Competitions
Chaos Constructions
AUGUST 28-29
2021
SPB. RUSSIA
Competition rules
Anyone can participate in the festival of computer art absolutely FREE OF CHARGE, without the need for a personal presence at the festival! - All that is needed is to prepare the work and post it on our website. If you have doubts about the interpretation of the rules or any questions, please write to [email protected] or on social networks.
General rules
General regulations for
All works must be original, that is, copyright, not borrowed, and not previously published.
Prizes and diplomas are awarded only to the participants attending the festival, or their representatives (you need to specify the data in the .nfo file attached to the work. Not distributed diplomas will be kept by the organizers "on demand".
The general rules for conducting competitions (for all categories) apply to all competitions in this category, as long as it does not contradict the rules of the competition itself, or when the competition rules clearly indicate otherwise than in the general rules of the category.
The organizers of the festival carry out a preliminary selection of works (preselection), checking them for compliance with the rules of the competition, subject matter and quality.
Authors of works can find out about their admission to participation in the competition program in our automated system for accepting works, after the deadline, at the end of the preselection.
Before showing the work, the main screen will show the technical data of the work and the platform for which it was made, as well as the accompanying author's text no more than 144 characters long (so please take care of it in advance).
General rules of competitions
Works found in the public domain, published before the competition, will be disqualified (except in special cases specified in the rules).
Works containing personal or public insults, pornography or in any other way violating the laws of the Russian Federation will be disqualified.
The works must be created specifically for our festival and are not publicly available until the festival. If your case contradicts this statement - be sure to contact us by email [email protected]
The author agrees that his work, which has passed the preselection and participated in the competitive screening, will be published on scene.org after the demo.
Works that have not passed the preliminary selection (preselection) will not be shown at the festival, and will not be uploaded to the public, so you can still show your work at another festival.
The author has the right to postpone the mandatory publication of the work, for a period of not more than 3 months, to complete the work and prepare the final release. If the work is not completed by the author on time, the organizers will publish their version to the public.
Maximum 2 works from one author, 3 works from a group.
If the time of the demonstration of the work exceeds the time limit established by the rules of the competition, the organizers have the right to interrupt the work immediately.
Music compos
General rules for the category "Music compos"
The works must be original, i.e. completely invented and created by the participants themselves.
Remixes / remakes / covers are prohibited. It is also prohibited to use easily recognizable melodic phrases from well-known musical compositions.
It is not allowed to use the same composition, or its fragments, in different nominations (for example, a fragment from Chiptune music for .mp3 contests);
Try to normalize below 0 dB to avoid loudness scatter during display.
Borrowed vocals longer than 1 second are not allowed, as they exceed the citation limit of copyright objects in the Russian Federation.
The participant must provide the organizers with four intermediate stages of creating a composition, or the original project file in editor format, as proof of authorship.
File bitrate for mp3 - 320 Kbps (CBR).
ID_TAG and / or others - author fields must be filled.
The maximum number of works in each nomination is 20, the selection of works will be done at the preselection stage.
Dance Music
Music compositions in any audio format .mp3 / .ogg / .xm / .s3m, no more than 3 minutes long, performed in the genre of rhythmic dance music (EDM) are accepted for the competition;
With enough work, the songs will be mixed into a continuous DJ-Set. It will be possible not only to listen to music, but also to dance to it. The work number will be shown on the big screen, while playing your composition, for the possibility of voting.
Listening Music
The competition accepts musical compositions in any audio format .mp3 / .ogg / .xm / .s3m, no more than 3 minutes long, performed in a free style, suitable for mass listening by the audience in the hall.
Chiptune Music
Music written specifically for programmable audio generators (AY, SID, GBS, OPL), or in the .mod format, without digitized sounds, only elementary samples in the form of a simple waveform, close to the sounds synthesized by microcircuits, is accepted for the competition: (meander, saw, triangle, sine wave, white noise), without the use of additional filters and other digital samples.
Works are accepted in the form of the source code of the corresponding music editor (.pt3, .lsdj, .mod) (with the exact indication of the name and version number of the editor) or in the form of an executable file that plays this composition.
The duration of the composition is no more than 3 minutes.
The maximum number of channels for tracker music is 4,
File size no more than 64 kb.
