The Gathering 1992 - From Norwegian Television

[Puni/Void]

While browsing Youtube, I found a clip with footage from The Gathering 1992 in Norway. This clip was taken from the news on NrK (a Norwegian television station). It was broadcasted in Easter 1992.

Even if all the talking is in Norwegian, I thought you might find it interesting to see how a demo party looked back then. You'll get to see a clip of Pinball Dreams being played as well.

Enjoy!

The Gathering 1992 footage from NrK

In short they are portraying the party as creative, where the aim is to "create the best program".

[Harrison]

Things definitely looked quite different to the Gathering events of today. They have some videos of The Gathering 08 on youtube too and it is huge in comparison.

[Puni/Void]

The Gathering has really taken off in terms of visitors, that's true. Thousands travel there every Easter! It's a huge success when considering this.

On the other hand it's interesting to note that the amount of productions being released has been shrinking every year. This is due to the fact that the party, which was originally meant for the demo scene, has moved away from what it once was. Now it's mainly a party for gamers.

[Teho]

Yep. And because of that, we may have seen the last of The Gathering. This year the organizers found themselves in trouble with the tax authorities. You see, The Gathering has always officially called itself a computer arts festival. And here in Norway, you can arrange cultural events without having to pay any VAT on the ticket sales and other proceeds since the government wants to support the arrangement of cultural events. But just because The Gathering is becoming less and less a demoscene event and more just a big gaming LAN party, the tax authorities demanded KANDU (the non-profit organization that arranges The Gathering) pay VAT on the ticket sales not only from this year but from the two previous years as well, on the grounds that the competitions, conferences etc that made it a cultural event in the first place is now such a small part of it that it no longer is eligible for the exemption. This demand amounts to nearly 200.000 UK pounds. Needless to say there's no way KANDU can afford that, and unless it is rescinded KANDU will have to file for bankruptcy and that will be the end of The Gathering.

There's a good chance that they may get out of it though. This has sparked the debate of whether or not videogames are culture. When questioned, a lot of the politicians at the norwegian parliament including the minister of culture himself has stated that yes, they are. Most also agree that it is not good to kill off an event that is the biggest in the world of its kind. The politicians are also aware that especially the hotels and commercial community of the city of Hamar where The Gathering is held also benefit greatly from the large number of people it attracts. If it is finally decided that videogames are indeed culture, The Gathering will by definition be a cultural event again and any demand from the tax authorities will be withdrawn. As of today it is still undecided though.

[Puni/Void]

Seems like KANDU and The Gathering won the tax case. The Gathering can now be called a cultural event.

[Teho]

That's great news. But the fact remains that The Gathering is more a gaming party than a demoscene event these days. If I were to go The Gathering now, it would be for the gaming as I'm afraid I'd be disappointed if I expected a demoscene event. Better to go to Breakpoint or Assembly if you want to see a huge scene party nowadays I guess.

[Puni/Void]

That's great news. But the fact remains that The Gathering is more a gaming party than a demoscene event these days. If I were to go The Gathering now, it would be for the gaming as I'm afraid I'd be disappointed if I expected a demoscene event. Better to go to Breakpoint or Assembly if you want to see a huge scene party nowadays I guess.

You are right about that, Teho. It's mostly about gaming these days. As a typical LAN-party, I'm sure The Gathering is top notch. It hosts many competitions in a wide range of games and the prices are very good. The demoscene aspect of the party has slowly faded away though, but that could of course change in the future. If the organizers decide to focus more on digital art and give Sceners a discount when it comes to entrance fees, they might make some people return. Time will show.

[Harrison]

It would be very sad to see it completely turn into a gamers lan party. It would still be a great event, but it would be losing the whole point of the events original intent.

The demo scene has always enticed people to be as creative as they can be and to show off their programming, music and graphics skills and that in turn breaths new life into the creative and gaming markets. If they lose that element from the show it will lose its whole reason for existing.