Apple IIgs demos
Encyclopedia
The Apple IIgs
demoscene
goes back to the days of the original Apple II
series in the 1980s, when software crackers would put "signature screens" at the beginnings of games of which they had broken the copy protection.
Later on, other groups would release what were termed "show-offs" in some quarters, programs that did interesting things or took advantage of little-known features and techniques to create a unique effect. Many of the extra programs included on Beagle Bros
disks fell into this category. Applesoft BASIC
was a favorite tool as it was widely available and allowed easy machine-level access through its PEEK and POKE
statements.
However, a scene in the true sense of the word didn't emerge until the introduction of the Apple IIgs
and its high-quality (for the time) graphics and sound capabilities. This opened the door for the Apple groups to utilize the coder-artist-composer mix that had become fairly standard in the demo community for other machines.
Most IIgs demos were self-booting 800K 3.5" disks
, often created with unique booting software that allowed for loading and playing of the demo within seconds of turning the computer's power on. As a result of these unusual loaders, rarely were demos hard-disk installable, though some demo crews did release patches to allow their demos to be installed to a hard drive.
In the 1990s, most demo crews disbanded or moved on to other machines as the IIgs gave way to the PC-compatibles. A few groups, particularly Ninjaforce, remained active and continue to release the occasional project into the community. Most demos are perfectly compatible with several of the IIgs emulator
s, allowing them to be enjoyed to this day.
Apple IIGS
The Apple , the fifth and most powerful model in the Apple II series of personal computers produced by Apple Computer. The "GS" in the name stands for Graphics and Sound, referring to its enhanced graphics and sound capabilities, both of which greatly surpassed previous models of the line...
demoscene
Demoscene
The demoscene is a computer art subculture that specializes in producing demos, which are non-interactive audio-visual presentations that run in real-time on a computer...
goes back to the days of the original Apple II
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
series in the 1980s, when software crackers would put "signature screens" at the beginnings of games of which they had broken the copy protection.
Later on, other groups would release what were termed "show-offs" in some quarters, programs that did interesting things or took advantage of little-known features and techniques to create a unique effect. Many of the extra programs included on Beagle Bros
Beagle Bros
Beagle Bros was a software company that specialized in creating personal computing products that were both useful and whimsical. Their primary focus was on the Apple II family of computers.-History:...
disks fell into this category. Applesoft BASIC
Applesoft BASIC
Applesoft BASIC was a dialect of Microsoft BASIC supplied with the Apple II series of computers. It superseded Integer BASIC and was the BASIC in ROM in all Apple II series computers after the original Apple II model. It was also referred to as FP because of the command used to invoke it instead...
was a favorite tool as it was widely available and allowed easy machine-level access through its PEEK and POKE
PEEK and POKE
In computing, PEEK is a BASIC programming language extension used for reading the contents of a memory cell at a specified address. The corresponding command to set the contents of a memory cell is POKE.-Statement syntax:...
statements.
However, a scene in the true sense of the word didn't emerge until the introduction of the Apple IIgs
Apple IIGS
The Apple , the fifth and most powerful model in the Apple II series of personal computers produced by Apple Computer. The "GS" in the name stands for Graphics and Sound, referring to its enhanced graphics and sound capabilities, both of which greatly surpassed previous models of the line...
and its high-quality (for the time) graphics and sound capabilities. This opened the door for the Apple groups to utilize the coder-artist-composer mix that had become fairly standard in the demo community for other machines.
Most IIgs demos were self-booting 800K 3.5" disks
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
, often created with unique booting software that allowed for loading and playing of the demo within seconds of turning the computer's power on. As a result of these unusual loaders, rarely were demos hard-disk installable, though some demo crews did release patches to allow their demos to be installed to a hard drive.
In the 1990s, most demo crews disbanded or moved on to other machines as the IIgs gave way to the PC-compatibles. A few groups, particularly Ninjaforce, remained active and continue to release the occasional project into the community. Most demos are perfectly compatible with several of the IIgs emulator
Emulator
In computing, an emulator is hardware or software or both that duplicates the functions of a first computer system in a different second computer system, so that the behavior of the second system closely resembles the behavior of the first system...
s, allowing them to be enjoyed to this day.
Notable Apple IIGS demos
- Bright Software's Bright Demo, an early demo, launchable from Applesoft BASIC
- FTA's Delta Demo, the last one they would do for the IIgs
- Jason Harper's FillMaze, based on code by Werner Gunther. FillMaze was a rather incredible display of the IIgs "fill mode" graphics capability
- Revenge of the Bob's Demo NinjaforceNinjaforceNinjaforce is a group of German computer enthusiasts, active during the early 1990s on the Apple IIGS computer. Some members originated from other computer systems, like the Commodore Amiga and the Apple Macintosh)...
's first demo from 1992. - MegaDemo from Ninjaforce, the first two-disk demo for the IIgs, also one of the first boot-disk demos to be patched to run from a hard drive. Interestingly, the MegaDemo was not compatible with the ROM 3 version of the IIgs and required an additional patch to be run on that model.
- FTA's Modulae
- FTA's Nucleus, which was used by AppleApple ComputerApple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
itself to demonstrate the IIgs at trade shows - OverCycle, by Marco Busse of Jupiter Systems, which placed graphics in the normally-blank screen border
- Bullwinkle's Summer 1990 Demo
- The multi-group collaboration X-Mas Demo (famous for its rather obscene Easter egg)
- The Captain's (aka TC Wilson) X-Mas Demo (the MACOS/METAL author's final work)