October 12-13, Carnegie Mellon University campus, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

What is Demosplash?

Demosplash is a computer art festival in the spirit of the demoscene, going into greater depth on the artistic and technical skills of the demoscene through a thorough screening of classic demos and an exhibition of the large collection of retro and relatively modern computers used for the screenings.

There will be demos

Demos are real-time graphics and music programs that show off a programmer's skills and push the limits of the hardware. These will be shown as much as possible on real hardware, retro and modern, using a collection amassed by the CMU Computer Club and a local collector. We can't be sure, but we think that this is one of the the most complete collections of functioning hardware actively used for this purpose in the United States, offering a rare opportunity for native demo execution.

This isn't a typical demoparty

Usually at such events, demos are submitted for exhibitions and judging. This doesn't seem to work too well in the US — Americans just don't write many demos. But, that doesn't mean we can't appreciate the amazing work of those who do! So, come and enjoy a thorough exhibition of classic and modern demos across many platforms and all of the popular categories. Think of it in large part as a demo-watching party. However, graphics, music, and general demo submission categories *are* available (details here) for anyone wishing to submit a new creation, and prizes will be awarded. Remote entries will be accepted, and we'll make some effort to mail any prizes to you.

Watch here for updates

Event details and schedules are now available. These will be updated as more events are added.

Some new twists for this year:

Larger-scale retro gaming session with most of the famous home computers and consoles
Audience ranking of classic and modern demos to see how much nostalgia competes with modern 3D