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The period of returning legends
by s7ing of Alcatraz

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Do you remember the glorious days of the Amiga scene? Times when names like Sanity, Kefrens, The Silents, or Anarchy sent a shiver up your spine? Times when you spoke about these groups with so much respect that you wished you'd become a part of such a legendary group one day?

Many sceners of these days moved to the PC demo scene after the end of the Amiga days. And so did I. I cannot describe the feelings you have when making your first steps into the PC demoscene. But I'll give it a shot.

Starting in the PC demoscene means primarily that you would be dealing with new and unknown demogroups. Sceners of whom you never heard. And if you had a great name in the Amiga scene, you were totally unknown now. It simply feels like you start from scratch.

The demos at that time were totally different from what we were used to on the Amiga. Amiga demos had grown with time, and a concept of design had developed. In the eyes of an Amiga scener, most PC demos looked simple and not very special. Where was the design? Where were the ideas?

The big advantage of the demos on Amiga was that nearly every scener used the same machine with the same specifications. So if you watched a demo you could compare it. On PC machines everything depended on your CPU or your graphics card. Demos looked different on almost every machine.


"Moving from the Amiga scene to
the PC scene was not that easy."


So moving from an Amiga demoscene to the PC scene was not that easy. But with time, the PC scene also developed and really great demos where made. Furthermore, you found some of your old Amiga friends again in the PC scene. Nevertheless, you never felt really "back" like in the past.

Dear sceners, please don't blame me for that, but this feeling could never be erased by a real Amiga scener. But it makes me happy to see demogroups in the PC scene with great releases. Scoopex, Nuance, Haujobb, Fairlight and, in some ways, Farbrausch (as most of them have an Amiga background) show that many great things are possible, and in my opinion this has brought the PC scene some fresh ideas.

Then it's 2006 and 2007, and suddenly I can't believe my eyes. A period of returning legends seems to start. You start to hear names again, like Rebels, Brainstorm, Polka Bros. Andromeda. Wow. Groups that have been in the scene for so long. The shiver up my spine returns. People like The Pride, Facet, Romeo Knight, Slide, Mop, Brainbug, and Jogeir are back in business. The ones who already showed you pure demo art in the '80s and early '90s.

And this period doesn't seem to end just yet. On Bitfellas, more and more "old" sceners start to appear, such as WOTW, Lugoober, and others. Give me some more of those, please. Kefrens is working on its comeback, like Mellica of Kefrens announced. All of that combined really rocks and it starts to be fun again to be part of the whole thing. Maybe these old farts can bring some more retired sceners back. Just so you know: The new PC groups have my full respect. It's just that with the old resurrected groups like Haujobb, Nuance, Fairlight, TRSI, Rebels, Polka Bros, Kefrens, Brainstorm, and Alcatraz, it feels like being back home again.


"Kefrens will never make a Desert Dream 2"


The only problem I see here is that many old sceners wish that these groups will continue on the level where they ended on the Amiga. This will not come true for all. Too many years between the Amiga scene and the PC scene have passed. The demos changed a lot over the years. Some of the groups will kick ass again; some will not. But for many of us, and hopefully for most of you, it is just great to see that our friends are among us again. It doesn't matter if they succeed in beating today's heroes; ASD, Farbrausch, Conspiracy, or MFX. It makes me happy just to see they're around and it would be enough for me to see only one project of these groups released. For me, it is clear that Andromeda will never make a Nexus 7 Part II, Kefrens will never make a Desert Dream 2, and Alcatraz won't make Odyssey 2 either; but it is nevertheless great to have you all back.

In my opinion it is very important that these groups are still around. Their knowledge is pure demoscene history and its members will be an enrichment for every demo party, forum or discussion. They are sceners who are back and who can give the demoscene new power and ideas once again, which is so important to keep the spirit alive.


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