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grennouille
Registered: Jul 2008
Posts: 222 |
Just for curiosity
I wonder ... How do your families/friends consider your c64 love?
Personnaly I have 3 children and a girlfriend who see me like I'm an E.T. sometimes... My youngest son who is 5 years old sometime enjoys playing some of the 64 games but it don't take very long before he goes back to is Nintendo DS...
Sometimes, when a new flashy demo comes out here, I play it in Vice Full screen with speakers up and ask my girlfriend "Look ! Look ! Awesome what a 1mhz 64k computer can do! These coders are awesome! Don't you think? She replies : Of course.. Of course...
Do the people you love see you like an E.T. sometimes too?
Just curious and jobs boring so... |
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Fredrik
Account closed
Registered: Apr 2009
Posts: 204 |
The children of today dont see the greatness about the Commodore 64.
And thats sad.
But perhaps it is too nostalgic for us. They just see it as a unmodern computer.
But the games WHERE better in those days (64-games)
Not in grafics, but all the other things.
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Steppe
Registered: Jan 2002
Posts: 1510 |
Yeah, had a tough time "defending" that hobby against my wife. She used to ask me stuff like "honey, are these noises really music in your ears?" and I went like "WTF! %&&%$!! This is Jeroen Tel's Cybernoid, how can anybody on earth NOT recognize this as music!". It's debatable one has to like it or not, but hell, it's just minimalistic electronic music. If you've been into U2 style music all your life this can be hard to grasp...
Nowadays she halfway accepted it, just like you accept something you can't do anything about anyway. Like headache. Or herpes. Oh well, what can I do, at least she's accepted it meanwhile as a normal, yet odd kind of hobby that makes annoying noises. :-)
Most of my friends know that I've got "that old Commodore computer" set up permanently next to my PC. But unless they ask what it's about I just say "yeah, that's my C64. I'm using it now and then, having a spliffy, watching a demo, listening to the old music, stuff like that."
Life's hard being a Commodore geek. :-/ |
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grennouille
Registered: Jul 2008
Posts: 222 |
You bet! |
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SIDWAVE
Account closed
Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 2238 |
All my friends are C64 owners too, and i have no wife, so all in all, its going nerdy here as since 1985 with no changes at all :D |
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chatGPZ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11296 |
20 years ago (wtf, i am old :/) i told my gf: 1st my friends 2nd my c64 3rd you - no problem ever since =P |
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Frantic
Registered: Mar 2003
Posts: 1641 |
Best thread so far! Also known as "How to be a nerd - and live with it!" :) |
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chatGPZ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11296 |
oh and - i dont have friends that aren't, or atleast were, c64 owners either (and most of them are, or were, sceners). what could they possibly be worth anyway? =P |
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Frantic
Registered: Mar 2003
Posts: 1641 |
@Groepaz: First I thought, regarding your previous post: "haha.. what a nerd". ...and then I realized that it is at least almost true for me too. :) At least if "friends" means people that you actually hang out with on a somewhat frequent basis. |
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Ed
Registered: May 2004
Posts: 173 |
There is always one group of people telling me that the demos suck, that only a handful of the releases (generally more towards design, rather than code, dragons and stuff) look good. They are telling me basically that the C64 is not much cooler than their thrown away Nokia phone and that there is something oddly disturbing with people still using it.
This particular view have been very fruitful in deconstructing the scene and trying to interpret demos in another way (I wont say new or fresh, as this was what me and Joe did around early 2000s with Vandalism News and it is now nearly ten years later.) The same people saying this often don't find it strange buying the latest Disney movie or Sony Ericsson telephone with lots and lots of farting melodies and bleepy themes. There are exceptions to the rule of course.
Then there is always the other group of people that actually can see creativity for what it is and that there are some attributing values that keeps us here, with some more or less successful output. They take admire in the hard work we do such as for instance the struggle of making small effects on our platform which would have been far easier to produce in web-based environments. Nerdy or not.
Personally I use different computers every day, the one in the cell-phone, the one working while I write this, the one handling my money over the counter, etc. The whole notion of love of one single machine is perhaps a little bit simplifying the matter, just as it is pretty obvious there will be no simple answer to such a question you put, grennouille.
But no, I don't think I share your E.T Experience nowadays, but if you had asked me some 20 years ago, I would have said yes. :)
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chatGPZ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11296 |
Quote:At least if "friends" means people that you actually hang out with on a somewhat frequent basis.
ofcourse. i also have a very strict/narrow idea of who qualifies as "friend", and few people actually do that. (in psychology they say that if you think you have 20 or more friends, then you probably have none at all) |
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NecroPolo
Registered: Jun 2009
Posts: 231 |
Funny thread :)
With relatives I don't have any problems with that, I'm lucky. Some good old friends still have their C64 too, and they seem to appreciate that I restarted my SID engines after a long pause.
