Breakpoint (demo party)
Encyclopedia
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
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...
party
Demoparty
A demoparty is an event that gathers demosceners and other computer enthusiasts to compete in competitions. A typical demoparty is a non-stop event lasting over a weekend, providing the visitors a lot of time to socialize. The competing works, at least those in the most important competitions, are...
. From 2003 to 2010, it took place annually at Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
in Bingen
Bingen am Rhein
Bingen am Rhein is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.The settlement’s original name was Bingium, a Celtic word that may have meant “hole in the rock”, a description of the shoal behind the Mäuseturm, known as the Binger Loch. Bingen was the starting point for the...
.
Breakpoint was the successor to the legendary Mekka & Symposium
Mekka & Symposium
Mekka & Symposium was a demoparty held annually in Fallingbostel, Germany over the Easter days from 1997 to 2002....
. With over 1000 visitors, it was the world's biggest pure demoscene-party, attracting demosceners from not only Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, but also from other European countries (e.g. Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
), or even from overseas (for example Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
). The party was also the traditional host of the Scene.org Awards
Scene.org Awards
The Scene.org Awards are the demoscene awards established by Scene.org in 2003. They are given annually to the creators of the best demos or intros that year. The winners are selected by a jury, consisting of acclaimed sceners from all around the globe...
ceremony.
History
The concept of Breakpoint was born in late 2002 when internal tensions within the Mekka & SymposiumMekka & Symposium
Mekka & Symposium was a demoparty held annually in Fallingbostel, Germany over the Easter days from 1997 to 2002....
organizing team made another M&S party impossible. Part of the remaining organizing team teamed up with organizers of other German demo parties like Dialogos
DialogOS
DialogOS is a graphical programming environment to design computer system which can converse through voice with the user. Dialogs are clicked together in a Flowchart...
, Evoke
Evoke (demo party)
Evoke is the largest demoparty held annually in Germany .Since 1997, Evoke takes place in the region of Cologne and is organized by Digitale Kultur e.V. Each year this computer festival attracts visitors from around the world and is known for high-quality entries in their competitions...
and the Ultimate Meeting, and decided to create a new demoscene party for Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
. The location was changed, from the northern city of Fallingbostel to Bingen
Bingen am Rhein
Bingen am Rhein is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.The settlement’s original name was Bingium, a Celtic word that may have meant “hole in the rock”, a description of the shoal behind the Mäuseturm, known as the Binger Loch. Bingen was the starting point for the...
, a little town near Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
. The party place was decided to be an abandoned military depot out at the city borders.
Breakpoint 2003 proved to be an unmatched success among demosceners who attended, both veterans and newcomers applauded the party's incredible atmosphere and almost literally unlimited freedom, often designated by a large (often 25–30 feet tall) bonfire
Bonfire
A bonfire is a controlled outdoor fire used for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration. Celebratory bonfires are typically designed to burn quickly and may be very large...
. (The nearest residents lived kilometers away from the party, thus noise pollution
Noise pollution
Noise pollution is excessive, displeasing human, animal or machine-created environmental noise that disrupts the activity or balance of human or animal life...
and the general rowdiness was never an issue.) Criticisms of the party were minor, but pointed out that due to the failure of one of the heating pipes, the party hall became freezing during the night - this was actually parodied in various demos released there, entitling the party "Freezepoint
Freezing Point
Freezing Point is a news journal in the People's Republic of China which has been the subject of controversy over its criticism of Communist Party officials and the sympathetic ear it lent to a Chinese historian who had criticized official history textbooks...
".
Breakpoint 2004 saw a major change in the funding of the party: ATI Technologies
ATI Technologies
ATI Technologies Inc. was a semiconductor technology corporation based in Markham, Ontario, Canada, that specialized in the development of graphics processing units and chipsets. Founded in 1985 as Array Technologies Inc., the company was listed publicly in 1993 and was acquired by Advanced Micro...
became the main sponsor of the event, and apart from the lucrative prizes, offered various other features to the party, such as seminars and workshops. Also, ATI was sponsoring a helicopter flight for willing visitors over the hills of the Rhine-region. The sponsorship remained constant until 2006. The party was an inarguable success, although not as buoyant as its precursor, especially considering that the heating issues from the year before turned out to be unsolvable due to the structure of the hall which served as a party hall — this caused the party to be even colder than the previous year.
