Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ubvax!ardent!rap
From: rap@ardent.UUCP (Rob Peck)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: BADGE contest suggestions
Summary: only Amiga...
Message-ID: <711@ardent.UUCP>
Date: 14 Nov 88 18:28:33 GMT
References: <5299@louie.udel.EDU> <8653@gryphon.COM>
Organization: Dana Computer, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA
Lines: 55

In article <8653@gryphon.COM>, keithd@gryphon.COM (Keith Doyle) writes:
> 
> I know we are talking about the Bay Area *Developers* GroupE (or whatever 
> the acronym stands for), but I'd like to see a contest that's a little
> more for everybody.  You really don't have to be a *developer* to create a
> killer demo.

I agree with most of Keith's posting in that the contest should be encouraging
wide participation, but something that guru's either on exit or on running
several times in a row because it did not free up some resources would do
the Amiga not much good in the long run.  After all, the dealers and users
who are going to be running the demos may not know much about the machine
in the first place and would not be impressed if the guru attacked.

What I WOULD like to see in future demos though is a concentration
on Amiga specifics.  Yes, we have nice animation software available
now, and IFF standards, and color fonts.  But when things are put together,
and the end result is shown, how easy is it for someone else with a
different machine to duplicate that effort?   There are things that
at least NOW, only can be done on the Amiga and a demo or set of demos
that show those things should get attention and wide distribution.
After all, if all we show are things that ANY computer can do, why
should someone want to buy the Amiga, given a larger software base
for the others, wider dealer networks, less expensive peripherals
and a multiplicity of magazines by comparison.

BADGE now DOES separate the categories into Custom demos and tool-based
demos and that satisfies part of my desires here.  But even the custom
demos did not necessarily concentrate on Amiga specifics.  I would just
like to see more of that in the future.  Like using 16 color sprites,
using dual-playfield mode, demonstrating disk activity, sprites, graphics
and sound simultaneously --- after all, there ARE 20-some-odd DMA channels
available, all can work at the same time while hardly slowing down the
68000, AND the multi-tasking aspect can be emphasized right along with
the other stuff.  Show a 16-color low res screen, bring up sound in all
4 channels, bounce 4 16-color sprites around the screen, reusing them
several times onscreen thanks to the COPPER instructions, use the blitter
do shuffle windows around like a deck of cards and then load a few picture
files from the disk.  To paraphrase Mr. Bush "watch my DISK, without further 
taxing of the 68000 ... everything is still running full tilt, even
though I am loading and saving to disk".  Or bring up a dual playfield
display and do interesting things with it... things that make it obvious
that it IS dual playfield.  Seems what I saw "someone" do recently with
what one might call scrollable-superbitmap-screens would be quite effective.

I will enter the contest again next year, and will most likley follow my
own personal guidelines.  The slogan "only Amiga" means a lot to me and
the BADGE contest is one of those places where this sort of thing should
make a difference.  If our efforts can be easily ripped off (witness the
Juggler port to certain competitive machines, where WE know the difference
in the quality of the display, but unless they are side by side, the
innocent possible-purchaser may not perceive any difference), we contestants
not done Amiga much good.  Nuff said.  Personal opinion, take it as you will.

Rob Peck