Ebook: ZX Spectrum Demoscene

This book describes three phenomena in digital media. Firstly, it concerns the 8-bit personal computer ZX Spectrum produced by the British company Sinclair Research since 1982. As a publication about a specific platform, it falls into the mainstream category of platform studies and it pays special attention to how the computer was used for creative purposes. Secondly, the story about the platform will also be presented from the perspective of the community that flocked around it. Therefore, it is mainly a book about people who identify with the ZX Spectrum. We do not describe all the users of the platform here (players, people using apps), rather we adopt the demoscene criterion (which we explain below). And the last and third phenomenon discussed in our book deals with the decentering of digital media or discovering digital phenomena from beyond the hegemonic center. Therefore, even though the ZX Spectrum was created in Great Britain the use of the computer in the country of its birth will not interest us. Thanks to its creator, Sir Clive Sinclair, the ZX Spectrum was designed as a computer primarily for educational purposes. As it often happens, the work detached itself from its creator and took on a life of its own. In our narrative, we will focus on the acquisition (cloning) and creative use of the computer in Eastern and Central Europe. This monograph was written from the perspective of the demoscene, i.e. users and creators whose interests are focused on the capabilities of the British 8-bit computer ZX Spectrum. The book does not include the official history of the computer, but the local narrative. The authors examine the processes of “taking over” the western platform, e.g. mass cloning of the hardware. They investigate creative artifacts specific to the ZX Spectrum scene and discuss the computer’s capabilities for creating graphics, music, demos and games, applying the ethnographic method as well as platform studies and media archeology. The ZX Spectrum Demoscene is an initiative of fundamental importance for the study of the history of digital culture in Central Europe. The authors offer insight into the environment, aesthetics and histories of the platform’s assimilation in varying social and historical conditions.