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
by the German government, and the next edition was scheduled to be held in the city's gym in the middle of Bingen. A part of the visitors feared that the degrees of liberty which made Breakpoint so popular will be lost at the new location, including the symbolic bonfire. They were, however, proven wrong when the party turned out to be what most people stated as "the best demoparty ever". The limited nature of freedom was proven to be enough for sceners to use the surrounding outdoors area as a chillout zone, even having a bonfire (although not as grandiose as in previous years). The new location also provided a solution to the heating problem. The floors inside were covered by the organizers by a layer of carpet so visitors were even able to walk barefoot or sleep on the floor. (Some visitors even joked about spending the night outdoors to get the "good old Breakpoint freeze-to-death-feeling".) The party's atmosphere was improved with both seminars for the interested and 4 live concerts of bands playing demoscene music live. The competitions also featured high quality releases and the event was voted as the "Best Alltime Demoparty" in the PAiN diskmag.
Breakpoint 2006 promotion started almost immediately after its precursor, and many sceners who had been avoiding demoparties for years signaled that they would attend. The party organizing team created a "jungle" theme. The party place was adorned with torches, rocks, skeletons and vines, doors were surrounded with totem pole-like ornaments, speaker stands and other accessories were wrapped in an Inca-esque setting. The party theme revolved around sceners losing their scene spirit and fighting their ways in competitions to retrieve and free them. The event featured the annual Scene.org Awards ceremony in a much more formal and ceremonial setting, and various live acts, including a performance by Welle: Erdball.
Breakpoint 2007 lost one of its major sponsors, ATi, as a result of their merger with AMD
Advanced Micro Devices
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. or AMD is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Sunnyvale, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for commercial and consumer markets...
(Intel remained a primary sponsor). To keep a balanced budget, the organizers decided to not only raise the entrance fee to 60 Euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
s, but to remove the "girls get in free" tradition and charge females equally. Despite the financial challenges, 2007 featured the usual array of competitions and seminars, including one from the infamous film director, Uwe Boll
Uwe Boll
Uwe Boll is a German director, producer and screenwriter, whose work includes several films adapted from video games. He finances his own films through his Boll KG production company. He is often cited as the worst director of all time.-Early life:...
. The Scene.org Awards ceremony was restructured with shorter screening times to reduce the show length. The regular party band, BASS, returned with a slightly revised lineup, and the Danish Commodore revival band Press Play On Tape performed a live set as well.
Breakpoint 2008 added nVidia
NVIDIA
Nvidia is an American global technology company based in Santa Clara, California. Nvidia is best known for its graphics processors . Nvidia and chief rival AMD Graphics Techonologies have dominated the high performance GPU market, pushing other manufacturers to smaller, niche roles...
as a major sponsor and thus was able to lower the entrance fee to 55 Euros. The "big screen" grew again to 70 m² as the organizers acquired two Full HD projectors.
2009: brokepoint
Breakpoint 2009 lost nVidia as a major sponsor, losing most of its budget and forcing it to ask for public donations under the temporary name "Brokepoint". They received enough donations to hold a basic demoparty, albeit without some features such as the seminars. The entrance fee remained 55 euros, and "supporter tickets" were added at 250 euros and up for donors. Soon before the party began, 20th Century Fox stepped in as a major sponsor to promote the film X-Men Origins: WolverineX-Men Origins: Wolverine
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a 2009 American action film based on the Marvel Comics' fictional character Wolverine. The fourth installment in the X-Men film series, it was released worldwide on May 1, 2009...
. A special Wolverine Contest was added for demos, videos, art, and music based on the character and film trailer. While Breakpoint could no longer pay performers, Xerxes, Romeo Knight, and Bendik returned for a free concert.
2010: Like there is no tomorrow
Breakpoint 2010 was the final Breakpoint event. It had record attendance of more than one thousand visitors.Successor
After Breakpoint was announced to cease, rumours were generated about a possible successor for a German easter-party. After a series of viral teaser videos, the invitation to the official followup demoparty called Revision was released, and the party took place in SaarbrückenSaarbrücken
Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
, largely sharing the same organizing crew as Breakpoint.
