Competitions

The party is over – check out all releases on our after party page!

Click here to get to our after party page.

Looking forward to seeing you next year again!

Competition Rules – General Info

  • First rule: Be creative and have fun! We invite everybody to take part in our compos, no matter if you are a beginner or a scene veteran.
  • Your contribution(s) must not have been released before.
  • You can’t make it to the party, but would like to participate? We accept remote entries for all compos! Please note: If you win a prize we will try to send it to you or bring it to another demoparty, eg. Revision to hand it over. This usually works out well, but no guarantee. We will also have a livestream of the event, which can be found on the website (once live)
  • You must hand in your contribution(s) via the party-system before the respective compo deadline. The party system will be available online a few weeks before the party – so that you can upload and manage your entries.
  • By taking part in a competition you agree that we spread your entry (e.g. through scene.org) and that we’re allowed to use it in non-commercial promotions for upcoming editions of Deadline demoparty.
  • In case of too few compo entries for one compo (eg. less than three) the party organizers can cancel or combine competitions.
  • We will disqualify entries containing content
    • which violates German law or are unsuitable
    • If your entry contains commercial material it will be disqualified as well.
  • If you have questions about these rules, contact the organizers at contact@demoparty.berlin

Compo Machines

We have two PC compo machines with the following specs:

  • CPU: Intel Core i9 10900k / 32GB RAM
  • GPU: NVIDIA GeForce 3070
  • OS: Windows 10 64bit latest version and latest WHQL NVidia drivers
  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 / 32GB RAM
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan X Pascal
  • OS: Windows 10 64bit latest version and latest WHQL NVidia drivers

If you plan to release a MaxOS X or Linux production please contact us before the party so that we can make sure we have the right OS ready for you.

We have the following oldschool compo machines, to present your entry on:

  • We can provide a C64 (Dual 8580 SID on Ultimate 64 for Audio, Real C64 with 8580 for Demos), Atari 1040STE, Atari Falcon 060, Amiga 500+1260, Sega Mega Drive (Model 2 with Mega-Amp Sound-mod).
  • DOS entries are run in DOSBox 0.74 or DOSBox-X (recent Git version). If you need special settings, tell us in the release notes or provide a dosbox.conf file with your release.
  • We allow every other oldschool platform with 8 and 16 bit as well – but please bring your own hardware then.
  • If you can’t bring your own hardware, please tell us in advance and we’ll see what we can do.
  • Please contact us in advance in case of unconventional video signals.

Executable Competitions:

PC Demo

  • Maximum running time is 10 minutes.
  • no size limit

PC Intro (64k + 4k)

  • Maximum file size of intro executable is 64 KB (65.536 bytes) / 4KB (4.096 bytes)
  • All other files in the archive of the intro will be deleted before showing the entry in the competition.
  • Depending on the amount of entries we will decide on splitting it into two compos or not

4kb Executable Graphics

  • Maximum file size of executable is 4KB (4.096 bytes)
  • All platforms allowed (PC + Oldschool)

Oldschool Demo

  • Maximum running time is 10 minutes.

256 byte Intro

  • Entries must be one-file, and that file must be 256 bytes or less.
  • Entries will be shown for approx. 1 minute.
  • Any oldschool platform is accepted (note: this does not include fantasy consoles like TIC-80 or Pico-8)

Three-Dee Competition

  • Deadline will again enter the third dimension! Put on your red-cyan glasses and follow us in three-dee hyperspace! ™
  • Allowed formats: Everything that outputs a red/cyan picture e.g. graphics / (GIF) animations / executables (newschool and oldschool). Go wild!
  • Red/cyan glasses will be provided at the party
  • If you need one in advance for testing, please send us your address and we’ll try to send you one via mail

Wild and Video

Wild

  • Anything possible (It can be run on any other platform, which is not listed in other competitions)
  • No size limit
  • Maximum running time is 10 minutes
  • Either bring the platform and we will try to hook it up, or include a digital video of your entry, or perform it on the stage!

Video / Animation

  • Provide a video or animation file, please use a standard format, ideally H.264 High Profile for video, PCM or AAC for audio, and a MP4, MOV or Matroska container
  • Entries will be played with VLC
  • Maximum running time is 10 minutes

Graphics competitions

  • Up to two entries per artist and graphics competition allowed.
  • We recommend that you also provide a list of the tools you have used to create your entry
  • Please make sure that your entry is free of third-party rights!

Freestyle graphics

  • You can use every tool you wish (pixel/render/scan & retouch), just be creative.
  • The entry should be delivered in .png/.bmp/.tga format (lossless)
  • You must include working stages of your entry.

Themed Photo

  • The theme this year is “United”. Go get creative!
  • It has to be the competitor who took the picture
  • Retouching and collages are allowed
  • If it’s not a pure photo: Do not forget your working stages (without them your entry will be disqualified)
  • Please do ensure your entry includes the original, unmodified picture(s)

Oldschool Graphics

  • Entry must be in a native graphics format for an oldskool platform.
  • Entries for platforms without a standardized image format (Atari XL, C64, …) must be handed in as executable. Otherwise, a picture in a standard image format (e.g. IFF on Amiga) is accepted.
  • Animations are not allowed (except for scrolling)

ASCII/ANSI/PETSCII

  • ASCII and ANSI: Maximum width is 80 characters, no maximum height/lines.
  • PETSCII: Maximum width is 40 characters, maximum height is 25 characters.
  • No XBIN, custom pallets or Ansimations.
  • Please declare whether your ASCII should be displayed as PC or Amiga ASCII
  • PC ASCII is shown using 80×25 VGA mode in the compo
  • Amiga ASCII will be shown using Sahli
  • If you’re unsure whether your entry will be displayed correctly, provide a PNG as a fallback along with the original file (optional)
  • Please provide a thumbnail for the voting system (optional)

Music competitions

Up to two entries per artist and music competition allowed. Maximum playing time for all entries is 4 minutes. If your entry is longer it will be faded out between 4:00 and 4:10.

Streaming Music

  • Entry must be in MP3, OGG, OPUS or FLAC format.
  • Do not use any copyrighted material in your track.
  • Entries will be played back using the latest XMPlay.

Tracked Music

  • Entry must be in any format supported by OpenMPT (MOD, XM, S3M, IT and many others).
  • We will play back entries using the latest xmp-openmpt plugin for XMPlay.
  • Please specify if you want any specific playback settings in xmp-openmpt (e.g. interpolation, stereo separation)
  • The number of channels used will be mentioned on the bigscreen during the competition.
  • Size Limit : 2 MB

Oldschool Music

  • Allowed formats:
    • C64 SID or executable (will be played on 8580 SID or dual SID)
    • Atari ST SNDH or executable (<128kB)
    • Amiga executable (<128kB)
    • AHX/HVL
    • AdLib/OPL3 (RAD2/ADT2)