Competitions

General Rules

• Don't be an idiot.
• Don't break any UK laws, respect copyright law and don't cheat.
• Remote entries are allowed in any compo. We are happy to receive them at [email protected].
• Technical details, formats and platforms for entries will be made visible on the beamer before they are shown. Please share this in your submission!
• You must provide High Quality Video Captures for all non-PC entries. If this is not possible, please contact the compo team as early as possible.
• If you feel that your entry for any unlisted platform shouldn't be run in the Wild competition, please get in touch with the compo team as soon as possible.
• The compo team has the final word on things. We are reasonable people though, so we will do our best to be of help!
• Competitions can be consolidated or cancelled at the compo team's discretion.
• The Compo team aims to have all releases uploaded to the Scene.org archives soon after the event is over. Here's how you can help:
  • Submit your entry with its related files and information in a single archive.
  • Use a descriptive naming scheme! author - release name.zip is easy to identify, Copy of Archive (29).zip is not.

Competition machine

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7800X3D
• RAM: 64 GB DDR5
• Graphics: NVIDIA RTX 3080 10 GB
• OS: Windows 11 Pro 23H2 and Windows 10 22H2
• Linux available on request

Hardware and software configuration are subject to change by the compo team at their discretion.

PC Competitions

• We officially support entries for Windows and Linux. We also accept Mac entries, but please bring your own hardware.
• We also welcome realtime web browser entries. We'll have the latest versions of Chrome and Firefox installed. Please specify the preferred browser to run your entry with.

New School Demo

• For PC based productions that are larger than 64k.
• If there are less than 3 entries in the competition, it will be merged with New School Intro.

New School Intro

• For PC based productions that are 64k (65536 bytes) or smaller.
• Please ensure your beam slide states the size limitation.
• If there are less than 3 entries in the competition, it will be merged with New School Demo.

Old School Demo

• Productions for any old school platforms, C64, Amiga, BBC, consoles etc.
• Intros and demos will be mixed, please ensure your beam slide states it if is a demo or size restricted production.
• Maximum playtime for all entries is 10 minutes.

Tiny Intro

• For productions that take up to 256 bytes on oldschool, newschool and fantasy platforms.
• We will split the Tiny Intro competition into separate 128 and 256 byte competitions if we we receive enough entries for both size discplines.
• Please supply us with specific hardware and instructions on how to run your entry. Quality video captures and "compatible" binaries are highly appreciated.
• Maximum running time for entries shown on screen is 5 minutes -including loading times.

Music Competitions

• Original works only; remixes, covers, and previously released songs are not allowed.
• Maximum playtime for all entries is 4 minutes. Longer entries will be faded out.

Streaming Music

• Songs will be played for four minutes and faded out after this point.
• The entry has to be delivered as a single MP3, Vorbis, Opus or FLAC file.
• Please remember to use ID3 tags or equivalent information tagging to describe your entry.

Old School Music

• Music made for obsolete machines, this includes computers and consoles from 8 and 16 bit era as well as tracked music formats MOD, IT and XM.
• The platform will be displayed on the big screen so our party goes know the difference.
• Maximum file size: 2MB (2097152 bytes).
• Entries will be video pre-recorded where possible. Please state the tracker / player you want your capture to be taken from and any audio settings required for playback. Ensure your entry is not late to avoid disappointment.

Executable Music

• Executable file size must be 32kb (32768 bytes) or smaller and runnable from Windows.
• The executable must have a WAV Writer option or be accompanied with a second executable which produces a WAV file.

Graphics Competitions

• Original works only, use of AI is prohibited.
• The maximum image resolution is 1920×1080 pixels.
• All entries will be shown using the original aspect ratio (i.e. 4:3 or 16:10 images will be letterboxed, not stretched). The stream will be 16:9 aspect ratio.

4K Executable Graphics

• Maximum size is 4096 bytes.
• Entries will be run on the competition PC, any files in the archive other than the compo executable will be deleted before showing the entry in the competition.
• Maximum rendering time: 30 seconds (from starting the executable to the final image being displayed).
• Animation and sound are not allowed. Entries must start with a blank screen (solid colour, typically black) and switch to the final image as soon as it is ready. Fade-in effects or incremental rendering count as animation!
• Please include a full-res screenshot in PNG format

ASCII / ANSI

• Animation is not allowed.
• The viewer Sahli will be used during the compo, please check your entry looks correct.
• Please include a bitmapped copy in PNG format.

Photography

• You have to be the creator of the photo entered.
• Retouching and collages are allowed but you must state this with your entry.
• If submitting a collage, please provide a PNG or JPG images of the original unmodified photo(s).
• Please deliver your image in PNG or JPG format

Old School Graphics

• Graphics created on any old school platform (C64, Atari, Amiga, Spectrum etc.).
• Please include at least 4 work stage images.
• Please include the tool used on your submission so we can check the working stages. If that is not possible for some reason, contact us on the party.
• All formats/modes are allowed. Please specify which mode you use, it will be displayed on the beam slide before the entry.

New School Graphics

• Anything goes, rendering, pixelling etc.
• Please include at least 4 work stage images.
• You may include a hi res version of your final picture.
• Please deliver your image in PNG or JPG format.

Teletext

• Entries can be made using the fantastic site edit.tf.
• Submit the saved link of your Teletext image.
• Please include a bitmapped copy in PNG format.

Wild

• For productions on strange new platforms, videos, animations, poetry, interpretive dance, etc.
• A video for the production should be provided where possible, obviously poetry is exempt from this.
• Maximum running time for entries shown on screen / stage is 5 minutes.

Shader Showdown

• Competition is no longer open for entry as our participants are confirmed.
  Friday night knockout heat will consist of two rounds at 20 minutes.
• The winners of the heats will then go head to head in the Saturday night final for 25 minutes.
• Participants will be using Bonzomatic