The composition should not be looped.
Please provide .mp3 (.ogg) version for correct playback of the song during the show.
By default, the distribution of channels for playing music for the ZX Spectrum platform: ABC.
You can use any editors to create chiptune music of your choice, for example: VortexTracker, DefleMask, FamiTracker, LSDj.
Graphics compos
General rules for graphic contests
Images of erotic / pornographic content will be screened out during pre-screening as they may have an unfair advantage over other works when voting.
Please refrain from insulting specific companies and individuals, as well as obscene language. Remember that your work will be publicly displayed and distributed.
The author must provide 5 intermediate phases of the creation of the work (including the stages of drawing on paper, if such was taken as a basis), to confirm authorship and follow the rules. Please name files with intermediate phases “name_N.png” (where N is the phase number).
The maximum number of works in each nomination is 20 pieces, the selection of works will be done at the preselection stage.
When showing the work, the organizers have the right to change the image resolution, based on the limitations of the projection equipment.
HandDrawn Graphics
In this competition, we evaluate your freehand drawing skills, from scratch, without the help of ready-made images, including without the help of 3D models (vector graphics are allowed).
To confirm authorship, at least four intermediate phases must be attached to the work (including the stages of drawing on paper, if such was taken as a basis).
Please name files with intermediate phases name_n.jpg (where n is the phase number).
Maximum image resolution: 1920 × 1080. in the format: JPG or PNG.
Modern Graphics
The Modern Graphics Competition is a competition where a participant demonstrates his design skills by drawing, processing and combining computer graphics using various graphic editors.
Free-style works without restrictions are accepted for the competition: 3D-renders, collages, composite photos;
To confirm authorship, at least four intermediate phases must be attached to the work (including the stages of drawing on paper, if such was taken as the basis of the work).
Maximum image resolution: 1920 × 1080. in the format: JPG or PNG.
You can use any graphic editor to create graphics, for example: Krita, GIMP, Blender, Photoshop or any others of your choice.
Pixel Art Graphics
The Contemporary Pixel Art Competition is a competition for original works, using a small number of colors and low resolution images, where each pixel is manually exhibited by the artist.
A small GIF animation is allowed, but only to give the effect of "animation" to individual image elements (animation should not be the main idea of the work).
The maximum number of colors used is no more than 64.
Image size no more than 320x240 pixels.
Converting, borrowing someone else's images or parts of them is prohibited.
The work MUST be accompanied by at least four intermediate stages of creating a picture, leaving no doubt about your authorship, and that the work does not contain borrowed (converted) images.
Do not forget to indicate the number of colors used, image sizes and tools used in the .nfo file, this information will be displayed on the screen before showing the work.
The work will be shown on a 16: 9 screen but scaled proportionally.
You can use any graphic editor to create pixel art graphics, for example: Aseprite, GraFX2, Pixlr, PiskelApp or any others of your choice.
GIF Animation
This is a competition for animators, 3D artists and computer graphics programmers. In fact, the competition is a cross between Animation and One Scene Demo. We expect from the participants GIF files with looped animation: animation, effects, fractals, etc.
The work MUST be accompanied by at least four screenshots or photographs demonstrating the process of creating the work and confirming your authorship, including all the main sources used in the work, such as: 3D models, characters or program code used to generate animation.
Only original works are accepted for the competition, completely and completely created by you "from scratch", without using other people's video clips, stock images or someone else's source code.
Resolution is not more than 640x360.
The file size is NOT MORE THAN 2 MB.
The display time is no more than 1 minute.
Oldskool Graphics
Graphic works are accepted for the competition, adapted for display on retro computers, using their hardware features and limitations of graphic modes, such as: color palette, number of colors per line or familiarity (clashing), screen proportions, etc.
Copying, converting fragments or tracing images is allowed, provided that at least 60% of the image is changed. Simple conversion of images without further modification is prohibited.
Do not forget to provide at least four intermediate stages of creating a picture (in the form of png images or screenshots of the working screen)
It is necessary to provide ALL reference images used in the work to determine the degree of processing and adapt the image for the selected video mode.
Submit the executable file if you are using non-standard hardware or software video modes such as multicolor, gigascreen, tricolor, etc.
