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Demoscene-article in Spiegel Online

category: general [glöplog]
 
http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/spielzeug/0,1518,542766,00.html

Could someone please translate this from German? :)
added on the 2008-03-26 14:31:21 by gloom gloom
Bablefish can :)
No, it certainly can't. :) translate.google.com is better, but still mucks up the language too much.
added on the 2008-03-26 14:50:26 by gloom gloom
Just ask if you want to unterstand a certain part, becaue i definitely don't have the time to translate the whole article :)
An example:

Quote:
This weekend was the best of the scene in Bingen Award.


I reckon that would make a pretty boring award show. ;) "This years 'Best Of The Scene In Bingen Award' goes to..."
added on the 2008-03-26 14:52:45 by gloom gloom
I understand most of it, but I would like it translated for PR use, and only a properly translated version will do then.
added on the 2008-03-26 14:53:50 by gloom gloom
you should better stay away from using the same phrases like they did
added on the 2008-03-26 14:56:33 by xeNusion xeNusion
Mhmm, lovely hyperbole writing: "Compression techniques from another world". :)

But it's not a terrible article either.
added on the 2008-03-26 15:00:39 by tomaes tomaes
Voilà, first part :)

They create the smallest pieces of art in the world – at least concerning the storage space.
The computer artists of the demo scene create breathtaking things from a couple of bytes. This weekend, the best of the scene were chosen in Bingen.
It’s Easter, it’s Breakpoint again: The biggest party of the demo scene. That are those computer artists who program small video clips with much knowledge and a few bytes to show them to other “sceners” at partys like Breakpoint. The heroes of the scene pack films into files that are 64 kilobytes in size and look like professional music clips. Presumably, only other sceners know how that really works.
oh yes and some of those phrases in the article really suck.
I'm on it .... just gimme some ticks .... halfway through + adding comments ... the stuff is hilarious (heroes .... muahahah)
added on the 2008-03-26 15:10:08 by d0DgE d0DgE
Btw, the author is aware of the errors in the article (for example the part that says that scene.org winners got shitloads of prizes from the sponsors, while actually it has been the breakpoint compo winners who got those prizes), but sadly they are not allowed to fix an already published article.

(And the quote from me of course is made up ;)
added on the 2008-03-26 15:17:20 by scamp scamp
it's great promo though, even though not all the facts are correct.
added on the 2008-03-26 15:18:20 by Axel Axel
The stunning art of bit manipulation - by Felix Knoke

They create the smallest artworks in the world - at least regarding (disk-)memory. The computer artists of the demoscene create breathtaking (productions) with the least amount of bytes. On this weekend the coronation of the scene's best was held in Bingen.

It's Easter, it's Breakpoint again: the biggest party of the demoscene.
That's those computer artists who -with much of knowledge and less bytes- program tiny video clips to present them to other "sceners" at parties like Breakpoint. In files no lager than 64 kilobyte those scene- heroes pack movies that just look like professional music clips.
Perhaps only other sceners understand how to pull up things like that.

These clips are hermaphrodites merging art and technics.
Masterly programed (...when I look at my code I really doubt that line :) and thrilling in direction. Hardware producers like Intel or nVidia eagerly court the computer geniuses, for their ability to breath the odem of life to cold silicone ( ...can it beee any more cheesy ...lol).
For that reason Intel is holding their own demo competition and this year
also nVidia joined the bandwaggon of organising such a spectaculum.
At the NVision 2008 computer artists may show what they can squeeze out
of the nVidia chips. Much fuzz about few bits.

Citizens of Bingen are quite used to it by now:
From all over the world those young people arrive in this idyllic small town
at the banks of the river Rhine. East-europeans, Scandinavians, Spaniards, Russians, Americans, Germans booking their hotel rooms (...those decadent elitists xD ), flood the bars and outbuying all the bakeries.
Meanwhile enchanted they sit in front of the computers they brought all the way with them just to tweak and polish the demo code, euphoric in front of the huge Full-HD canvas to stare at the works of friends and competitors. At daytime they amuse themselfs with fun competitions based
on the party motto: "Digital Garden": programming flowers, repot flowers.
In between all this seminars attracting some of them: A lawyer brings the demoscene
up to date about certain legal issues, representatives of Intel and nVidia
reveal coding- and hardware tricks and in turn are inaugurated in the secrets of the party guests.

