Melon Dezign
Encyclopedia
Melon Dezign was an Amiga
demo
group founded in Denmark
on October 21, 1991 by Seen (Henrik Lund Mikkelsen) and Paleface (Jacob Gorm Hansen). Originally, they were a subgroup of Crystal, where they at first exclusively created intros for cracked
games. Shortly after the formation, they were joined by Bannasoft (Johan Kjeldgaard-Petersen), and after helping organise The Party, a demo event with more than 1200 attendees, several other members joined, including Walt, Mack, Performer, Audiomonster in France
, and Mark Knight otherwise known as TDK in the UK
.
The group was notable in the scene for their focus on design, this meant seamless transitions and less focus on impressive algorithms, although several of their productions gained high placings in competitions. Often, a Melon Dezign intro would feature a simple vector-based graphic (such as their logo) on a bichrome background, where other scene groups at the time would have their vector graphics inside a window or as the only thing on screen. Their recognizable logo was also a recurring factor in their productions, where other groups often featured several different, even within the same production.
Paleface and Seen produced the game Naughty Ones
which was released in 1994 by Interactivision. Ironically, the AGA version of Naughty Ones was cracked by Crystal (though released under the Paradox label; the OCS version was cracked by a group called Kingdom).
company, specialising in Flash animation for commercial gain. The Danish members have been involved in various web and games projects, such as the Hitman
games from IO Interactive. TDK, having worked for Mindscape International, Bullfrog Productions
, Electronic Arts
, and Visual Science
is currently working for Codemasters
.
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
demo
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...
group founded in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
on October 21, 1991 by Seen (Henrik Lund Mikkelsen) and Paleface (Jacob Gorm Hansen). Originally, they were a subgroup of Crystal, where they at first exclusively created intros for cracked
Software cracking
Software cracking is the modification of software to remove or disable features which are considered undesirable by the person cracking the software, usually related to protection methods: copy protection, trial/demo version, serial number, hardware key, date checks, CD check or software annoyances...
games. Shortly after the formation, they were joined by Bannasoft (Johan Kjeldgaard-Petersen), and after helping organise The Party, a demo event with more than 1200 attendees, several other members joined, including Walt, Mack, Performer, Audiomonster in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and Mark Knight otherwise known as TDK in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
The group was notable in the scene for their focus on design, this meant seamless transitions and less focus on impressive algorithms, although several of their productions gained high placings in competitions. Often, a Melon Dezign intro would feature a simple vector-based graphic (such as their logo) on a bichrome background, where other scene groups at the time would have their vector graphics inside a window or as the only thing on screen. Their recognizable logo was also a recurring factor in their productions, where other groups often featured several different, even within the same production.
Paleface and Seen produced the game Naughty Ones
Naughty Ones
Naughty Ones is a jump-and-run platform game for the Amiga and Amiga CD32. It was released by Interactivision in early 1994. It was programmed by Jacob Gorm Hansen and the graphics were done by Henrik Mikkelsen , both from the demo group Melon Dezign....
which was released in 1994 by Interactivision. Ironically, the AGA version of Naughty Ones was cracked by Crystal (though released under the Paradox label; the OCS version was cracked by a group called Kingdom).
Amiga demos
- Eastern Conference (1992), 1st place, Humantarget http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=3459
- Assembly demo party (1993), 3rd place, Romantic Demo http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=4953
- The Computer Crossroad party (1993), 3rd place, How to Skin a Cat http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=3539
- Kindergarten (1995), 2nd place, Melkedemo http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=7429
- Somewhere In Holland (1995), 1st place, "Planet M." http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=4951
- Somewhere In Holland (1995), 2nd place, "Baygon" http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=1644
PC demos
- The Gathering (1996), 2nd place, Ninja 2 http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=311
- The PartyThe Party (demo party)The Party was an annual demoscene event held from 1991 to 2002 in Denmark. It was one of the first events of its kind and set the trend for many other demoscene parties in Europe.-The early years:...
(1997), 1st place, Tribes http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=314
After the demoscene
The French part of the group (Walt and Alex) is now a web designWeb design
Web design is the process of planning and creating a website. Text, images, digital media and interactive elements are used by web designers to produce the page seen on the web browser...
company, specialising in Flash animation for commercial gain. The Danish members have been involved in various web and games projects, such as the Hitman
Hitman (computer game series)
Hitman is a stealth game series developed by the Danish company IO Interactive. The series is available on PC as well as several video game consoles, including the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Xbox 360. The game series has since expanded into a novel, Hitman: Enemy Within written by...
games from IO Interactive. TDK, having worked for Mindscape International, Bullfrog Productions
Bullfrog Productions
Bullfrog Productions was a UK computer game developer that was founded in 1987 by Les Edgar and Peter Molyneux. The company achieved recognition in 1989 for their third release, Populous....
, Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
, and Visual Science
Visual Science
Visual Science, formerly Visual Sciences, was a computer and video game development company based in Dundee, Scotland. It was established in 1993 by Russell Kay, who was programmer of the hugely successful Lemmings games...
is currently working for Codemasters
Codemasters
The Codemasters Software Company Limited, or Codemasters is a British video game developer founded by Richard and David Darling in 1986...
.
External links
- Melon Dezign's homepage
- Melon Dezign web design, founded by Walt and Alex
- Index of demoscene productions on Pouet
- TDK's personal site
- TDK's game music site