Introduction to ASSEMBLY

ASSEMBLY events have been organized since year 1992. What is ASSEMBLY really about? Why do over 5000 young persons from all around the world come together in Helsinki?

ASSEMBLY is a four day computer festival, in which thousands of people and their computers spend the long weekend by meeting friends, playing games, surfing on the net, talking on IRC and enjoying the great productions from the demoscene. The idea is to be there with or without your computer and enjoy the great atmosphere of being with likeminded people. ASSEMBLY is for everybody who enjoys doing just a bit more with their computer: be it tweaking your hardware, making web pages, playing games, spending a lot of hours on IRC, making great graphics or music with your computer or programming complex routines. ASSEMBLY is where you meet the most interesting people, have the greatest game matches, and see the most amazing demoscene works of art. ASSEMBLY is where you need to be.

ASSEMBLY has been the highpoint of the summer since the year 1992 for thousands of computer enthusiasts from Finland and from abroad. ASSEMBLY has had visitors from Australia, Brazil, United States, Japan, South Africa and many, many more countries. The tradition continues this year with yet another great party full of superb program such as competitions, gigs, seminars, robot wars and special events such as guest appearance by the Star Wreck crew, Star Wreck movie marathon and more!

What is there to do?

Plenty! ASSEMBLY is a four day, around the clock, festival with plenty of program. Most importantly though, you can do whatever you like! A lot of people come to ASSEMBLY to be with their friends and to meet new friends. They play games on their computers, chat on IRC, and just hang around enjoying the great atmosphere. Just think what is cool to do with your computer at home alone and multiply by it 3000: that's how many people there are with their computers doing everything that's cool!

ASSEMBLY also has plenty of organized program. We have a lot of cool competitions for demosceners (Realtime and Sound & Vision), for gamers and for everybody (sports, gaming)! There are great bands playing and raves for techno heads. There are the ARTtech seminars where you can learn a lot. And much, much more like Robosota (robot war). Check out the full program.

Who are the people who come?

ASSEMBLY if for everyone. The youngest participants are around 11-12 years of age and the oldest visitor with a bought ticket was 82 in Assembly Summer 2008 (the average participant is around 18 years of age, most people are between 15 and 25 when they are attending the event). ASSEMBLY is about computers, media art, games and people who come there have some kind of interest into new technology.

How does it all work?

ASSEMBLY is organized to provide almost everything you need to have a great time away from home. You need to bring only yourself and (typically) your computer. We provide the rest: a computer place with a comfy chair, electricity, network access, sleeping facilities, showers, toilets, restaurants and shops for food and drink, program and much more. So, all you need to do is to get yourself a ticket, get there, get in and start enjoying the party!

How to enjoy the party if you can't come

If you can't come to the party, you can enjoy it at home by watching our 24h/day TV channel, AssemblyTV. Watch out, you might become a TV star while at ASSEMBLY!

Where does ASSEMBLY come from

Webster's dictionary defines the word as follows:

ASSEMBLY (noun)

1. A group of machine parts that fit together to form a self-contained unit.

2. The act of constructing something (as a piece of machinery).

3. A public facility to meet for open discussion.

4. A group of persons gathered together for a common purpose.

Number four is what defines us the best. It is a gathering of likeminded people. The first Assembly was held in 1992, but there had been computer parties before that. The first parties were held in Finland around 1987-88, when people gathered to homes and schools to exchange computer games (lack of proper legistlation didn't prohibit it like it does today). The amount of home computer owners grew steadily and hobbyists gatherings started to happen in numbers, with more and more people participating. In the early 1990's we started seeing a movement being born to compete with small computer introes, which they would be placing as a preloader for cracked games. Gradually these works of art grew into demos and more and more categories were introduced to parties such as ASSEMBLY. In 1994, we had demos, intros, graphics and musci competitions happening... and later on, the number of categories kept expanding, totalling over 20 competitions in today's Assembly events.

ASSEMBLY like many demoparties were underground art in the beginning. We however felt from the beginning that the art these programming wizards did with their computers was something that we wanted to tell the world. So one of the missions of ASSEMBLY was to spread the word, make demos and demoscene more open to public. And in our part, I think we have succeeded in this - today, demos and all related to them are regarded offically as media art. And internet has brought it closer to everyone. I still remember in the late 80's and early 90's, when the only way to get demos was to get it from someone via mailed disks/floppies or maybe from some BBS systems. Getting the stuff needed knowledge, connections and determination. Today, there are many sites providing access to the works presented in many demoparties around the world.

And here we are today - a digital computer festival with closer to 18 years of history behind us and still being the one of the biggest demoparties in the world, gathering over 5000 participants from all over the globe, running our own lifestyle TV-channel, created by the work of over 200 volunteer who call themselves Assembly Organizing. Quite an achievement from those few enthusiasts who just wanted to "get theirs friends together to a school in the city of Kauniainen, located in a cold northern country called Finland" :-)