2nd part coming up
added on the 2008-03-26 15:26:07 by d0DgE d0DgE
Quote:
but sadly they are not allowed to fix an already published article.


That's ... weird. ;)
added on the 2008-03-26 15:32:37 by gloom gloom
yeah, they are not like BILD :D
part 2

With the nights approaching the lifeforce vanishes. Organiser Simon Kissel:
"On sunday deadly tired computer zombies are staggering through the streets looking for some Aspirin and silence."
On saturday evening the Scene.org awards -the quasi Oscar of this demo scene- were presented.
The best, smallest, most surprising productions of the past year were crowned, their creators drowned in money and hardware (...well, not actually at these awards...). Sponsors appear to be gracious.

2007/2008 was a great season for the demoscene. First of all the successful Intel demo competition with tremendous contributing demos, then -way off the party mingle- the breathtaking "Debris" of the demogroup Farbrausch (...one effect...get over it ;D ).
177 kB of coding inSANITY:
elevated subway tracks that eat themselfs like worms through the streets,
snakes of steel winding up on skyscrapers. ( then it must've get a little boring...as many people noticed :P).At the end of the show the great
destruction. White static, the audience stunned. The best direction in 2008 (...asuming he meant 2007...) finds the Scene.org jury.
Not exactly a surprise because: Every year again the Hamburg based formation Farbrausch surprises the demoscene with a blast. Four years ago
it was the 96 kilobytes bearing 3D-shooter .kkrieger
(...and still the community is waiting for a fix )...

Because size does matter in the demoscene (especially in crowded steaming shower rooms). Demos are allowed a size up to 64MB that's right - really interesting however are the competitions for 64kB, 4kB or even just 256 BYTE ( confuses some parties again, eh ).
Really remarkable the last year: Mupe by the group PlayPsyCo.
Despite of sophisticated 3D buildings, effects and an atmospheric electro soundtrack, a file of merely 64kB calculates the whole clip with a duration of 3'43".
That's made possible with lots of tricks: formulas instead of precalculated textures, a custom made sythesizer an compression techniques from off this world ( we are not talking abou Loonies and TBC aren't we).

3rd part in the pipeline
added on the 2008-03-26 15:55:39 by d0DgE d0DgE
dodge: thanks for the effort man :)
added on the 2008-03-26 16:16:52 by gloom gloom
But it can get even smaller: With comparable tricks the group Calodox and Solenoid in their coop are drawing an abstract world in four kilobytes.
An empty M$-Word document bears twice this size! For whom want's
it even smaller, one my take a look at the little miracles of 256 Byte by
the developer 3SC.
The Scene.org Awards reward the best productions of the past year.
But as it is like every year so it appears also in Bingen upon Rhine how the
demos of the future will look like. Demogroups just keep quiet at the moment. Only one step at a time as one competition follows the other at Breakpoint their works are presented. But soon enough roumors are boiling up. Especially the big demo competition on sunday evening casts its shadow ahead. Will the already announced "Shad 3" by Cocoon live up to its advanced anticipation? Will the groups ASD, Traction + BRS, Still and the UK Allstars make a great demo-leap forward ?

Even the citizens of Bingen upon Rhine get involved in the embrace.
Last year co-organiser Tobias Heim lead a group of curious locals through
the hall. A few months later he met one of them again - as fresh baked demoscener at the Evoke demoparty in Cologne...

now for a smoke ... good night and good luck
added on the 2008-03-26 16:19:10 by d0DgE d0DgE
gosh ... so much wrong spelling
added on the 2008-03-26 16:25:37 by d0DgE d0DgE
Pretty nice article, content-wise - by far not as clueless as is usually the case, and that in such a big paper (there's no real mistakes that *matter*).

Big ups to whoever got them all that info and guided them across the partyhall!!
added on the 2008-03-26 16:47:40 by skrebbel skrebbel
by the style of writing I presume it's the guy that made the german language breakpoint video trailer for the intel democompo homepage
added on the 2008-03-26 16:50:25 by d0DgE d0DgE
by -> from
added on the 2008-03-26 16:50:40 by d0DgE d0DgE
scamp: I was sitting right next to Tobi when he called and warned about the money prizes BEFORE publication after I had pointed it out.

Sadly, the same phonecall dealt with the "no, debris will not win best demo like assumed" so I guess he forgot in the haste of fixing the problem that actually mattered..
added on the 2008-03-27 12:47:36 by leijaa leijaa

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