Keeping Up With The Change?

Written by Avalanche

One of the most negative things, competition wise, which happened at The Party '98, was the decision of the organization to drop the 4k intro compo and hold a 4k web compo instead. Today, I learned that the Takeover '99 organizers will drop the 4-channel and ansi compos. Or at least they plan to do so.

Naturally party organizers want their parties to be the best, the ones with the best equipment, and the ones with the best releases. They also want to be the most modern. The one and only reason I've heard from party organizers when we asked them why they drop certain compos is: 'these compos are outdated, they're old.' They say ansi is old and outdated, they say 4k intros are old and outdated, and they say 4-channel .mod's are old and outdated.

Not so. Well, in a certain way they are of course. Take ansis for example. Once they served an actual purpose in the BBS scene. But they've grown into something else, into an artform. Ansis are not a 'format' anymore, they're a 'form of art'. Just as much as painters have their different styles, so should ansi be considered a style.

4k intros. Hey, who could be bothered by them? Coders for one. Those coders that can make kick-ass 4k intros can certainly make kick-ass demos. Coders can show off their skills in 4K. But that's not the only purpose of these nifty little things. In this world of ever increasing computer use, and ever smaller computers, there will no doubt be an ever increasing need for small code. Sure, we now have multi gigabyte hard disks, and Windows takes up half of those gigabytes, but not so in the world of small hand-held PCs (which might just be the wave of the future according to some ppl). Coders who can program in 4K will have a bright future ahead. And besides, they're fun, damnit.

So what about this 4-channel music thing? Surely THAT doesn't have a purpose anymore? Well, again, in 4 channels, the musician can show off their skill. I've heard great music in 4 channels. But yes, other than that, they don't serve a purpose. However, being a musician myself, I would hate to see them go from parties. You could also see 4 channels as a form of art.

Sure, party organizers have funds to worry about, sponsors to take care of. They have to make many decisions, it is also true that parties decide for a large part how the scene looks like. Just imagine what the scene would be like when party organizers stopped holding demo compos and just held animation compos? Surely that would be a bad thing? So how come it's not a bad thing to stop holding 4k, 4chn, and ansi compos? Fortunately not every party throws out these compos. And I hope those that do, see that they are making a bad decision. At least in the eyes of those who attend their parties.

So, I urge all party organizers to listen to me and others, and as for the Takeover '99 organizers, I hope you will reconsider, you would make many sceners quite happy.

- Avalanche