Finding My People
A Little Demoparty Report of Evoke 2022
In August 2022, as the world slowly reopened after the pandemic, I found myself boarding a plane to Cologne for something I had dreamed of for years: my first demoparty. What I didn't know yet was that Evoke 2022 would become a personal milestone. It was a moment where my years long interests and my research culminated. I had found my community.
August 2022
This is a magnificent photo of the main hall at Evoke 2022 by the talented demoparty organizer Darya. You can find her photos here in a collection on Dropbox.
I went to my very first demo party!
In 2020 I wrote my master's thesis about the demoscene. Well, at least about a historic time in the Atari ST demoscene. Yet I had not yet actually attended a demoparty.
This might be as good a place as any to quickly define what the demoscene is. It is a digital art subculture where programmers, artists, and musicians create real-time audiovisual works ("demos") that push computers to their technical and creative limits. Demos combine code, graphics, and sound into self-contained works of art.
The pandemic got in the way of me physically going to a demoparty. I could have kicked myself because I knew that I could have gone to Evoke much sooner! I lived in Düsseldorf for a few years but I didn't pop over to Cologne. I didn't.
But then in 2022 things were slowly opening up again and I was finally looking forward to traveling. Earlier that same year, I had gone to DrupalCon in Portland. This turned out to be a strangely transitional event where we still had to wear masks throughout the convention. Then came the high-energy overload of WeAreDevelopers 2022 in Berlin, which surprised, overwhelmed, and ultimately delighted me.
But Evoke was different.
After researching and writing about the early demoscene for my master's thesis, I could finally go to my first real demoparty: Evoke 2022, held from August 5th to 7th, 2022, in Cologne.
So... What's a demoparty? These are gatherings where demosceners meet to socialize, exchange ideas, and compete by presenting their demos, graphics, and music live
Awesome! That's just my thing! I was ready to go.
The Evoke logo.
Arrival, Kalk, and Carrying Too Much Hardware
I flew from Sofia to Cologne and stayed at the Leonardo Hotel. This was the recommended hotel for Evoke attendees. It was apparently close to the venue, the AbenteuerHallenKalk, but in reality it turned out to be a bit of a trek. Luckily, Cologne's e-scooters and public bikes came to the rescue.
This also meant I got to explore Kalk, which turned out to be wonderfully alive: restaurants, cafés, kebab shops, old bier pubs, and the Arcaden Kalk shopping mall (my frequent savior). I visited it more than once to get food, do some shopping, and, crucially, buy cables and connectors I had forgotten to bring (of course).
Friday: First Contact
The actual demoparty started on Friday with a long line in front of the AbenteuerHallenKalk entrance. I had brought quite a setup with me: My A500mini (a modern recreation of the Commodore Amiga), a monitor with HDMI input, an external keyboard and mouse, my trusty Surface Go 2 for graphics work, and my iPad Pro loaded with Procreate and Pixelmator.
The A500mini was surprisingly well suited for this trip. I could run Amiga applications and demos, create graphics, and store everything neatly on a USB stick. And I didn't have to mess about with aging floppy drives and temperamental hard disks from decades past.
While waiting in line, I had an unexpectedly wonderful moment of pure chance: I met Harvey for the very first time. A friendly, communicative retro-scene veteran, he had written commercial computer books for the famous Data Becker publishing house back in the day and now focuses on books for modern recreations of classic home computers like the Commodore 64 and Amiga. Considering I was carrying an A500mini, meeting exactly him felt like fate. We stayed in touch throughout the event, and Harvey gave me great tips on how to get more out of the little machine.
Here is a terrific video with drone footage showing the queue outside the AbenteuerHallenKalk on and then the inside of the venue during Evoke 2022.
Inside the AbenteuerHallenKalk
Once inside, we got our wristbands and T-shirts. The AbenteuerHallenKalk is an old industrial hall, now used as an indoor climbing venue and for large events like Evoke. The main hall was filled with long tables where everyone set up their gear. At the front: a massive projection screen and powerful loudspeakers for demo screenings. Nearby: a bar with beer, Club-Mate, and snacks. Outside in the inner courtyard, there was a DJ area and a grill serving sausages.
It was fantastic.
Harvey sat in a different area with his crew. I was on my own and set up next to a friendly guy from Frankfurt, a regular demoparty visitor who was just happy that events were finally happening in person again. The opening ceremony kicked things off with music and an introduction by the organizers, followed by a relaxed invitation to the courtyard for grilled sausages and club music.
The main hall in the AbenteuerHallenKalk.
Walking through the hall was a joy in itself: old and new hardware, impressive drawing tablets, ancient-looking BBS setups, DIY consoles, and all sorts of delightful technical oddities. Striking up conversations was easy and natural.
Harvey also explained the PartyMeister system to me. It was very helpful to know how you register with a vote code and then vote on competition entries as they're shown on the big screen. Which brings us neatly to the competitions.
Here's a video with some impressions from the demoparty (created by some talented individuals).
Compos, Palettes, and Shader Battles
Evoke had a wide range of competition categories: PC demos, various intro sizes, music compos, freestyle graphics, and oldschool graphics, which came with a very restrictive palette. That year's palette was… challenging. Purple ramps, burgundy reds, poisonous greens. I think it is fair to say that they weren't exactly friendly colors.
I wanted to participate anyway.
The challenging Evoke 2022 oldschool graphics competition palette.
I had prepared two graphics beforehand but wasn't very confident in them, and I also hadn't documented enough work stages. Since this was right at the beginning of AI tools becoming more prevalent, providing proof of authorship was important. One of the two pictures was based on a cover by Jim Steranko, which I had redrawn in pixel art style. I wasn't sure if the was acceptable under the rules, though. So I decided to draw something new.
