Variform is a demo

Demo (computer programming)

A demo is a non-interactive multimedia presentation made within the computer subculture known as the demoscene. Demogroups create demos to demonstrate their abilities in programming, music, drawing, and 3D modeling...

 by the demogroup Kewlers

KeWlers

keWlers 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...

. It was released in 2002 at the Assembly demo party, and even though it only placed 3rd in the competition, it became one of the most widely acclaimed demos ever, winning three Scene.org Awards the following year.

Technical information

• Size: 8.5 megabytes
• Running time: 6:17
• Platform: Win32, later ported to Mac OS X
  Mac OS X
  Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
  
   and Linux
  Linux
  Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
  
  
• Minimum requirements: Pentium II
  Pentium II
  The Pentium II brand refers to Intel's sixth-generation microarchitecture and x86-compatible microprocessors introduced on May 7, 1997. Containing 7.5 million transistors, the Pentium II featured an improved version of the first P6-generation core of the Pentium Pro, which contained 5.5 million...
  
   class CPU, TNT2
  RIVA TNT2
  The RIVA TNT2 was a graphics processing unit manufactured by Nvidia starting in early 1999. The chip is codenamed "NV5" because it is the 5th graphics chip design by Nvidia, succeeding the RIVA TNT . RIVA is an acronym for Real-time Interactive Video and Animation accelerator...
  
   class video card

Synopsis

VARIFORM is a spectacular trip into a futuristic world of abstract glowing objects in electric colors. The demo features a consistent and very dynamic flow which helps in delivering the viewer through all the effects, accompanied by a Kraftwerk

Kraftwerk

Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...

-esque electro

Electro (music)

Electro is a genre of electronic dance music directly influenced by the use of TR-808 drum machines, Moog keytar synthesizers and funk sampling...

 soundtrack. Reviewers hailed Variform as the perfect fusion of oldskool and newskool demostyles.

Variform was a trend-setter in many aspects: The robot-like voice-synthesis in the music (though it wasn't the first demo to apply it), and image postprocessing techniques (glow, or "square-filter") were later used in many other productions, and the opening phrase "WE ARE BACK!", became one of the most repeated phrases among demosceners.

Trivia

• The music bears obvious resemblances to Finnish electro-formation Imatran Voima's single In/Out. The similarities were later confirmed by Little Bitchard.
• The figure visible in the first half of the demo with the text "KAPTEENI AEAENI" written on it is a reference to Ääni (meaning "voice" in Finnish, given to him after his deep, sonorous voice), the security chief
  Security guard
  A security guard is a person who is paid to protect property, assets, or people. Security guards are usually privately and formally employed personnel...
  
   of Assembly. There is also a Finnish Reggae-collective called Kapteeni Ääni.
• The whispered greetings are a reference to the Aphex Twin
  Aphex Twin
  Richard David James , best known under the pseudonym Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born electronic musician and composer described as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music"...
  
   song "Respect List". The sentence "Mad bloke and his dogs next door", is a direct quote from the AFX single.
• The panting in the first part of the soundtrack is a reference to the classic Kraftwerk
  Kraftwerk
  Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
  
   song "Tour de France".
• On November 25, 2005, Kewlers released a musicdisk called Variform Remixed, a compilation of 13 remixes of the Variform soundtrack and two bonus tracks (an instrumental and a beta version of the original). The compilation is available in a classic (executable) format and also in .NRG CD-image format (with CD-cover included).

Credits

• Programming by Curly Brace
• Graphics by Actor Dolban
• Music by Little Bitchard and Mel Funktion

Awards

• 3rd place at the Assembly 2002 demo competition
• Award for Best demo at Scene.org Awards 2002
• Award for Best effects at Scene.org Awards 2002
• Award for Best soundtrack at Scene.org Awards 2002
• Nomination for Best direction at Scene.org Awards 2002

External links

• Variform on Scene.org
  Scene.org
  Scene.org is a non-profit organization, providing the currently largest demoscene file repository. It was founded in 1996 by Jaakko "Mellow-D" Manninen, though originally it existed as ftp.fm.org, an FTP-server for releases from the group Five Musicians. In 1997, it re-opened as Scene.org...
  
  
• Variform on Pouet
• Variform on BitJam