Alternative Party
Encyclopedia
Demoscene
The demoscene is a computer art subculture that specializes in producing demos, which are non-interactive audio-visual presentations that run in real-time on a computer...
and art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
event in Finland. It was first organized in 1998 in Turku
Turku
Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...
and since 2000 in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
. The event is organized by Alternative Party ry, a non-profit association.
Alternative Party is one of the largest demo parties in Finland. The aim of the event is to encourage artists (both demoscene and traditional arts) to creativity and new perspectives – regardless of the used equipment. The event is known for its peculiar competitions. The main focus has traditionally mean on less common computers, although PCs are currently accepted as well.
The competitions — except for the main demo competition — tend to change every year as an extra challenge. There is also a traditional concert on the first evening, featuring artists of demoscene background playing live music.
The seventh Alternative Party was held on 2-4 November 2007 in Helsinki. Speakers included Al Lowe
Al Lowe
Al Lowe is an American musician and game designer/programmer who developed several adventure games, mostly for Sierra On-Line. He is best known for his creation of Leisure Suit Larry and the long-running series it spawned....
, creator of the legendary Leisure Suit Larry
Leisure Suit Larry
Leisure Suit Larry is a series of adventure games written by Al Lowe and published by Sierra from 1987 to 2009. The main character, whose full name is Larry Laffer, is a balding, dorky, double entendre-speaking, leisure suit-wearing "loser" in his 40s...
series of games.
The Alternative Party held on 24-26 October 2008 in Helsinki was the first time that one of the big pioneers of industrial music, Front 242
Front 242
Front 242 is a pioneering Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. They are known for being the premier pioneer of electronic body music and as a major influence on the electronic and industrial music genres.-Formation:...
, played for a Finnish audience. The special guest of honour was Brad Templeton
Brad Templeton
Brad Templeton is a software architect, civil rights advocate and entrepreneur. He graduated from the University of Waterloo....
, founder of ClariNet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
and, from 2008, chairman of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is an international non-profit digital rights advocacy and legal organization based in the United States...
.
Cyberpunk themed Alt Party 2009 was held on 23-25 October 2009 at Cable Factory (Kaapelitehdas
Kaapelitehdas
Kaapelitehdas is a famous building in Ruoholahti, Helsinki, near the bridge to Lauttasaari....
), Helsinki.
Notable special guests
- 2002: Robert J. MicalRobert J. MicalRobert J. "RJ" Mical was a pioneer in the video game industry and still an influential figure. He created video games at Williams Electronics, helped invent the Amiga computer, co-invented the Atari Lynx and the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer with Dave Needle. He was a central developer of Amiga's...
- 2003: Jeff MinterJeff MinterJeff 'Yak' Minter is a British computer/video game designer and programmer. He is the founder of software house Llamasoft and his recent works include Neon , a non-game music visualization program that has been built into the Xbox 360 console, and the video games Space Giraffe , and Space Invaders...
- 2004: Jyrki KasviJyrki KasviJyrki Jouko Juhani Kasvi is a Finnish politician. He has been a member of the Finnish Parliament, representing the Green League. In the Parliament he was most active in the Committee for the Future, which he represented in the European Parliamentary Technology Assessment network , related to...
- 2007: Al LoweAl LoweAl Lowe is an American musician and game designer/programmer who developed several adventure games, mostly for Sierra On-Line. He is best known for his creation of Leisure Suit Larry and the long-running series it spawned....
- 2008: Front 242Front 242Front 242 is a pioneering Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. They are known for being the premier pioneer of electronic body music and as a major influence on the electronic and industrial music genres.-Formation:...
, Brad TempletonBrad TempletonBrad Templeton is a software architect, civil rights advocate and entrepreneur. He graduated from the University of Waterloo.... - 2009: Dope Stars Inc.Dope Stars Inc.Dope Stars Inc. is an alternative and industrial rock band formed in Rome, Italy in late 2002, though the band was not officially formed until 2003. The band was founded by Victor Love, Darin Yevonde, Grace Khold and Brian Wolfram. They have four albums and three EPs released, with the latest being...
, Jeri EllsworthJeri EllsworthJeri Ellsworth is an American entrepreneur and self-taught computer chip designer. She is best known for creating a Commodore 64 emulator within a joystick, in 2004, called Commodore 30-in-1 Direct to TV...
, Sophie WilsonSophie WilsonSophie Wilson is a British computer scientist. She is known for designing the Acorn Micro-Computer, the first of a long line of computers sold by Acorn Computers Ltd, as well as the instruction set of the highly successful ARM processor.- Life and career :... - 2010: Casey PughStar Wars UncutStar Wars Uncut is a 2010 fan film remake of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. It is a shot-for-shot recreation of the original film made from 473 fifteen-second segments created and submitted from a variety of participants. The full film was made available on the Internet in August 2010 and may be...
, Sini Merikallio, JP Metsävainio