My family and my lady... They have been picturing me like that, from the start: sitting before a computer and making something loud and heavy :) Besides, I pay much attention on disturbing others as little as possible. Back in the time before I started the studio I even mixed demos during the night at home, with family sleeping and no one had any problems with that.
The guys who think I totally lost my mind are some of the members of the young bands I work with (minus one decade) :) Some of them are fans of what I did in the last decade in the metal scene, or respect of what I did. It is hilarious to see the reactions of them sometimes, like that:
"hey Mikk what is that icon down there?"
"C64 emulator, that is."
"...whaaa...?"
"I started composing music with that 20 years ago."
"Fuck haha... Er... You REALLY must be kidding. You're a guitarist"
"Before that."
"Fuck no haha. C'mon show me somethnig, man!"
(load GMC, load tune, hit f1)
"...AHAahahahahaHAHAHAHAHHA you really musit be kidding ahahahah what a cling-kong phone tune ahahahaha... aha..., ha...! A...?!? Fuck wait!!!! Isn't that the song from...?"
"Yes it is."
"FUCK I was grown up on that shit in the '90s! But wasn't that a metal song of you...?"
"Years later it became that. This is the original form, from 1992. Everything started there."
"WOW... Fuuuuuuuuuuuu... Is that really made of all numbers and stuff? Woooo..."
I've always had an underground attitude so when even an underground metalhead considers my stuff to be underground that makes me happy :) |
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Hate Bush
Registered: Jul 2002
Posts: 460 |
none of my close friends are/were c64 owners. i don't have a problem explaining the c64 scene activity to them, though. perhaps that's because they're all involved in sorts of nonprofit and absurd creativity. |
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hevosenliha
Registered: Sep 2008
Posts: 48 |
I think this is very comparable to (for just an example) black/white photos...
"You know, color photos has been around for ages"
Still there are people who like black/white better for one or another reason.
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SIDWAVE
Account closed
Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 2238 |
What is 'absurd creativity' ? |
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Death Merchant
Account closed
Registered: Apr 2004
Posts: 13 |
Even though all my friends are artists and musicians, none of them seem to understand demos. The most hilarious response was, "What's the point?" Even though my girlfriend went to school for video and appreciates experimental and abstract video work, she just rolls her eyes when I show her something. The only people who show much interest are various musicians who see the SID chip as something to be exploited...which is great...but they too don't see "the point" of demos. |
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MagerValp
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 1065 |
Well the artistic value of a lot of demos is near zero. The demo scene really has its own values, and they don't mean a lot to outsiders. |
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chatGPZ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11296 |
s/alot/most/ :)
and who cares wether they see the point. i dont see the point in running after and kicking a ball either :o) |
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FATFrost
Account closed
Registered: Sep 2003
Posts: 211 |
i don't think the artistic value is zero, how can you say that!? some of the artwork within the c64 scene is on a par with anything else painted on a canvas, it take just as much work to produce pixel art as traditional works.
but the main point i want to make is that c64 demo's will always be amazing, to the person who is interested in them, you cannot force a person to like something such as a demo, the person has to become interested in their own way and that is why we all like them and people outside think we're strange for watching them, the same reason why we think they're strange for spending 4-6 hours of trashy soap operas every night without fail and when questioned about it will defend it to the grave! lol....
each to their own i suppose.
lollypops all round!!!!
_ _
(o_o)
U
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Hate Bush
Registered: Jul 2002
Posts: 460 |
@Jan: by 'absurd creativity' I mean creating something solely for the sake of the creator's pleasure. (and keep in mind that the subject "artist -> artist = good, artist -> audience = bad" has been discussed before, so please don't bother.) |
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Death Merchant
Account closed
Registered: Apr 2004
Posts: 13 |
"Well the artistic value of a lot of demos is near zero. The demo scene really has its own values, and they don't mean a lot to outsiders."
One of the main reasons why I like demos is seeing how far people can push the machine with its extreme limitations. That is an artform. I would think alot of my artist/musician friends would see that aspect of it as they too are always working under severe limitations of either resources or ability. What I think turns most of them off is the sort of "raver/visual candy wallpaper" aspect of many productions. But yea- I don't think they realize that everything is done in code and not some after-effects like application.
Even though my stint in the scene was short lived and, to be honest, not of top quality, it taught me alot about art even though my current art is far removed from demos and 8-bit culture. In the era I was active, 88-91, demos were primitive compared to today's productions but it taught me how something can be very iconic. I viewed the classic Fairlight intro as if it was a Virgin Mary icon...it was that powerful in my thirteen year old mind. |
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Deev
Registered: Feb 2002
Posts: 206 |
I don't talk about the scene to my friends much, because I don't want to sound like a nerd, but when I have had discussions, people I know have often been interested. I think the whole "retro" thing is fashionable these days anyway, I know people who make music on Gameboys, people who're into old 80s synths etc. I've been to electronic music nights where half the tunes sound like they could be from an 80s computer game. There's even music in the charts that sounds like it was made with an 8 bit computer. Pixel art has also had a growth in popularity in recent years with work by guys like E-Boy appearing on bags, trainers, posters etc (shame it's always the same stuff!).