Events
- Breakpoint 2003 — (April 18–21)
- Breakpoint 2004 — "The Code Inside" (April 9–12)
- Breakpoint 2005 — "Aliens Ate My Demomaker" (March 25–28)
- Breakpoint 2006 — "Rumble in the Jungle" (April 14–17)
- Breakpoint 2007 — "Demoscene Through Time and Space" (April 6–9)
- Breakpoint 2008 — "Digital Garden" (March 21–24)
- Breakpoint 2009 — "Everything Is Under Control" (April 10–13)
- Breakpoint 2010 — "Like There's No Tomorrow (April 2–5)
Competition winners
| Year | Platform | Demo | 64k intro | 4k intro |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Amiga | Magia (The Black Lotus) | Cancelled | Timur Lenk (Ephidrena & Spaceballs Spaceballs (demogroup) Spaceballs is an Amiga demo group from Norway, originally based around the city of Halden. It was formed in 1987, but did not make its first release until 1989.The group has released many demos, including State of the Art and Nine Fingers... ) |
| C64 | Beertime 3 (Dekadence) | N/A | Voyage Sans Fin (K2) | |
| PC | FR-025: The.Popular.Demo (Farbrausch Farbrausch Farbrausch, or Farb-rausch, is a German group of demomakers who made themselves particularly famous in the demoscene in December 2000 with a 64k intro called "fr-08: .the .product". "Farbrausch" literally translates to "rave of color", "color rush" or "color frenzy" in English... ) |
Project Genesis (Conspiracy Conspiracy (demogroup) Conspiracy is a Hungarian demogroup founded in late 2002. Being an amalgamation of various other groups, founding members were members of demogroups Digital Dynamite, Inquisition and Ümlaüt Design.... ) |
Mojo Dreams (Frenetic & R0k) | |
| 2004 | Amiga | Silkcut (The Black Lotus) | A Dream (Scoopex) | Ikanim (Loonies) |
| C64 | You Know The Routine 2 (Camelot) | N/A | Bar4kode (Plush) | |
| PC | Winnerdemo (Metalvotze) | Saturday Night Scener (Conspiracy) | Ex-Fabric (Frenetic & KB) | |
| 2005 | Amiga | Ocean Machine (The Black Lotus) | A Dream 2 (Scoopex) | Noxie (Loonies) |
| C64 | RCC 2005 Invitro (RCC Team) | N/A | Pico (Dekadence) | |
| PC | 195/95 (Plastic) | Binary Flow (Conspiracy) | Parsec (Frenetic, r0k & Sonic) | |
| 2006 | Amiga | Kilofix (Iris) | Planet Loonies (Loonies) (combined 64k/4k compo) | |
| C64 | Non Plus Ultra (Singular Crew) | N/A | Artefacts (Plush) | |
| PC | Deities (mfx Mfx Mfx is a Finnish demogroup. They were closely tied with Kewlers and shared members with this group; after Kewlers' farewell to the scene a lot of Kewlers members stayed active in mfx... ) |
Meet the Family (Fairlight Fairlight (group) Fairlight is a warez and demo group initially involved in the Commodore demoscene, and in cracking to illegally release games for free, since 1987. In addition to the C64, Fairlight has also migrated towards the Amiga, Super Nintendo and later the PC... ) |
Origami (Kakiarts) | |
| 2007 | Amiga | Senzala (Madwizards) | Leon (Elcrew) | Swex ([S]carab) |
| C64 | Desert Dream (Chorus & Resource) | N/A | Cancelled | |
| PC | FR-041: Debris (Farbrausch) | Phantom Eye Syndrome (Brain Control) | Sprite-O-Mat (Alcatraz) | |
| 2008 | Amiga | Twenty (Drifters) | Psylteflesk (Loaderror / Ephidrena) - 4k (combined 64k/4k compo) | |
| C64 | Cauldron (Resource & The Dreams) | N/A | Cancelled | |
| PC | Masagin (Farbrausch & Neuro) | Pimp My Spectrum (Ate Bit) | Atrium (TBC & Loonies) | |
| 2009 | Amiga | Jesus Christ Motocross (Nature & Traktor) | Superkewl (Supergroup) | Luminagia (Loonies) |
| C64 | Das Gottler (Extend) | N/A | Cancelled | |