List of available platforms: Atari 2600, Atari XL / XE, ZX Spectrum, Timex Computer 2048, Commodore VIC-20, Commodore 64, BK-0010 / 11M, MSX, PC CGA (320 × 200/4 colors or 640 × 200/2 colors), NES, Mattel Intellivision, Sharp MZ-700, Game Boy (1989), Game Boy Color, ATM turbo (standard mode, high resolution 640 × 200 mode). If your platform is not listed, please contact the organizers for agreement.
Recommended resources for learning: ZX Spectrum Graphics FAQ (http://hypr.ru/blog/graphics/320.html).
Textmode Art Graphics
Graphic images created with symbols are accepted for the competition in one of the text modes: ANSI, ASCII, PETSCII, SPECSCII, ATASCII, Teletext graphics.
Maximum size: 80 × 1000.
Please provide the final (rendered) image in .png format for the voting system and validation of the display.
Acid View 6.0 in 80x26 VGA mode will be used to display graphics;
Animation is invalid.
Only the standard palette of colors provided by the selected mode is allowed.
ANSI / ASCII: 80 characters wide, unlimited height.
The width of the PETSCII works: 40 characters, the height is not limited.
Width SPECSCII works: 32 characters, height is not limited.
Width of ATASCII works: 40 characters, height is not limited.
Teletext: Teletext level 1 allowed: 40 characters wide.
Recommended editors for creating text graphics: PabloDraw, ACiDDraw or any others of your choice.
Astro Photo
Art photographs on the theme “Astronomy” are accepted for the competition.
Photos of the starry sky, aurora borealis, moon phases, noctilucent clouds, solar eclipses, starfalls or other astronomical phenomena. The photographs for selection will be judged by technique and composition. Works will be preselected, photographs of other subjects will not be accepted for the competition.
Photographs taken with a digital camera and captured in one shot are accepted.
Maximum 2 works from the author.
Works should not have copyrights and site addresses, other inscriptions.
Only tools for processing RAW files are allowed from processing, or: cropping; levels; white balance.
Recommended resolution: 1024 × 768 (the organizing committee can change it based on the limitations of projection equipment).
File formats: JPG, PNG, TIFF, GIF, IFF, HAM.
Do not forget to attach the original RAW files or files imported from the camera to confirm the rights to work.
Animation / Video
Any video materials are allowed to the competition: 3D / 2D animation, video clips, stories, short films, etc.
The work must correspond to the spirit of the festival (at the discretion of the organizers).
Recommended resolutions: 1280 × 720 and 1920 × 1080 (16: 9) 60Hz. AVI, MPG or MP4 format, MPEG1, MPEG2 or MPEG4 video codecs (XVid / DivX / H.264), MP3 or AAC audio codecs.
The maximum display time is 10 minutes.
Demo / Intro executable
General rules for Demo / Intro executable contests
When switching between parts of the program, it is not allowed to wait for a key press (although it is possible to react to the pressed key to quickly jump to the next part).
The end of the work must be clearly indicated: the end of the melody playing, a static picture. Exception: credits, which can be looped. Credits with slow music counts as the end of the demo.
The time of showing the works is not limited, but the organizers reserve the right to interrupt the work earlier, without waiting for the end of the work, if they do not notice a significant development of events, or if the demo has started from the beginning.
It is obligatory to exit the program by ESC or by another system button, specify the exit button in the .nfo file.
If unusual equipment is required, please bring it with you for proper display at the festival, and be sure to contact the organizers.
It is desirable to have the author's video recording of the work, to control the correct display of it on our equipment, for example, a link to YouTube / Vimeo. At the same time, the video must not be publicly available until the end of the competition, use the link distribution mode, but the link itself must not be publicly distributed.
One Scene demo compo (combined)
If you are new to the demoscene, or were unable to master the whole demo alone, this competition is for you.
Demos with only one scene, that is, with one effect, with small variations are accepted for the competition. These demos may resemble old cracktro, or some effects from shadertoy.com
The size of executable files is unlimited, as well as there are no restrictions on the choice of the platform.
The demonstrated effect must be original and not be a fragment or a copy of a previously published work.
The maximum time for showing one work: 1.5 minutes, but the organizers can interrupt the showing of the work without waiting for it to end;
It is obligatory to exit the program by ESC or by another system button, specify the exit button in the .nfo file.
