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Details: Written by: Super User; Category: Topics; Published: 01 May 2026; Hits: 70

Amiga Demoscene Hall of Fame

The Amiga Demoscene has been one of the most formative subcultures of the retro world since 1985. Small teams create audio-visual productions in real time on fixed hardware. Here are 20 productions you need to know — chronologically, with Pouet links and YouTube captures.

The 20 (Chronologically)

#	Title & Group	Year	Why Famous	Links
1	Mental Hangover Scoopex	1990	Blueprint for the "trackmo" format. OCS milestone.	pouet
2	Enigma Phenomena	1991	Raytracing graphics + dense atmosphere — early design benchmark.	pouet
3	Odyssey Alcatraz	1991	Five-part long form (~40 min.), cinematic storytelling.	pouet
4	Hardwired Crionics & The Silents	1991	Genre-defining megademo. Music by Jesper Kyd.	pouet
5	Global Trash The Silents	1991	Early synth/sample tracks, iconic effects.	pouet
6	Jesus on E's LSD	1992	Rave aesthetic, 2-disk production, acid house zeitgeist.	pouet
7	State of the Art ⭐ Spaceballs	1992	Rotoscoped dance scenes + acid jazz — THE gateway drug into the scene.	pouet
8	Rink A Dink Lemon.	1993	Extremely polished effects, vector tunnel. Re-released as "Redux" in 2013.	pouet
9	Desert Dream Kefrens	1993	Two-disk epic of the Danish scene: 3D vectors, soundtrack by Laxity.	pouet
10	9 Fingers Spaceballs	1993	Polygonised dance scenes, live-filmed source material.	pouet
11	Arte Sanity	1993	Graphics Ra, Code Mr. Pet/Chaos, Music Moby — elegant effects on 1 disk.	pouet
12	Origin Complex	1993	Iconic AGA demo, set the A1200 benchmark.	pouet
13	Nexus 7 Andromeda	1994	Effect fireworks on AGA, Music Interphace — quoted for years.	pouet
14	Closer CNCD	1995	Gateway to newschool design: clean, choreographed, fast editing.	pouet
15	Tint The Black Lotus	1996	First prominent 18-bit chunky-to-planar application on AGA. TBL breakthrough.	pouet
16	Captured Dreams The Black Lotus	1997	AGA reference with rounded direction and distinctive colour world.	pouet
17	Lapsuus Maturefurk	2001	Surprise victory at Assembly 2001 against the PC competition.	pouet
18	Planet Potion Potion	2002	"Full-featured" demo direction in just 64 KB including synth voice.	pouet
19	Ocean Machine The Black Lotus	2005	Organic scenes, complex 3D — defines Amiga ambient demo.	pouet
20	Eon ⭐ The Black Lotus	2019	Runs on stock A500 with 512 KB expansion! Two Meteoriks 2020.	pouet

Important Groups

The Black Lotus (TBL) — Swedish/international, active since 1994. From Tint to Eon the greatest Amiga milestones of the last 30 years.
Spaceballs — Norwegian. State of the Art and 9 Fingers as a brand: the dance demo formula.
Fairlight — Original crack/demogroup, multiplatform since 1987. Continuously relevant.
Kefrens — Danish legend. Desert Dream is their monument.
Melon Dezign — Danish, legendary for pixel art and humour.
Andromeda — Norwegian. Later continued as ASD on PC.
Sanity — German, most influential OCS group (World of Commodore 1992, Arte 1993).
Phenomena — Swedish. Enigma and Interference as classics from '91.
Scoopex — Finnish, since 1988. Mental Hangover = trackmo big bang.
Ephidrena / Desire / LSD — all still active oldschool groups today.

Where to Watch Demos

pouet.net — Production database, downloads, comments, party archive.
demozoo.org — Clean metadata, party results, group profiles.
scene.org — The large file archive with LHA/ADF downloads.
A.D.A. (Amiga Demoscene Archive) — Amiga-focused.
YouTube: Annikras (high-quality Amiga captures), Hornet Archive (large complete archive).

Current Parties & Award Winners

Revision (Saarbrücken, Easter) — largest multiplatform party

Revision 2025 "Grow Beyond" Top-5 Amiga demo:

Lupus Reditus — Mystic, Tristar & RSI
3D Demo 3: The Last Drop — Lemon.
Entropy Chamber — Logicoma
Fire Geisha — Nah-Kolor
Enchanted Glitch — Cosmic Orbs

Nordlicht (Bremen, summer) — Amiga/oldschool-friendly

Nordlicht 2025 brought among others Stonenautica (Stonehead) and The Only Way Is Up (Akronyme Analogiker + Fairlight) to top positions.

