The Mini Awards (September 2009)
Hosted by Jonatan "Macx" ForsbergLast time I asked for people to send in those releases they believed worthy a comment in this beauty of an opinionated chapter. As usually the feeble minds of isolated tiny brained sceners are not able to pick arse from ace; why my inbox has been littered with an onslaught of spam. Such is the life of a leader. One may have the intention to delegate, but is left with full responsibility. It is chilly here at the top, but I am staying strong, wading through tonnes of garbage to sort out what is honourable enough to be mentioned in the Mini Awards.
As we already know, the smaller executions are often those with more flavour. But they are left behind and are seldom given appropriate attention. When the party is over the lonely nerd in front of the blue screen is happy to tune into the emotions emanating from a one file demo. Such is the beauty of the small, bigger is seldom better. That is why in this corner of the universe, which already has grown awfully big, less is more.
Richard Bayliss has left the introductory years of being ragged upon and has learned the hard Commodore scene life through the path we all have had to walk. In "Anonymous Downvoter", released at En MaZZA Data 4 he gives us not only a good tune, but also a scroller and some chunky bits of programming. Is this porn British?The tunnels of joy at en MazZA g03s 2 RaMBo this spring were no others than those in the brilliant game "DwCave" (popularly known as Spermkanale). Asshat and Grydekoder released a small production with some deep vibrations. When having run a while "4K Ninja" comes with a secret part - ?undef'd statement error in 40 - a winner of sorts.
"Wakendorf II Gaming Nr 11" is where it happened in late August it seems. This is the party scroller and I wonder if they watched the recent Quentin Tarantino flick amidst the data activities there. Not that it is mentioned anywhere in any way.
Take the blue pill or take the red. That is a topic already mentioned in the last edition of the Mini Awards, but since then it has been well elaborated by a few Finnish thinkers in "Psykoz Bluez 2009A/H1N1". Nice audio programming as well.
Jan Harries, earlier known under the handle Rambones, has gone from releasing staggering steps of comeback pulp (this man was active already in the mid 80s) the past years, into producing sounds of hardcore (pun intended). The first of the two most recent tunes are that one in "Forever a C64 Child", which was released on September 7th, and is an old skool odyssey paying homage to Galway and Hubbard. The difference from the youngsters of today is that this man with a decent waist measurement is an original, not an emulation. The next little demo entirely produced by Mr Harries of SIDwave is "Relativity" which came on September 13th. With it he shows that he not only has the capabilities of generating sounds out of the SID chip, but that he is on his way of mastering other good skills necessary to run a one-man-show on this platform of ours. Jan Harries has yet to understand that a good production comes with a scroll text, but that is hitherto my only critique. A further may come if the old man lacks the skills of writing those scrolling texts on a level to match his artistry perhaps that is why he avoids them.
This is what greasy nerds live for - beautiful Swedish ladies necking each other behind bouncing balls and a happy SID of flowers in bloom. The title is to reinforce the smudge, "Fisting Friday". It was released at GREP Green 2009, where also "Bits 1001" saw daylight. The latter one is much better pr0n, and I deny that it has got anything to do with some sort of prudence from my part.
Zerozillian of Gheymaid Inc released the one pager "First Night Together" which is where David Hasselhoff is shagging a babe towards K.I.T.T's radiator. Or is he actually doing it with the well equipped car itself? Another piece of perverse wickedness from the scene. The music, however, is in good order.
"Dungeonscroller" which was released at the C64 Revival Party 6 at Devia's place on the island of Als is very similar to the "Wakendorf II Gaming Nr 11"-partyscroller. In concept and in stature. I wonder why. It makes a good read on a lonely night though.
If you like programming bugs, loading screens and decrunching/depacking effects you are going to love "Put on your Goggles" by Linde released on August 10th. It is all well synced to the ace tune. Apparently inspired by "glitchNES" which can be leeched from No-Carrier (I seriously question if that latter guy ever called the American boards with phreaked CCs though).
Poland is back, Artstate released "Industrial Dawn"!
Jammer, Surgeon and Raf released "Lamerush Glue" at Forever. Poland invades Slovakia.
Algotech of Algorithm in "Algodancer". You get it, this guy likes algo. The Spanish reason for something is well put in this small production. A well shaped lady (without the teenage boy ass syndrome - actually a real woman) is dancing in front of different effects. I am most impressed by the interference. Released today, on September 13th.
"F64N-P" is on a disk I got from Germany. And it is all in German, except the bouncing sprites saying FORUM=64. Did those tribes really keep the Roman Empire at bay?
Vision has been less active this time than prior to the fiftieth edition of this analogue and digital fanzine, as then they were almost honoured by receiving the Mini Award. Just in time for the deadline of this round, "Weeee!" was released, and the people on the online fora were stunned. It seemingly merely takes a whistle from these folk. For the uninformed, wee is a word popular in Scotland stemming from Old English, meaning very small or tiny. Here it is used with a different intention though, as an expression of joy popular amongst C64 sceners, especially in the IRC context.
Darth Plagueis has stirred up a lot of the North-American style that I fancy recently. First he released "Quest-of-the" as a parting gift to the group Avatar, then he got a love letter from Forces of Evil entitled "Welcome Darth Plagueis" (work by The Phantom), and as if that was not enough he released "Happy Birthday The Phantom" in July. Small productions, screens of affection, the American way of Commodore demo making. It is what I crave. I need to start planning the three month road trip on the continent with Jazzcat. Stay true to the skool!
Perhaps some would argue that "Manx" from Fatzone is too big a demo to appear in the Mini Awards. But then those people lack the experience to appreciate the data soul of c64 love which is very well put in this mega demo. It is still small, which is a necessary feature for a verdict in this chapter. I am glad my lines of reasoning in this meta discussion need not to be clear. The title of this demo from the underground of Vastra Gotaland County has got nothing to do with the Manx Pound Sterling, currency of Isle of Man.
The invitation demo "Syntax Party 2009" by A Life in Hell is the last production to mention in the Mini Awards of this issue. May the Oz scene rise from the (literal) ashes and receive enough nutrients to live long and prosper. Perhaps TSR, System, Tide and Chrome will return, and maybe one should make a phone call or two.
I lack quality scroll texts with greetings and personal messages. Other than that I am pretty satisfied this time around, thanks to well ground dark roasted coffee beans rather than anything else though. The winner of the Mini Award in VN#51 is Jan Harries, for impressive explorations and data motivation in his fields of expertise. The decision cannot be appealed. All power to me!
If you produce something worthy of being included in a future chapter of the Mini Awards, drop me a line with it, and tell me your most inner thoughts about the release. If you do not suck (in a bad way) you know how to get a hold of me.
In this corner of the universe, which already has grown awfully big, less is more.