b3t5 years of SceningtDarkhawktfpf2s2c08                             FIVE YEARS OF SCENING
f1c10                               by Darkhawk/Iris


c09So, I  was  asked  by c10RokDee c09to write something about the Scene and how it has
evolved in  the  past 5 years, since c10Generation c09was released the first time in
1992.  Lacking  the  will  to say "no" to anything, I of course loaded c10CED c09the
moment he had finished giving me orders, and now this article is emerging.  So
there!

In c081992c09 the Amiga Scene was bustling with activity and Sceners had the will to
spend  most  of their  sparetime  in  front  of  their  beloved Amiga and give
something  to the  Scene.   Back  then,  things  were also released f2outside f1of
parties,  how untopical  that  may  sound now, and indeed, parties were "just"
something  were you could meet other people and compete.  They were cool (some
better than those now) to be sure, but they weren't that excessively organized
or  big, and  small  parties  popped  up here and there, going for one, or two
times, then dying.  c081992 c09was also around the time when the last real copyparty
was held,  from then on, The Party dominated parties, and created new settings
for how  parties  should  be done.  Well, this isn't about parties, it's about
everything,  but in  c081992c09,  a change in the Scene slowly began, created by The
Party.   Not  TP1, which  was a copyparty still, but c10TP2c09 and c10The Gathering c09and
c10Assemblyc09.  I  think those three big parties have shaped our Scene quite a bit,
have shaped new rules, etc.

Anyway,  back  then, when c10Generation c09was a newly started chart/messagebox, the
Scene  was  at its highest, in terms of number of people, groups and releases.
Actually  I remember c0892/93 c09as the best years for the Scene ever, the Scene was
c09practically exploding  with  activity,  releases  and  new  ideas.  c10Spaceballs
released 'State of the Art' at c10TP2c09 and the demo f2was f1State of the Art back then
(although the same thing had been done in a Polish demo by c10Musashi c09before that
However, as  these things go, it was Spaceballs who got quite famous with that
demo).  I  could  mention  many releases from c08'92c09, that are now legendary, and
still on  the  charts.   Musicdisks, slideshows, intro's, etc., but I won't go
into detail.   c0892/93c09  were  the  years of a new type of design (some would say
demos hadn't any design before), invented by c10Melon c09on one front and  c10Andromeda
c09on the  other.   Things  really  happened,  and the mentioned groups ruled the
Scene, together  with  c10Sanityc09,  c10Anarchy  c09and others.  However, Anarchy, a very
productive and good group, met an unfortunate, and indeed surprising end, when
c10Lemon. c09was formed in c08'93c09.  After certain keymembers left for Lemon., the group
fell  apart, and  it shocked the whole Scene back then, because Anarchy seemed
like  such a  stable  group, and had the best members in all categories of the
charts.  Speaking  of charts, c0892/93c09 was the time of c10The Spyc09, who coded some of
the routines in c10'Hardwired'c09, a groundbreaking demo in it's own right.  The Spy
occupied the  1st  place  on  f2all  f1codercharts for about 2 or more years, then
c10Chaos/Sanity c09got the 1st place, and he held the place for 2 or more years too.
People began  discussing if that was a justifiable thing, and many articles in
diskmags were  filled  with  that  discussion  (aswell about discussions about
whether or not it was ok to digitize pictures, or redraw them), and many other
"big" discussions about the ethics of the Scene.


f2c08                                   DISKMAGGY

f1c09Speaking about  diskmags.   While  c10Generation  c09wasn't to become a real diskmag
before issue  #20, there were plenty of diskmags to fill up the space.  And it
was  all very  interesting.   Mags  like  c10TopSecretc09, c10Grapevine c09and c10Stolen Data
c09dominated in  92'.  In c08'93c09, Stolen Data was out of the picture, as Anarchy had
died, and Grapevine came out irregularly (but with f2heaps f1of articles).  Nobody
could beat  c10RAWc09, the undisputed king of diskmags back then, with very good and
aggressive articles by c10Lord Helmetc09. New diskmags emerged, mags like c10Upstream#7
c09(it was a fusion between the old c10MagBox c09by c10Balancec09, and c10Upstream c09by c10Frogsc09), c10ROM
c09came out  here  too,  and  Top  Secret  went  down the "infinite-delay" drain,
together with many other mags.  Which was sad, because TS was a quite nice mag
once (says the co-editor!  Heh).  From c08'93c09 and onwards though, it was all very
predictable. The top 3 diskmags were Upstream, ROM and RAW.  Nobody could even
hope to touch them.

An  era  of Scening  began  to end for real back then in late c08'94c09, and the new
Scene  began to  emerge.   Smaller,  definitely  more  partyminded  and not as
original as before.  It is said nothing lasts forever and Upstream quit first,
c10Wolfman  c09simply choose his life above the Scene, and besides, the Scene wasn't
that  kicking  anymore, one could begin to see certain sicknesses emerging:  A
smaller  amount  of people in the Scene, and the death of c10Commodorec09.  RAW also
bought  the  ticket later,  leaving ROM at the top position, and others had to
take the place of the old giants.


f2c08                                   SCENCITY

f1c09When looking  away from the diskmag situation, and on the Scene as a whole, we
were  some industrious swappers, who did a little experiment back in c081992c09.  We
wanted to know how big this Scene of ours was so we investigated a hell lot of
groups,  examining their  memberlists, etc., and the end result was that there
were  about  8000 people  involved  with the Amiga Scene back then, a bit more
perhaps, but we only counted those directly active in some way. Yeah, truly an
amazing  number, when  we  nowadays  speak  of an Amiga Scene with hundreds of
Sceners.   Try imagining  how  it  was back then, when the Scene easily was 10
times as  big  as now, and generally more active too, as people didn't release
stuff at parties only.  In addition, people did lot of things, not only demos,
which seems  to  be  what  most  groups nowadays do, with the occasional intro
thrown in now and then.  How boring!  Ahh, that was a quite subjective opinion
there, I'm afraid.


f2c08                        COMMODORE'S UNFAVOURABLE IMPACT

f1c09Anyway, what was really disastrous for the Scene in the long run was of course
the  death  of  Commodore, but I won't go into that.  Suffice to say that from
then on the Amiga Scene really became smaller.  Another thing that changed the
Scene, was the thing about only releasing productions at parties.

