Are there any good writeups on how they achieved this? I understand a lot of the system libraries were statically linked into the XBEs themselves but it just seems insane that they fit that whole animation into such a small size
Posted Nov 12, 2021, 5:50 PM UTC
that bootup animation is all rendered in real time
Even with it being rendered in real time, I still think it's nuts that they fit all the models, textures, and code for it into 256KB.
There are no texture or model files, only code. The textures are procedural and the "models" are rendered from 3D primitives on the fly.
Watch this 64KB demo https://youtu.be/UyKtZT4GPus
This is seriously impressive stuff. Thanks for sharing
Check out some stuff by .theprodukkt, pretty sure I first heard about them in OXM
:P
They made a game in 96k called .kkrieger(I'm pretty sure you can play it on modern PCs if you can find a DL), and a 96k teaser trailer for Project: Snowblind
That would actually make sense, given how much the intro animation can be customized when you use a hardmod.
I've known about the demoscene for years too. They pull off some really amazing things. I'd be a little surprised if Microsoft hired programmers with demoscene experience, but maybe I shouldn't be.
They may as well been, as the animation was programmed by a company called Pipeworks, which was just founded a year earlier by programmers who were previously working for Dynamix which had released many games for Amiga and other home computers in the 80's where the demoscene was at its most flowering.
This recent article goes into the specifics of how the sound was generated: https://www.gamesoundcon.com/post/creating-the-original-xbox-boot-sound-using-old-school-game-audio-techniques-in-a-modern-console
Thanks for this, it was exactly what I was looking for!
I've often wondered that myself.
Enjoyed reading that
Google "64k demoscene"