Evoke (Cologne, August) — alternative platforms

Evoke 2024 Top-3: A.I. LOVE YOU (Razdee/Onslaught), Hatching the Plan (Rift), Flow (Enfys).

Meteoriks (scene awards)

2025 among others Ordo (Steffest, Amiga) nominated in "New Talent". Presented annually at Revision.

💡 Beginner tip: Start with State of the Art (1992) — this is the universal gateway drug into the Amiga scene. Then Desert Dream for the story demo experience and Eon for the shock that something like this runs on a stock A500.

← To the Amiga World

Details: Written by: Super User; Category: Topics; Published: 01 May 2026; Hits: 69

New Amiga Games 2020-2026

The Amiga is not dead — it was just briefly paused. Since 2017, commercial new releases for OCS/AGA Amigas have been appearing regularly. Some of them run on a stock A500. Here are the most important ones from recent years.

Shoot-'em-ups & Action

Inviyya (2017)

The trailblazer. Keith Jones (Team17 veteran) builds a horizontal shmup that looks like it's from 1991. A500 OCS, 512 KB. Runs on original hardware too. Still available today.

Format: ADF/Disk · reimaginedgames.com

Tower 57 (2017)

Pixel-perfect retro twin-stick shooter with co-op mode. Released on Amiga, PC, Switch. On Amiga AGA-exclusive (A1200+), but butter-smooth. From Pixwerk & 11bit Studios.

Format: AGA, HD · tower57.com

Reshoot Proxima 3 (2020)

Richard Löwenstein's third Reshoot shmup. High-gloss AGA production with parallax backgrounds, multiple weapon systems. A must for A1200 owners.

Format: AGA · reshoot.de

Worthy (2021)

Twin-stick shooter with roguelite elements. Dungeons, rooms and items that change per run. Impressively dense on OCS, also A500-compatible.

Format: OCS/AGA · itch.io

Metro Siege (2024)

Final Fight-inspired beat-'em-up in a subway world. 2-player co-op, parallax backgrounds, great sprite animations. From Pixelglass.

Format: AGA · A1200/CD32

Puzzle, Adventure, Strategy

Alarcity (2022)

Space strategy with resource management. Strategy on the Amiga is rare, Alarcity fills the gap cleverly.

Tales of Gorluth II / III (ongoing)

RPG series from Alpha-One — dungeon crawler in the Ultima style. Ambitious, actively developed.

Deathbringer HD Edition (2022)

Hack-'n'-slash classic re-released with HD graphics for Apollo V4 / RTG screens. Almost a port.

Platformers & Jump'n'Run

Cherry Darling (2023)

Cute platformer adventure, cartoon style, OCS-compatible. Indie production.

Bridge Strike (2020)

Retro arcade remake of the 80s classics River Raid / 1942. Scrolling vertical shooter with bomb mechanics.

Rygar (2022)

Arcade classic finally properly ported to the Amiga. Rolan-style hack and slash.

Sports, Racing, Arcade

Giana Sisters SE (2022)

From Time Warp Productions: Giana Sisters Special Edition with reworked level design and AGA graphics.

Alarity Bowls (2023)

Curious: bowling simulation for Amiga. Perfect as a flea market companion.

Where to Buy / Download

AmigaStore — stocks many commercial new developments with original packaging
RGCD — British retro indie publisher, also Amiga releases
itch.io (Amiga-Tag) — indie scene, often pay-what-you-want or free
Vesalia — German source
retroprojects Shop — our own shop

Why Commercial Instead of Free?

The developers put months to years into these projects. An Inviyya or Tower 57 is crafted to AAA 1991 standards. For ~15-30 € you support the scene and get specially pressed disks, printed packaging, artbook. This is not abandonware — this is new art for the Amiga.

💡 Discover more: New releases are featured almost weekly on amiga-news.de and amigafuture.de. Subscribing is worthwhile. The scene is growing — and in 2026 the pace is higher than in the 15 years before.

← To the Amiga World

Details: Written by: Super User; Category: Topics; Published: 01 May 2026; Hits: 69

WHDLoad — Starting Games from Hard Disk

WHDLoad solves the classic Amiga problem: How do I get a floppy disk game onto the hard disk? The answer: not with a trick, but with a complete system. Here we explain how it works and why you need to know about it.

Why is this even a problem?

Most classic Amiga games were developed as floppy disk games — they launch their own bootblocks, patch the OS, access hardware directly, and expect their disk in drive 0. Simply copying to DH0: overwrites critical bits or the game cannot find its data.