You can use any libraries, frameworks or engines to create demo, for example: Tooll2, Cables.GL, Werkzeug, Enigma, fxEngine, Unity, Unreal engine or any others of your choice.
Oldskool Demo (combined)
Demos for retro computers with 8/16-bit CPUs are accepted for the competition, such as: ZX Spectrum, C64, VIC20, BC, Vectrex, Atari XL, MSX, NES, Gameboy, ZX Enhanced, TS-Conf, and others, in their basic configuration.
The total size of the work is one basic unit of information storage: 1 floppy disk, cartridge or cassette.
The demo should not be solid animation.
You can use any libraries, frameworks or ready-made engines to create a demo, for example: LemonSpawn, Haujobb Amiga framework or any others of your choice.
Pixel Demo (combined)
The competition accepts demo created for any platform running on a 32-bit CPU, without using hardware 3D graphics accelerators (GPU), with displaying images on a simple screen, with a resolution of no more than 800x600 pixels.
Supported platforms:
computers and consoles released after 1992 with a 32x bit CPU, such as: Amiga, Sega, IBM PC, GBA, PSP, etc.
Fantasy computers or emulators such as PICO-8, TIC-80, Pixel Vision 8, HomeGirl, etc.
2D software frameworks such as 2D Canvas HTML5, Flash, or console text mode.
Be sure to indicate in the description of the work what is required to start, the features (if any) and the EXACT requirements for the system specification;
The maximum time for showing one work: 10 minutes, but the organizers can interrupt the show of the work without waiting for its end;
The demo should not be solid animation.
High-End Demo
Entries are accepted for the competition for any modern platform that takes advantage of hardware 3D graphics accelerators (GPUs) for rendering graphics on OpenGL, DirectX, WebGL, Vulcan or Metal API.
Demo size no more than 350 MB in the archive.
The maximum time for showing one work: 10 minutes, however, the organizers reserve the right to interrupt the work without waiting for its completion, if they do not notice a significant development of events, or if the demo has started from the beginning.
Recommended screen resolutions: 1920 × 1080 (16: 9) 60Hz, 1280 × 720 (16: 9), 1024 × 768 (4: 3);
Be sure to indicate in the description of the work what is required to start, the features (if any) and the EXACT requirements for the system specification;
You can use any libraries, frameworks or ready-made engines to create a demo, for example: Tooll2, Cables.GL, Werkzeug, Enigma, fxEngine, Unity, Unreal engine, or any others of your choice.
Wild demo
Any demos working on non-standard equipment are accepted for the competition, which the author should bring with him to the festival;
To show the work on the screen, the participant must provide a video recording that leaves no doubt about the demo's performance on this equipment.
The demo size is not limited.
Be sure to provide all the resources necessary to run the demo.
PC Tiny Intro
Intros, written for x86 processors and run from MS-DOS or MBR, with a limit on the size of the executable file within 256B / 512B (of your choice), participate in this competition.
The average time for showing one work is 2 minutes, however, the organizers reserve the right to interrupt the work without waiting for its completion, if they do not notice a significant development of events, or if the intro has started from the beginning.
At the discretion of the organizers, the works can be divided into separate competitions, if each of the competitions contains at least 3 works.
To work, you need a .bat file to configure and run DOSBox (or an analogue) in full screen mode with the necessary parameters.
In the case of creating an MBR intro, the author must send a binary file of 512 bytes, which will be written to the first sector of the USB-stick using the Rufus program.
For the correct display of the work, it is necessary to send a demo video of its correct work.
PC 4k Intro
The maximum size of the executable file is 4 kilobytes.
Recommended screen resolutions: 1920 × 1080 (16: 9) 60Hz, 1280 × 720 (16: 9), 1024 × 768 (4: 3);
The average time for showing one work is 5 minutes, however, the organizers reserve the right to interrupt the work without waiting for its completion, if they do not notice a significant development of events, or if the intro has started from the beginning.
It is obligatory to exit the program by ESC or by another system button, specify the exit button in the .nfo file.
You can use any libraries, frameworks, tools or engines to create 4kb intro, for example: bepct4k, Leviathan, 4klang, shaderminifier, crinkler, 4k docs or whatever you like.