People of course did everything to make their demos the best and therefore had
no time for between-party releases. The Scene became a poorer place, sort of a
desert, with  the occasional oasis (party) here and there.  And this is how it
is  nowadays too,  isn't  it?   Sadly, not many remember that things have been
different in the good ol' days.  Here in Denmark, there has been f2no f1release at
all for 3 months! Because the last party was 3 months ago.  How funny is that?
Not much, it destroys the Scene even more.  Ahh, I'm beginning to preach about
my views  here, and the main reason for this article was to tell you about the
past 5 years in the Scene. I'm afraid I've been chaotic in my approach, that I
have focused  much  on  some  things  and  years, and not that much on others.
Luckily I don't get paid for this, so it's my right.

Besides, other  editors will focus on other things, I'm sure.  I don't want to
tell  you about  f2that f1particular, production revolutionizing the Scene in f2that
f1year (like c10Nexus7 c09by c10Andromedac09), or tell you about f2this f1particularly cool demo
(like c10Desert Dream c09by c10Kefrensc09), because that won't say much about the Scene,it
will  only  highlight  a  group in particular. Besides, it would become a very
f2huge f1article then.


f2c08                                 THE NEW STYLE

f1c09Anyway,  we're  not  quite  finished  yet.  A  new style of demos was about to
challenge  the  old Melon/Andromeda designed demos. Those demos were all coded
with  planar  effects,  but  now,  slowly,  because of the new Amiga's, chunky
effects  became  the  norm.   Personally I  think that to only use chunky is a
deadend  for  creativeness, but back then it was revolutionary (of course) and
groups like  c10Parallax c09made some very different demos for sure.  Now though, it
seems like  all  demos  are  alike.   Objects everywhere.  Morphing, twisting,
bumpmapped, objects, argh.  And most coders don't even know how to code planar
effects anymore.  It is time for some real trendsetting group to step out, and
make a f2new f1design for future demos.  If such a design exists, of course.  Else
we'll never get out of this terrible objects loop.  In this regard, I must say
that the  demo c10Pulsec09 by c10Nerve Axis c09was brilliant!  A cool breeze of innovative
ideasin a still wasteland of the same routines and designs.

Back to  diskmags.   Finally,  in  the start of c08'96c09, as I remember, c10Generation
c09emerged as  a  mag,  and  quite  soon became one of the most popular, not only
because  of the  tight deadlines I might add, hehe.  c10Seenpoint c09by c10Fishwave c09was
another magproject  at  around  this time, that came to occupy a top position.
Indeed, f2were  f1there  any  other mags left to challenge those?  Anyway, these 2
mags, together  with  ROM  are  the  leading  ones right now.  That won't last
forever of course, but it's unlikely that some newcomer will move up and place
itself in the top 3 positions. I'd like to see that newcomer, anyway!  Looking
on  age and  statistics,  ROM should be the next to fall, heh, and it would be
interesting to see who will come into the "power vacuum left behind.

However, I wouldn't bet on ROM dying just now anyway.


f2c08                               COMING TO AN END

f1c09Well, back to the last bit of this article, how the Scene has changed, and how
it fell from grace in comparison to the older, better, and greener times.

The fall of the Scene as I see it happened in c08'94c09, due to various reasons.  In
c08'95c09, the new Scene began to form, a Scene that isn't f2that f1bad, it certainly is
skilled, it's only different and smaller.  Competition and wars aren't that f2in
f1anymore as  they once were.  That is, I think, because of the relatively small
size  that the  Scene has now.  In the good ol' times, when we numbered in the
thousands, with hundreds of different groups, competition ran high ofcourse as
did  personal and group hatred.  Ahh, all the glorious cases! Like the c10Bird VS
Speedy  c09war,  the  many English  Scenewars  (which  could  result  in physical
violence), the diskmag wars, the c10R.W.O c09case in Upstream, etc.  Times were more
interesting back then, heh.  Nowadays it is quite easy to be into the Scene to
know  what  happens,  know the  different  groups,  etc.   Back then, it was a
difficult  job,  and  the better  you  were at understanding how it all worked
together,  knowing  the latest  news,  the more known you'd be.  It was all so
exciting  back  then, so  many  things  could  happen  each  day.   Eight  new
productions  a  day was  no  problem.  Now, it is easy seeing what groups will
release  something, and  when  they  will do it.  The Scene only has a few top
groups to talk about, and surprises only happen at parties, if ever.  Hmm, has
the Scene become dull in recent years? It has become more dull sure, but I for
one  still  cling  on, as  it  is still a great place for getting new friends,
competing  with  others and  for  adoring the Amiga.  So, let's hope we'll see
eachother again in 5 years, in another article like this!


This article is dedicated to the memory of:

c10Silents,  Kefrens, Sanity,  Anarchy, Lemon., Melon, Andromeda, Polka Brothers,
Passion, Complex, Absolute, Parallax, Cryptoburners, Freezers, Movement, Pygmy
Projects, Stellar, Razor1911 c09and many, many more I could list, but many of you
wouldn't recognize them.

They are all dead in release regards, but they were the ones who made c081992c09 and
onwards interesting.  (not mentioning the ones still alive!)