Bert Jahn's WHDLoad (actively developed since 1996) solves this with a clever architecture: Each game gets a slave — a small patching program that tricks the game into thinking it is running from disk, while actually everything comes from the hard disk.

How it works

The components:

WHDLoad (the main program) — loads the slave and the game, installs traps for hardware accesses, sets up memory.
Slave — game-specific script (approx. 1-20 KB) that knows patches, data paths and start parameters. One per game.
Game data — the original ADF contents, as individual files or .ipf images.
Key file — licence file (bought once, for all games). Without it WHDLoad runs with annoying pop-ups.

Installing WHDLoad

Download: whdload.de → current version (18.9 or newer, 2025).
Unpack on Amiga, run Install-WHDLoad. Installs to SYS:WHDLoad/.
Optional: Buy key file (~10 € one-off at whdload.de). Place as WHDLoad.key next to the executable.
Set assign: Assign WHDLoad: SYS:WHDLoad in User-Startup.

Installing games: the slave workflow

Find slave: whdload.de has slaves for over 5,000 games. Search for your title, download Turrican2_v1.7.lha or similar.
Unpack LHA to Games:Turrican2/.
Copy original disk content of the game disks as image files (expected by the .slave file) into it. Usually in data/ or directly in the folder.
Open start icon — WHDLoad launches, game starts from HD.

💡 Shortcut: Collections like WHDLoad Dats (from Aminet or the EAB forum) contain all slaves with data. One download, completely installable.

Front-ends: browsers for your collection

iGame — THE frontend. Screenshots, genres, filter, cover. Auto-scan for WHDLoad slaves. github.com/emeneo/iGame
XBench — older classic with large DB.
Amiberry-Launcher — integrated with the Pi emulator.

Troubleshooting

"Insert Disk X" although on HD: Disk image names do not match what the slave expects. Use tools like ReadDisk in the correct format.
"Requires more CHIP memory": A500 with 512 KB is not enough, you need at least 1 MB Chip RAM.
Random crashes: Slave version outdated → load newer slave package.
"Could not find slave": Path problem, check WHDLoad assign in User-Startup.
Game runs too fast: Precise timing slaves missing, start with PreLoad option if necessary: PRELOAD=0.

ProTracker Introduction

Chris Hülsbeck, Jesper Kyd, Tim Follin — they all composed their Amiga soundtracks in ProTracker. The MOD format remains THE Amiga music format to this day. Here is the introduction in 15 minutes.

What is a Tracker?

A tracker is a music editor that notates music in vertical pattern columns (instead of musical notation). Each column = one channel. The Paula chip in the Amiga has 4 channels, thus four columns. Per line, notes, samples and effects are set per channel — like a simple spreadsheet for music.

The result is a .mod file with all samples and patterns in one file. 50-200 KB typical. Runs on every Amiga, and on Windows/Linux/macOS via OpenMPT.

Which ProTracker Variant?

ProTracker 2.3D (the Classic)

The standard version of the 90s. Runs on every Amiga from 512 KB upwards. Freeware today. Download: aminet.net/mus/edit/ProTracker23d.lha

ProTracker 2.3E / 2.3F (Community Fork)

Further development by olivier "8bitbubsy" Sørensen. Bug fixes, active updates to this day. 16-bits.org/pt.php

ProTracker 2 Clone (PC/Mac)

Olivier Sørensen's cycle-accurate PC port. Looks and feels exactly like the Amiga original. Perfect for modern cross-compose workflow. 16-bits.org/pt2-clone

OpenMPT (Windows)

Modernised tracker, reads/writes MOD (+ XM, IT, S3M). More effects, but if you want "real Amiga": better use PT2 Clone. openmpt.org

Your First Track in 10 Steps

Start ProTracker. At the top you see 4 columns (the 4 Paula channels), at the bottom the function buttons.
Load sample. "DISK OP" (Disk Operations) → load an IFF-8SVX sample file from the included samples. Or use the demo MOD archive from Aminet.
Select sample. With the cursor keys or mouse in the sample list at the top right.
Play a note. Keys like on a piano: Z X C V B = C major, Q W E R T = C one octave higher. Try it — you hear the sample directly at that pitch.
Enter notes in the pattern. Press SPACE to activate editing mode (red LED). Now every keystroke writes the note into the current line and advances one line.
Navigate. Arrow keys up/down = change line. Left/Right = change column (different channel).
Make multiple patterns. F2, F3... switches between patterns. Each pattern = 64 lines.
Assemble song. Under "SONG" set the sequence of patterns: e.g. Pattern 1, 1, 2, 1, 3...
Set speed. Default value 6 means 6 ticks per line (slow). Change with F0x command (F06 = default, F03 = fast).
Save. "DISK OP" → "SAVE MODULE" → filename mysong.mod. Done.

