Forever 2023 demoscene gathering showcased the skill and ingenuity of today's computer graphic artists and coders. But one demo stood out not just for its visual beauty and technical daring, but for how it breathed new life into an aging platform once thought past its prime: the ZX Spectrum.
The demo, titled "ganzfeld," was created by well-known coder baze for the ZX Spectrum compo. Running on the Spectrum's limited 128 kilobytes of memory and Z80 processor, "ganzfeld" dazzles with its striking full-screen effects, smooth animation and mesmerizing soundtrack.
From soaring geometric lines that span the display to intricate patterns that undulate in dizzying fashion, the demo's visuals invoke a sense of wonder at what can still be achieved with the now 40-year-old Spectrum. Through optimized code and clever workarounds, baze conquers the machine's constraints to realize effects that even seasoned Spectrum observers declare impossible for the platform.
Though the demo placed an unexpected third in the competition, many commenters believe it should have won, praising its technical prowess and claiming it as one of the best ZX Spectrum demos ever created. For them, "ganzfeld" represents the culmination of decades of accumulated knowledge within the demoscene, focusing that know-how into a showcase of vision and virtuosity.
Despite the Spectrums still used today being the same models released in the early 1980s, "ganzfeld" reminds us that innovation and artistic expression are not beholden just to more powerful hardware. Instead, the demo shows how, in the hands of a skilled practitioner, even the most modest of platforms can unleash the imagination.
TheDemoTube
Forever 2023 demoscene gathering showcased the skill and ingenuity of today's computer graphic artists and coders. But one demo stood out not just for its visual beauty and technical daring, but for how it breathed new life into an aging platform once thought past its prime: the ZX Spectrum.
The demo, titled "ganzfeld," was created by well-known coder baze for the ZX Spectrum compo. Running on the Spectrum's limited 128 kilobytes of memory and Z80 processor, "ganzfeld" dazzles with its striking full-screen effects, smooth animation and mesmerizing soundtrack.
From soaring geometric lines that span the display to intricate patterns that undulate in dizzying fashion, the demo's visuals invoke a sense of wonder at what can still be achieved with the now 40-year-old Spectrum. Through optimized code and clever workarounds, baze conquers the machine's constraints to realize effects that even seasoned Spectrum observers declare impossible for the platform.
Though the demo placed an unexpected third in the competition, many commenters believe it should have won, praising its technical prowess and claiming it as one of the best ZX Spectrum demos ever created. For them, "ganzfeld" represents the culmination of decades of accumulated knowledge within the demoscene, focusing that know-how into a showcase of vision and virtuosity.
Despite the Spectrums still used today being the same models released in the early 1980s, "ganzfeld" reminds us that innovation and artistic expression are not beholden just to more powerful hardware. Instead, the demo shows how, in the hands of a skilled practitioner, even the most modest of platforms can unleash the imagination.
Download: www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=93967
YT-Capture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5Yml...
2 years ago | [YT] | 1