Oldskool Tiny Intro
This competition is open to intros, with an executable file size limit of 256B / 512B (your choice).
For this competition, works are accepted for platforms (computers and game consoles) released before 1991 inclusive, in their basic configuration: ZX Spectrum, C64, VIC20, Atari XL, NES, BC and others, as agreed with the organizers.
At the discretion of the organizers, the works can be divided into separate competitions, if each of the competitions contains at least 3 works.
The loader should not contain additional materials, as well as perform any actions not related to downloading and launching;
The average time for showing one work is 2 minutes, however, the organizers reserve the right to interrupt the work without waiting for its completion, if they do not notice a significant development of events or if the intro has started from the beginning.
For the correct display of the work, it is necessary to send a demo video of its correct work.
Oldskool 4kb Intro
Intro is participating in this competition, with the size limit of the executable file not exceeding 4096 bytes.
For this competition, works are accepted for platforms (computers and game consoles) released before 1991 inclusive, in their basic configuration: ZX Spectrum, C64, VIC20, Atari XL, NES, BC and others, as agreed with the organizers.
The loader should not contain additional materials, as well as perform any actions not related to downloading and launching;
The average time for showing one work is 2 minutes, however, the organizers reserve the right to interrupt the work without waiting for its completion, if they do not notice a significant development of events or if the intro has started from the beginning.
For the correct display of the work, it is necessary to send a demo video of its correct work.
GameDev
Game compo (Combined)
Entries for this competition are for desktop, retro or mobile platforms;
If more than 3 works for a specific platform are submitted to the competition, then they can be transferred to their own, separate category;
Only ready-made game assemblies or in the form of a playable demo version are allowed to the competition;
The game must NOT be published earlier: (in the form of playable demos, or in the form of a game page on Steam, or in the form of advertising (teaser) videos);
To demonstrate the game on a big screen, you need to provide a video clip with pre-recorded gameplay, no more than 5 minutes long;
Also, the author can go on stage himself during the video showing and personally tell about his game;
For remote participation, you will need to provide source codes, they will not be published.
Game compo (Combined)
Realtime compos
Competitions are held directly at the festival
Shader showdown
Your favorite subject at school was Mathematics and Geometry, but knowledge was not very useful in a peaceful life ?! People of the opposite sex didn't pay attention to you ?!
Today is your hour to show what you are worth! Take part in the new programming battle contest and become popular as a rockstar!
Especially for you, the Chaos Constructions demoparty festival is holding a battle competition for programming real-time effects using a pixel shader, similar to the effects from shaderstoy.com
Two programmers go on stage, and for 25 minutes, fight against each other, programming some visual effects on the screen, to the music of a DJ. (example)
The winner is determined by the audience immediately after the competition, by the noise of the crowd cheering.
Pixel shaders are programmed in GLSL / DX11 / DX9 languages (optional), in the Bonzomatic environment.
It is forbidden to use any other software tools, as well as mobile phones, pens, notebooks and other cheat sheets.
It is allowed to connect your own keyboard and change the "key combinations" responsible for copy, cut, paste and change the keyboard layout.
The competition is held according to the Olympic system.
The draw is closed - at the discretion of the organizers.
Challenge yourself!
You can sign up to participate in the competition at [email protected]
Realtime Music
The music competition is held on the first day of the festival.
Participants are not limited by anything except the topic and time of the competition.
The competition is held on the computers of the participants. It is recommended to bring the software with you.
The best tracks will sound on the second day of the festival and will be published on the festival website.
Music is written by authors on any computer in any music program.
Realtime Graphics
Directly at the festival, you need to draw a picture on a given topic.
To complete the task, you need a computer or tablet and a convenient input tool, mouse, graphic tablet, etc.
Using homework or materials from the Internet during the task is prohibited.
The picture is taken with intermediate stages, at least six.
Pixel Art realtime graphics
Directly at the festival, you need to draw a picture on a given topic.
Works created in any graphics mode are accepted
You can draw a picture on a given topic in the attribute mode of the ZX Spectrum computer (32 × 24 pixels, 53 colors) using the online editor, which allows those who are completely unfamiliar with the ZX Spectrum to participate in the competition. (Examples of work can be seen, for example, here