The Most Important Effects

Every line can have an effect code. Format: Exx where E = effect number, xx = parameter. The most commonly used:

0xy	Arpeggio — fast chord (e.g. `037` = minor)
1xx	Portamento Up — pitch shifts up
2xx	Portamento Down — pitch shifts down
3xx	Tone Portamento — glide to a specific note
4xy	Vibrato — classic wobble effect
Axx	Volume Slide — ramp volume down/up
Cxx	Set Volume — fixed volume (`00`-`40`)
Dxx	Pattern Break — jumps to next pattern
Fxx	Set Speed/Tempo — set speed

Where to Get Samples?

The Mod Archive — largest MOD archive, many tracks with sampleable samples
Aminet /mus/smpl — Amiga sample collection
Exotica — tracker music database with credits
Audacity (modern) — Record your own samples, downsample to 8-bit mono 11025/22050 Hz, export as WAV, import into PT

Paula Limitations — What You Should Know

Only 4 channels — complex drums + bass + 2 melodies is the limit.
8-bit samples, mono, max. 22 kHz — hence the typical "crispy" Amiga sound.
Fixed stereo separation: channels 1+4 = left, 2+3 = right (at least via RCA).
Max. sample size in PT: 64 KB per sample (31 samples per MOD).

For Inspiration — Tracker Legends

Chris Hülsbeck — Turrican, Apidya, Giana Sisters. German legend.
Jesper Kyd — Hardwired, Global Trash, later Assassin's Creed / Hitman.
Tim Follin — Ghouls 'n' Ghosts, Solstice, LED Storm. British genius.
Moby (not that one, the other one) — Sanity demos, Alcatraz soundtracks.
4-Mat — Anarchy demos, still active today. Iconic chip sounds.

💡 Pro Tip: Study the patterns of your favourite MODs. In PT → Disk Op → Load Module → load any .mod → now you see how the professionals composed. Apidya 2 or Space Debris (Markus Kludzuweit, 1994) are mandatory pieces for taking apart.

← To the Amiga World

Details: Written by: Super User; Category: Topics; Published: 01 May 2026; Hits: 73

The Amiga Joystick Guide

A game is only as good as the stick. For the Amiga there are legendary classics — Competition Pro, Zipstik, Speedking — and today plenty of adapters so your PlayStation controller or USB stick works with the 9-pin port.

The Classics (1987-1993)

Competition Pro 5000

The undisputed king. Microswitches instead of rubber membrane, extremely precise, click sound when pressed. Two fire buttons (one turbo). Still available new today in the Retro Edition from Spei-dog (orange-black packaging).

Zipstik

The compact all-rounder. Lighter and smaller than the Competition Pro, microswitch feedback. Popular with Amiga users on the move. Original by Spectravideo, available as a replica today.

Speedking

Konix Speedking, also called Navigator. Ergonomic hand-pleaser, fits like a pistol in the hand. Not for everyone, but those who love it swear by it.

Quickshot II / Turbo

The budget stick. Rubber contacts, often with suction cup for sticking to the table. Doesn’t last forever, but in every household back then. Still often found at flea markets today.

The Boss (Beeshu / Cheetah)

Ergonomic like a VCR controller, two fire buttons on top, auto-fire. Good mid-range — not quite the precision of the Competition Pro, but affordable.

Arcade Sticks & Multi-Button Controllers

The Arcade Joystick (Suzo)

Large base, real arcade ball-top stick, microswitches. For Street Fighter and ilk. Available today as iCode, Competition Pro Super 16 or as a DIY build via Sanwa/Seimitsu components.

CD32 Gamepad / Mega Drive Pad

CD32 pads have seven buttons (6 + Play/Pause) and work on the normal 9-pin port. Many late Amiga games (Super Skidmarks, Ultimate Body Blows) support the extra buttons. SEGA Mega Drive 3-button pads work too — the Amiga sees them only as 1-button sticks.

Modern Adapters: Amiga Meets USB

Tom's Retro Joystick 2 USB

USB interface for 9-pin joysticks. Plug your Competition Pro into the PC and play WinUAE without input lag. ~25 €.

USB-to-9-Pin Adapter (TOM's / RetroGamerStuff)

Other direction: USB gamepad (Xbox, PS4/PS5, 8BitDo) to 9-pin Amiga port. Firmware maps the controller buttons to Up/Down/Left/Right + Fire. Auto-fire configurable. ~30-45 €.

