.Demos

After the mid-80s some of the 12-20 year-old kids doing creative work on their computers started forming groups that would typically include a programmer, a graphic artist and a composer, all using computers.

These groups would make pieces known as "demos". Demos were multimedia pieces that combined programming prowess with graphics and music. Demos pushed the envelope of what was technically possible using the home computers available at the time and were constantly seeking new ways of making ever more complex pieces.

The content of these demos combined traditional esthetics with attributes peculiar to this new technology, as well as aspects of popular culture the kids found interesting. Influences were drawn from sci-fi, heavy metal album covers, MTV, advertisements, fantasy and pornography. Basically anything that might interest boys ages 12-20.

Not all demos are completed pieces. Some of them are, as the name implies, demonstration pieces done solely for the purpose of seeing how far a particular piece of equipment could be pushed. Programming skills played a pivotal role in the appreciation of demos. Demos that used creative problem solution in the area of programming were usually judged best. There were no programs for the creation of music, graphics or multimedia for the early home computers, so the youngsters pretty much created all their own tools.