I don't think this kind of thing is quite the same as the scene, though outsiders will often see a connection. |
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Fredrik
Account closed
Registered: Apr 2009
Posts: 204 |
In fact, in modern music, I hear more and more "sidsounds" in songs. It is a revival i think. |
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chatGPZ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11296 |
revival? its "hip" - and i am glad when its over :) |
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DemongerX
Account closed
Registered: Jun 2002
Posts: 137 |
Why do guys collect baseball cards? or are into sports? or model trains? or work on old cars? or anything else that people do that they have to justify to others. It's a bit easier for me now that I've found others locally that also have the commodore bug, but I've often tried in my mind to justify my hobby. I try to stop that now. It's like every other kind of hobby in the world. You get hooked on it, love every facet of it, and noone else seems to get it.
It's also perspective. Remember when you saw Star Wars, or The Termnator, or any other high budget movie at the theater when it came out? Now go back and watch it on dvd. Now compare the graphics/sound with what you find on youtube, or on regular tv now. The movies of old just cant compete. When we see all this little machine can be made to produce, we're in awe of it. As newbies come into the fold, their perspective is much wideer than ours is, so they blow off alot of what we show them. That and since they can do much more with their cell phone than the c64 can produce, it's easy to dismiss it.
Love it because you love it.
Nuff Said.
DemongerX |
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ready.
Registered: Feb 2003
Posts: 441 |
Regarding my home Commodore setup:
my wife has been "devoted" to Bomberman64 and accepts some SID music (only calm and melodic stuff). She likes me being creave on the demo side, even if I learnt I cannot always code. Our 1-year daughter has always been attrated by demos running on the screen. Actually sometimes I load a demo and let her watch it just for entertainment and distraction when she cries too much.
regarding my work setup:
my colleagues and boss are amazed that I built my own stuff for work purposes and that I am actually using it with profit, proving how handy a C64 can be.
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chatGPZ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11296 |
Quote:That and since they can do much more with their cell phone than the c64 can produce, it's easy to dismiss it.
pah, they cant even do smooth scrolling on their damned mobile =P |
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Carrion
Registered: Feb 2009
Posts: 317 |
My family doesn't like either the SIDs or Demos but they accept my hobby. My son prefers to play Little Big Planet on PS3 rather than Gianna Sisters on real machine, but I can live with that too.
I have some friends who know what I do (scene wise) and even if they do not understand the technical details I try to explain to them but they admire a lot my passion behind all this demoscene hype!
And it gives me a lot of strengths and makes me wanna share with them some small succesess I have on demoscene.
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NecroPolo
Registered: Jun 2009
Posts: 231 |
Quote: Quote:That and since they can do much more with their cell phone than the c64 can produce, it's easy to dismiss it.
pah, they cant even do smooth scrolling on their damned mobile =P
Haha, very true :D |
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Shadow
Account closed
Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 355 |
Sceners with girlfriends and kids? WTF? Am I the only one keeping up the anti-social-nerd-coder stereotype nowadays? ;) |
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Mr. SID
Registered: Jan 2003
Posts: 424 |
I'd like to see a version of this thread written by family and friends instead... :) |
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Frantic
Registered: Mar 2003
Posts: 1641 |
My daughter does not enjoy playing games on C64 that much either. She prefers Atari2600 instead. ;) |
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Carrion
Registered: Feb 2009
Posts: 317 |
few months ago when i bought a new C64 (yes i haven't c64 for 12 years or so) i started Eternal (my last game i did in 1994) and my son (7) said that these old games were so boring ... I have another son (2) and a lot of hopes that he is 8 bit ready ;) |
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rattus
Account closed
Registered: Oct 2002
Posts: 14 |
Hi
My wife thinks my c64 demo/music/stuff is a harmless bad.... I make her watch and listen stuff every now and then and she seems to like a few of the releases....
My son loves everything that is COOL... We quite share the same opinion, but he can't ofcourse realize how cool a slow vector-show is... even with textures etc... Boy is 4 years old.
My older daughter thinks everything with a good music is good. A good tune is a tune wort dancing with... So she dances.... A good beat, a good melody... or just a good tune... and she dances and dances.... She is 1,5 years old...
My younger daughter is now almost 4 months old... She likes "Artillery 85% Version" by Shape.... We haven't tried very many demos yet...
One thing that kids really like is the arpeggio of sid songs... And pulse-modulation is even more better... Try it with your kids :)
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chatGPZ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11296 |
my nephew (now 9 years old) got his c64 from me some months ago, and he is working on programming his own game now :=) |