8BitDo M30 + 2.4GHz Receiver

Mega Drive 6-button style, wireless transmission. Plug-and-play on the Amiga with the corresponding 9-pin receiver. Pure nostalgia without cable clutter. ~50 €.

BlueRetro / OpenBluetooth

Open-source Bluetooth receiver, presents itself to the Amiga as a 9-pin joystick, receives wireless controllers (PS4, Switch Pro, Xbox). DIY via ESP32 or ready-made on Ko-Fi/Tindie. ~30 € DIY.

The 9-Pin Port Pinout

For reference for DIY builders (view of the connector):

Pin 1 = Up          Pin 6 = Fire 1
Pin 2 = Down        Pin 7 = +5 V (for autofire/mouse)
Pin 3 = Left        Pin 8 = GND
Pin 4 = Right       Pin 9 = Fire 2 (some sticks)
Pin 5 = Pot X / Fire 3

Compatible with Commodore 64, Atari 2600/ST, MSX, Sega Master System (partially).

Buying Advice

Situation	Recommendation
"One thing. The best."	Competition Pro Retro (new, approx. 30 €)
Modern controller, wired	USB-to-9-Pin Adapter + XInput pad
Wireless enthusiast	8BitDo M30 2.4G or BlueRetro DIY
AGA games with 6 buttons	CD32 Gamepad or modern pad with 6-button mapping
Shmups with autofire	Competition Pro 5000 (built-in autofire)

💡 Pro Tip: The Amiga mouse port is the second 9-pin connector — you can connect a second joystick there for 2-player games (SWIV, Dragon Ninja, Xenon 2). Port 1 (Mouse) = Player 2, Port 2 (Joystick) = Player 1. Sounds backwards, but that’s how it is.

← Back to the Amiga World

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RETROPROJECTS

General

Amiga Demoscene Hall of Fame – 20 Legendary Productions

Amiga Demoscene Hall of Fame

The 20 (Chronologically)

Important Groups

Where to Watch Demos

Current Parties & Award Winners

Revision (Saarbrücken, Easter) — largest multiplatform party

Nordlicht (Bremen, summer) — Amiga/oldschool-friendly

Evoke (Cologne, August) — alternative platforms

Meteoriks (scene awards)

New Amiga Games 2020-2026 – The Amiga Lives

New Amiga Games 2020-2026

Shoot-'em-ups & Action

Inviyya (2017)

Tower 57 (2017)

Reshoot Proxima 3 (2020)

Worthy (2021)

Metro Siege (2024)

Puzzle, Adventure, Strategy

Alarcity (2022)

Tales of Gorluth II / III (ongoing)

Deathbringer HD Edition (2022)

Platformers & Jump'n'Run

Cherry Darling (2023)

Bridge Strike (2020)

Rygar (2022)

Sports, Racing, Arcade

Giana Sisters SE (2022)

Alarity Bowls (2023)

Where to Buy / Download

Why Commercial Instead of Free?

Understanding WHDLoad – The Hard Disk Starter Guide

WHDLoad — Starting Games from Hard Disk

Why is this even a problem?

How it works

Installing WHDLoad

Installing games: the slave workflow

Front-ends: browsers for your collection

Troubleshooting

Further reading

ProTracker Introduction – Composing Chip Music on the Amiga

ProTracker Introduction

What is a Tracker?

Which ProTracker Variant?

ProTracker 2.3D (the Classic)

ProTracker 2.3E / 2.3F (Community Fork)

ProTracker 2 Clone (PC/Mac)

OpenMPT (Windows)

Your First Track in 10 Steps

The Most Important Effects

Where to Get Samples?

Paula Limitations — What You Should Know

For Inspiration — Tracker Legends

Amiga Joystick Guide – Competition Pro, Zipstik and Modern Adapters

The Amiga Joystick Guide

The Classics (1987-1993)

Competition Pro 5000

Zipstik

Speedking

Quickshot II / Turbo

The Boss (Beeshu / Cheetah)

Arcade Sticks & Multi-Button Controllers

The Arcade Joystick (Suzo)

CD32 Gamepad / Mega Drive Pad

Modern Adapters: Amiga Meets USB

Tom's Retro Joystick 2 USB

USB-to-9-Pin Adapter (TOM's / RetroGamerStuff)

8BitDo M30 + 2.4GHz Receiver

BlueRetro / OpenBluetooth

The 9-Pin Port Pinout

Buying Advice