SCENESTART
REAL-TIME · OFFLINE · FREE
Learn real-time demoscene programming in your browser
You learn by building: interactive graphics, shaders, classic effects, animated typography and sound, running live in the browser. Change a value, see the frame change, then export a demo of your own that plays offline.
NO ACCOUNT · NO SERVERS · NO TRACKING · PROGRESS STAYS ON YOUR DEVICE
Built for the demoscene community
Created during the Assembly Summer 2026 Fix It Competition. A browser-based creative coding platform built with Lovable.
See what you’ll build
Every tile below is the real renderer taught on this site, drawing live in your browser. Silent by default, pausable, and still when your system asks for reduced motion.
Raster fields
Slow, wide colour fields in the spirit of copper bars.
OPEN LEARNING PATH for Raster fieldsTypography motion
Letter spacing and direction as animation controls.
OPEN LEARNING PATH for Typography motionProcedural field
High interference turns two sine waves into a woven grid.
OPEN LEARNING PATH for Procedural fieldDeep field
A narrow field of view makes the same stars feel distant.
OPEN LEARNING PATH for Deep fieldCopper bars
One wave, almost no interference: the oldskool bar look.
OPEN LEARNING PATH for Copper bars
How you learn
Learn through experimentation
Change a slider, see the frame change in real time. Every parameter you adjust produces immediate visual feedback. This is how demoscene programming works.
Everything in your browser
No installation. No build step. No SDK. One browser tab is your entire toolchain. Close it and start again anytime.
You leave with a file
Every demo exports as a standalone HTML file that runs offline in any browser. It is yours to keep, modify and share.
Made for demoparties
SceneStart includes preflight checks and release guides for Assembly and other demoscene competitions. You practise on the same questions a party asks you.
Why SceneStart exists
LEARN BY CHANGING THINGS
Nothing is explained before you have moved a slider and watched the frame answer.
IMMEDIATE VISUAL FEEDBACK
Every parameter maps to something you can see in the same second you change it.
NOTHING TO INSTALL
A browser tab is the whole toolchain. No SDK, no build step, no account.
YOU LEAVE WITH A FILE
Export one self-contained HTML demo that keeps running with the network off.
MADE FOR DEMOPARTIES
Preflight checks, release notes and big-screen previews for when you go to a party.
YOURS, PRIVATELY
Progress lives in your own browser. Nothing is uploaded, measured or sold.
What the demoscene is
A demo is a real-time audiovisual performance generated by the computer, designed as a sequence from beginning to end. The people who make them form the demoscene: a decades-old computer-art subculture built around demoparties, competitions and groups.
READ THE BEGINNER INTRODUCTION →Featured creations
Small finished pieces made with the studio itself, running live here. When people start sending in their own exports, this is where they go.
First Light
A slow plasma made from two wide sine fields. The whole piece is three parameters away from the studio defaults.
Built with SceneStart
OPEN IN THE STUDIO to rebuild First LightTRY THIS PATH behind First Light
Long Haul
A tunnel with generous ring spacing and a gentle twist, tuned to stay readable on a big-screen projector.
Built with SceneStart
OPEN IN THE STUDIO to rebuild Long HaulTRY THIS PATH behind Long Haul
Greetings
The obligatory greetings scroller: one line of text, one sine wave, letter spacing doing the rest.
Built with SceneStart
OPEN IN THE STUDIO to rebuild GreetingsTRY THIS PATH behind Greetings
Every path, free
Learn demoscene and Assembly creative disciplines through hands-on labs, guided missions, tool pathways and submission preflight. Every foundation path here is free, runs entirely in your browser, and stores progress on your own device.
- First EffectsInteractive Lab · ~15 MINCreate, remix and export your first real-time browser demo.
- Text & MotionInteractive Lab · ~10 MINMake moving typography that stays readable.
- Core Demo CraftInteractive Lab · ~20 MINUnderstand the concepts every demoscene discipline shares.
- Production Design & FlowInteractive Lab · ~15 MINTurn isolated effects into one planned production.
- Release, Rights & CommunityInteractive Lab · ~15 MINPackage and document a release honestly.
- Pixel & PaletteInteractive Lab · ~20 MINDraw a readable pixel study inside a strict four-colour palette.
- Sound & SyncInteractive Lab · ~20 MINPlan a cue sheet where visuals change on musical events.
- Composition & ArrangementGuided Tool Path · ~20 MINArrange a track structure that supports a production.
- Rhythm & GrooveInteractive Lab · ~15 MINProgram a drum pattern and one variation that keeps energy moving.
- Tracked MusicGuided Tool Path · ~25 MINPlan a tracker pattern across four channels and an order list.
- One-Screen GameGuided Tool Path · ~20 MINSpecify a tiny complete game that fits on a single screen.
- Shaders & 3DInteractive Lab · ~20 MINExplain how per-pixel maths and simple 3D distance fields make images.
- Fantasy ConsolesGuided Tool Path · ~15 MINChoose a fantasy console and plan a production inside its limits.
- Size CodingInteractive Lab · ~15 MINFit a production inside a 4K budget by choosing what to cut.
- Oldskool ConceptsInteractive Lab · ~15 MINExplain where classic hardware tricks came from and why they looked like that.
- Platform-Specific WorkflowsHardware / Submission Companion · ~20 MINKnow the build, test and packaging route for one target platform.
- Digital GraphicsGuided Tool Path · ~20 MINPlan a still image that holds a big screen, with work-in-progress evidence.
- 3D GraphicsGuided Tool Path · ~20 MINPlan a 3D still: subject, materials, three-point lighting and camera.
- Short FilmGuided Tool Path · ~20 MINBreak a short film into shots with a clear arc and a real duration.
- Real WildHardware / Submission Companion · ~15 MINPlan a physical production and the footage that proves it happened.
- Competition PreparationHardware / Submission Companion · ~15 MINAssemble a submission package without last-minute surprises.
Questions
- What is the demoscene?
- A computer-art subculture where people write real-time programs — demos — that generate graphics and music as they run. Productions are shown and judged at demoparties, and the scene is recognised as intangible cultural heritage in several countries.
- Do I need to know how to code?
- No. The creator builds and exports a working browser demo from a handful of choices, and every learning path is hands-on rather than code-first.
- Is SceneStart free?
- Yes. Every path on this site is free, needs no account, and stores your progress in your own browser. Nothing is uploaded anywhere.
- What do I actually leave with?
- One self-contained my-demo.html file that runs offline in any modern browser, plus plans you can copy or download from each learning path.
- Is this an official competition tool?
- No. SceneStart is not affiliated with any demoparty and cannot certify that anything is competition-compliant. The rules published by your party always take precedence.