausch
and Demopaja by Moppi Productions
.
The use of demomakers has caused controversy since the very beginning. Demos have usually been regarded as demonstrations of skills, including the programming skills, of their respective groups, and demomakers allow people to create demo-like works with little or no programmer involvement. Even today, although several notable demos have been created with the aid of demomakers, many groups still prefer to use more traditional methods, such as scripting or source code editing, in composing their demos.
Many demosceners prefer to reserve the word demomaker exclusively for the early programs and call the current software demotools. In the broad sense of the word, however, demotools may also include non-demomaker programs such as trackers, specialized graphics editors and executable compressors
.
In recent years, some of the modern demo authoring tools have been well received in non-demoscene contexts such as Machinima
.
Demo (computer programming)
A demo is a non-interactive multimedia presentation made within the computer subculture known as the demoscene. Demogroups create demos to demonstrate their abilities in programming, music, drawing, and 3D modeling...
. Demomakers have usually been developed by demoscene
Demoscene
The demoscene is a computer art subculture that specializes in producing demos, which are non-interactive audio-visual presentations that run in real-time on a computer...
groups
Demogroup
Demogroups are teams of demosceners, who make computer based audio-visual works of art known as demos. Demogroups form a subculture collectively known as the demoscene....
for their internal use, but many of them are also publicly available with no cost.
Excluding the early notemaker
Notemaker
Notemakers are a type of software tool first produced for the Commodore 64. They are designed to allow an author to write a multiple-page note that is saved as a compact self-executing program...
s that had been around since the late 1980s, one of the first publicly available demomakers was the 1991 Amiga program DemoMaker
Demomaker
Demomakers are multimedia authoring programs used in creating real-time rendered non-interactive audiovisual shows known as demos. Demomakers have usually been developed by demoscene groups for their internal use, but many of them are also publicly available with no cost.Excluding the early...
by Red Sector
Tristar and Red Sector Incorporated
Tristar & Red Sector Incorporated is a computer scene and underground formation which derives from the longest-running in scene history, getting started in 1990.RSI existed from 1985, before being joined by the "T" later on....
and LCC, which also gave name to the whole category of software. Notable modern demotools include .werkkzeug by Farbrausch
Farbrausch
Farbrausch, or Farb-rausch, is a German group of demomakers who made themselves particularly famous in the demoscene in December 2000 with a 64k intro called "fr-08: .the .product". "Farbrausch" literally translates to "rave of color", "color rush" or "color frenzy" in English...
and Demopaja by Moppi Productions
Moppi Productions
Moppi Productions is a Finnish-based demogroup founded in 1996. It is mainly known for their story-based demos and the demo authoring tool Demopaja...
.
The use of demomakers has caused controversy since the very beginning. Demos have usually been regarded as demonstrations of skills, including the programming skills, of their respective groups, and demomakers allow people to create demo-like works with little or no programmer involvement. Even today, although several notable demos have been created with the aid of demomakers, many groups still prefer to use more traditional methods, such as scripting or source code editing, in composing their demos.
Many demosceners prefer to reserve the word demomaker exclusively for the early programs and call the current software demotools. In the broad sense of the word, however, demotools may also include non-demomaker programs such as trackers, specialized graphics editors and executable compressors
Executable compression
Executable compression is any means of compressing an executable file and combining the compressed data with decompression code into a single executable. When this compressed executable is executed, the decompression code recreates the original code from the compressed code before executing it...
.
In recent years, some of the modern demo authoring tools have been well received in non-demoscene contexts such as Machinima
Machinima
Machinima is the use of real-time 3D computer graphics rendering engines to create a cinematic production. Most often, video games are used to generate the computer animation...
.