diemers.net proudly presents an exclusive interview with Dr. Science of Atlantis and Pat Boon of the CFA
How do you rate this year´s scene party in the Netherlands? A fat slab of sizzling Spare Ribs or smelly old Herring in a soaky sleeping bag?
Pat: Think a big, fat rack of spicy sizzling Dutch spare ribs. The X-2014 is without any doubts the flagship event of the C64 scene. Since its first edition many years ago it keeps growing with currently about 300 visitors from all over the world. I was probably one of the few first time visitors.
Doc: Oh boy, X-2014 was a blast! The only C64 Demoparty in Europe with such a large show of force. Meeting legends like Bob/Censor, Reyn Ouwehand, Guy Shavitt, HCL and Dane/Booze and and and… the list could go on and on… And did I already mention the beer which is included in the entrance fee? 3 days of free beer and lots of C64. What do you want more?
What about the demo competition? Rock & Roll or Modern Talking?
Pat: Absolutely amazing stuff. Any group that participated deserves my deepest respect. Check out YouTube and search for X-2014.
Doc: The Compos this year were amazing! The standard has risen to an extremely high level! The demos from the compo were mind blasting. And believe me if I say that no PC demo this year can hold up with what has been presented at X-2014! In terms of storyline, effects, coding, graphics, music but also in terms of creativity, there is not much out there than can compete with this! We are talking about shadow-scrollers, rotating rasters (!), fractals, dancing 3D figures and and and…
Pat: that´s true, Doc! The stuff that we saw there was absolutely amazing! Definitely Rock and Roll
Doc: And you know: all of this presented in such a nice way, this is truly a “DEMONSTRATION” ! With runtimes of 13 minutes (uncensored/booze), 18 minutes (rgb/fairlight+offence+
Comparing to the buzz of the legendary parties in the 80`ies and early 90´ies? White-haired veterans swapping Aspirins and bottled water for rusty & dusty stories or the Next Gen taking 8-bit to the next level?
Doc: This is the lovely part of this party. You meet a lot of people with different backgrounds. All are grown up by now, the spirit is much more friendly than back in the days.Today it is normal to have a chat with everyone, regardless of group or function. There is much more friendly competition compared to the old days. Back in the 80’ies competition was tougher. It was about winning, it was about showing who is the best and it was about letting others down! This has (thankfully!) gone. It is really a bunch of freaks (more or less) meeting and sharing fun, beer, old stories and even some code!
Pat: Yeah, Doc is spot on! It was a cracking party with one fine difference – no fights. There was a real family like feeling among all participants and anyone who participated was made to feel welcome. And hey, we all partied hard rock style! No boring cocktail reception like bullshit. Forget Aspirins and bottled water!
And finally: Social media coverage was a bit ´spirit of 8-bit´ – did you like it that way or would you wish to see more 21st century features? Maybe a Wifi to start with?
Pat: It was absolutely fine that way. Initially I felt slightly irritated that there was no Internet connectivity. You know, for me that´s my daily fix. But after a while I understood: it was to avoid any distractions.
Doc: Awesome, we are talking about a 30 year old computer – just this fact is already amazing! We have internet and social media every day all around us. So, having a party without internet (yes, there was no internet at the party!) is the way we like it: old school! This is one of the little moments you can share with your scene friends without having to use email, facebook or whatever. Even Pat Boon, who´s a big shot on Twitter, was offline for a few hours! It is truly the spirit to just have a beer – face to face – and chat about this and that!
And finally II: What was your personal highlight of X-2014?
Doc: There were a lot of highlights! Talking to people like PAL, Bob, Dane, Guy Shavit and many more, was great! The Compo was fantastic! Did I already mention the free beer 😉 ?
Also meeting my pals from Atlantis+F4CG in real life was great! Of course also some Swiss legends were at the party, like Freestyle/Illusion and Pat Boon/CFA!
Pat: Thanks Doc for the cred`s, but of course the Swiss X-2014 delegation wouldn´t have been complete without the legendary Dr. Science! For me, the whole event was one big highlight. But if I have to name one thing, I say it was the competitions – so much creativity in one place, it was simply astonishing. Right, Doc?
Doc: Absolutely, fully agree. Great job everyone! Be sure we will be back!
And finally III: the local scene is waiting with great anticipation the next Swiss Pirates Reunion. Any updates on this?
Doc: Haha, nice try! Of course we wouldn´t drop the bomb right here and now, wouldn´t we Pat?
Pat: Forget it! We´ll do that in due course when everything is set up and ready.
Doc: For now only this: prepare for Reunion 2015! We will be back! Start pixeling some nice logos, composing great tunes and coding some hot parts! We will take care of the rest 🙂 (Yes, there will also be beer!!!)
Pat: …and I can just add one final rumour: some people heard from some other people that some people are running around and claiming that there will be a final – I repeat: FINAL –release of the Immortal Flash at that next Reunion.
That´s awesome, well the immortal flash has been announced final and dead already a dozen times over the past 20+ years, if my random access memory serves me right. It will surely survive yet another “final” release. That´s why it´s the Immortal Flash!
Doc: Haha, well said! Let´s see…
Alright, thank you guys for showing up and giving this interview on such a short notice and keep the 1541´s spinning!