| PC | Crush (Anadune & Floppy) | 060659 (Rebels) | Elevated (RGBA) | |
| 2010 | Amiga | We Come In Peace (Elude) | Charger (Focus Design) | Ikadalawampu (Loonies) |
| C64 | Snapshot (Glance) | N/A | Dramatic Pixels (PWP) | |
| PC | Agenda Circling Forth (CNCD & Fairlight) | Imagine (CodingCat, Hel, Turri & TGGC) | Darwinism (Archee) | |
External links
- Official Site
- Breakpoint on Pouët
- Breakpoint 2006 photos on Slengpung
- Revision: Easter Party, Successor party in SaarbrückenSaarbrückenSaarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
Invitation demos
- Breakpoint 2003 Invitation Intro - fr-024: welcome to... by FarbrauschFarbrauschFarbrausch, or Farb-rausch, is a German group of demomakers who made themselves particularly famous in the demoscene in December 2000 with a 64k intro called "fr-08: .the .product". "Farbrausch" literally translates to "rave of color", "color rush" or "color frenzy" in English...
- [ftp://ftp.scene.org/pub/parties/2004/breakpoint04/misc/bp04invi.zip Breakpoint 2004 Invitation] Demo - fr-037: The Code Inside by mfxMfxMfx is a Finnish demogroup. They were closely tied with Kewlers and shared members with this group; after Kewlers' farewell to the scene a lot of Kewlers members stayed active in mfx...
and FarbrauschFarbrauschFarbrausch, or Farb-rausch, is a German group of demomakers who made themselves particularly famous in the demoscene in December 2000 with a 64k intro called "fr-08: .the .product". "Farbrausch" literally translates to "rave of color", "color rush" or "color frenzy" in English... - [ftp://ftp.scene.org/pub/parties/2005/breakpoint05/misc/mfxkwl_bp05invitation.zip Breakpoint 2005 Invitation] Demo - Aliens Ate My Demomaker by mfxMfxMfx is a Finnish demogroup. They were closely tied with Kewlers and shared members with this group; after Kewlers' farewell to the scene a lot of Kewlers members stayed active in mfx...
and keWlersKeWlerskeWlers was a Finnish-based demogroup, formed in the early 1990s, originally called Mewlers. The group disbanded in 2006 directly after the release of their final demo, 1995... - [ftp://ftp.untergrund.net/breakpoint/2006/misc/fr-049.zip Breakpoint 2006 Invitation] Demo - fr-049 of spirits taken by FarbrauschFarbrauschFarbrausch, or Farb-rausch, is a German group of demomakers who made themselves particularly famous in the demoscene in December 2000 with a 64k intro called "fr-08: .the .product". "Farbrausch" literally translates to "rave of color", "color rush" or "color frenzy" in English...
and Vacuum - Breakpoint 2007 Invitation Intro - Frameskool by EquinoxEquinox (Atari demogroup)Equinox is a French demogroup with an active period between the years 1988-2007.Equinox was first an Atari ST demoscene crew, famous for the Pupul intro, an Atari conversion of the Amiga DOC demo...
- Breakpoint 2008 Invitation Intro - Digital Garden by Rebels
- Breakpoint 2009 Invitation Demo - Everything is Under Control by mfxMfxMfx is a Finnish demogroup. They were closely tied with Kewlers and shared members with this group; after Kewlers' farewell to the scene a lot of Kewlers members stayed active in mfx...
- Breakpoint 2010 Invitation Intro - fr-033: like there's no tomorrow by farbrauschFarbrauschFarbrausch, or Farb-rausch, is a German group of demomakers who made themselves particularly famous in the demoscene in December 2000 with a 64k intro called "fr-08: .the .product". "Farbrausch" literally translates to "rave of color", "color rush" or "color frenzy" in English...