An original Hulk cover by Jim Steranko that served as inspiration. I mean, come on, green and purple
calls
out for the Hulk!
Step 1: My sketch based on Jim Steranko's cover.
Step 2: Adding shading to the outlines.
Step 3: I decided to abort the drawing and start over with an different one.
I started out in Deluxe Paint on the A500mini, then switched to Pixen on the iPad. I ended up drawing a happy little dog leaning toward a butterfly, doing my best to wrestle something pleasant out of that difficult palette. I decided to go for a cute picture and not a brutal one. I submitted it and hoped for the best.
Step 1: The original sketch.
Step 2: Refining the outlines and the linework.
Step 3: This was the finished drawing I submitted: "A Dog Forever Frolicking".
That evening, I also witnessed my first Shader Showdown. This is a live coding battle where two coders sit on stage, their screens projected live, coding visuals under time pressure with loud music blasting. The audience votes for the winner. It was nerve-wracking just to watch; the skill and confidence required were incredible.
The Shader Showdown is probably the hardest competition. Coding in front of a crowd and under time
pressure.
Amigaaaaa!
This was also the first time I directly encountered the still wonderfully alive Amiga scene. I knew about it, of course, from research, from archives, from videos. But seeing it in person was something else entirely.
It was honestly amazing to witness how a computer that had its heyday nearly forty years ago could still inspire such passion. The Amiga wasn't treated as a nostalgic curiosity or a museum piece. It was alive: running demos, creating graphics, driving music, sparking discussions. People cared deeply, argued lovingly about details, and showed genuine excitement when something new appeared on screen.
And then there was the chanting.
For the first time in my life, I heard a whole crowd of Amiga fans shout "Amigaaaaa!" at the top of their lungs. A mix of pride, humor, and pure scene energy. It was joyful and completely infectious. Of course they knew that they were being slightly ridiculous too.
I loved it.
I went back to the hotel that night, happy and overwhelmed. Many others stayed to party all night or slept in the neighboring skating hall, which had been opened for sleeping bags, mattresses, and even small tents. I made a mental note to maybe try that option in the future.
So happy to be at my first demoparty: Evoke 2022.
Saturday: The Main Event
Saturday started with seminars upstairs. One about diskmags was held by ConspiracyHu, a demoscene veteran and quite a celebrity. He explained how to salvage them from original media and formats and preserve them for modern archives. I love diskmags, and this talk was an absolute highlight.
Here's the recording of ConspiracyHu's talk about disk mag preservation.
Another seminar covered the Art of Coding initiative, which aims to have the demoscene recognized as digital cultural heritage. Germany had already acknowledged it, with more countries to follow, and the long-term goal is UNESCO recognition. The dedication behind this effort was inspiring.
Kudrix presenting about the Art of Coding initiative at Evoke 2022.
The rest of the day was a quite a good mix of talking to people, watching competition entries, voting, drinking Club-Mate (and later beer), and just hanging out. When my little graphic appeared on the big screen during the oldschool graphics compo, I felt a genuine moment of pride. I knew I wouldn't place highly. Yet for a first demoparty, it felt pretty damn good.
Watching the competition entries on the big screen together.
Sunday: Cool Winnings and the Song That Wouldn't Leave My Head
Sunday brought the prizegiving ceremony, where winners from all competitions were announced and invited on stage. It was quite moving actually to see people receive recognition for their work. They often got it from groups and individuals who had been active in the scene for decades.
Some of the standout winners at Evoke 2022 included:
- PC Demo: Return by Calodox and Rebels, a polished and confident production that impressed with atmosphere and flow.
- 4k Intro: Stahlbeton by LJ and Virgill, a tiny production with big ideas.
- Alternative Platform: Area 5150 by CRTC & Hornet, proving once again how much life there still is in classic PC hardware. This was my favorite demo at Evoke!
- Freestyle Graphics: Feeding Time by Oni / Poo-Brain, a striking and memorable 3D render of a dungeon scene.
- Pixel Graphics:s Acid Times by Elko / Tristar and Red Sector Inc. This showed me how the palette could be used effectively.
You can find all the competitionsresults on the Evoke 2022 page on Demozoo.
The amazing demo Area 5150 participated in the Alternative Platforms competition. It was simply wonderful. It ran on an orginal MS-DOS PC compatitible with a CGA graphics card. It not only coerced the good ole CGA card to produce graphics that looked more suited for an EGA or even a VGA graphics card, but also choreographed the reveals in a suspensefule and playful way. It was a technical miracle and a lot of fun!"
And then there was the music competition.
Among all the tracked and streamed music entries, one piece stood out in a very unexpected way: Echolot by Bienenhalm & Halmenbiene. It was a lovingly crafted, tongue-in-cheek piece of Deutscher Schlager. Stylistically it hovered somewhere between Florian Silbereisen and Modern Talking.
I must admit that this is absolutely not my usual genre. But it was catchy, strange, well-produced. It totally stuck with me. I caught myself humming it later. Of course it also annoyed me slightly. I think it worked. Please give it a listen, it's bonkers!
By early afternoon, the event slowly came to an end. The organizers thanked the volunteers, participants, and everyone working behind the scenes. I'm not entirely sure about the final attendance numbers, but it must have been around 350 people.
Looking forward to the next Evoke in 2023!
What It Meant to Me
Evoke 2022 was a wonderful, enriching experience. I adored it. More than that... I knew I had found something in my life. A place that fit my interests, my way of thinking, my love for creative technology and odd cultural niches. A place full of smart, friendly, passionate people.
I loved it. And I knew this was only the beginning.
Now that I knew how a demoparty works and what to expect, I'd be prepared for my next one. I'm looking forward to it!
While I was in Cologne, I also visited the Chocolate Museum. Because, why not?
And of course, I had to have some Currywurst while in Germany.