The Nullarbor demo party is a combined

game development Video game development (or gamedev) is the process of developing a video game. The effort is undertaken by a developer, ranging from a single person to an international team dispersed across the globe. Development of traditional commercial PC ...

and

demoscene The demoscene is an international computer art subculture focused on producing demos: self-contained, sometimes extremely small, computer programs that produce audiovisual presentations. The purpose of a demo is to show off programming, visual ...

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of e ...

in Australia. The event takes place at the beginning of every year in

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

. It was named Nullarbor in reference to Perth's physical isolation from the rest of Australia. Like other similar demo parties worldwide, it provides a platform for game developers and graphic artists to showcase their skills. The event is supported by

Edith Cowan University Edith Cowan University (ECU) is a public university in Western Australia. It is named in honour of the first woman to be elected to an Australian parliament, Edith Cowan, and is the only Australian university named after a woman. Gaining unive ...

, the

Western Australian government The Government of Western Australia, formally referred to as His Majesty's Government of Western Australia, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of Western Australia. It is also commonly referred to as the WA Government o ...

, Perth ACM SIGGRAPH, Perth

IGDA The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) is a nonprofit professional association whose stated mission is to "support and empower video game developers, game developers around the world in achieving fulfilling and sustainable careers. ...

, and many game developers (e.g. :

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...

and Interzone Games), and is managed by Adrian Boeing and Martin Masek. The party is also supported internationally by demo scene groups from Europe and the USA. Nullarbor differs from many other demoparties: it does not try to keep the demoscene underground, instead it tries to promote democulture to a wider audience. Nullarbor targets academia, government and industry to promote game development and democulture in order to legitimize the scene. As a result, some of the demo entries diverge from the standard demoscene expectations, for example "Landscape Visualization", which placed 2nd in the demo competition, which were poorly received by the European demoscene which still retains a hacker culture. Nullarbor is sometimes also referred to as "notrees", which is a play on the name 'Nullarbor'. In 2007, the event was retitled to "Interzone nullarbor 2007", or iz null in a shortened form.

Competitions

The party includes multiple

competitions Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indi ...

, including but not limited to: *

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

development * combined

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

* 64 k

intro Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and ...

* machinima * music * graphics *

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

("wild") / animation

History

The first Nullarbor was held in February 2006. It attracted hundreds of visitors. It included only a demo, intro and game development competition, which was held at ECU Mount Lawley. Teams from Europe and Australia competed in the competitions, including a number of interstate entries. Nullarbor was a breakthrough for the Australian demoscene, as the last demo party in Western Australia was the C party in 1994, which was 12 years before Nullarbor. The last demo party in Australia was Coven 2001. Nullarbor broke a 5-year demo party drought in Australia. As a result, Nullarbor attracted a record number of first releases and new demo groups. Game Developers that were also formed in order to compete at the event and added a significant contribution to the Perth game development scene, including the formation of new digital content companies. In 2007 nullarbor was officially renamed to "Interzone nullarbor", to reflect major sponsorship by Interzone games. It became one of the world's biggest demoparties with over 10,000 visitors, largely thanks to taking place as part of the GO3 electronic entertainment expo and conference in the

Perth Convention Exhibition Centre The Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre is a privately owned convention centre located in Perth, Western Australia. Description The centre has a floor space of and can cater for 5,000 delegates. It contains state-of-the-art technical fac ...

. Some sources report up to 30,000 visitors. The nullarbor competition expanded in 2007 to include animation, pixel art, and music competitions. The 2008 competition saw a return to the traditional demoparty style taking place at The Bakery art venue in

Northbridge, Western Australia Northbridge is an inner city suburb of Perth, Western Australia, historically separated from Perth's central business district by the Fremantle and Joondalup railway lines. It is part of the City of Perth local government area. Location Locate ...

. The competition was also extended to include a pitch competition and allow for machinima entries. Australia obtained a second demoparty in 2007, the Syntax Demoparty in Melbourne, and as of 2008 Perth has had a strong presence in the Local and

Global Game Jam The Global Game Jam™️ (GGJ) is an annual distributed game jam. Inspired by the Nordic Game Jam, and created by Susan Gold, Ian Schreiber, Gorm Lai and Foaad Khosmood, originally developed under the International Game Developers Associat ...

events. Subsequently, Nullarbor events have not been held since 2009.

Events

# ''nullarbor 2006'' (23 February 2006) # ''Interzone nullarbor 2007'' (30 March 2007 – 31 March 2007) # ''nullarbor 2008'' (15 August 2008 – 16 August 2008)

In the press

Nullarbor media coverage

References

{{reflist

External links