// 2026-06-08 // by Elder0010
Commodore 64 demo released in 2025 as a Genesis Project / Extend coop production. Reached #09 at the 2026 edition of the X party demo competition. Reached #03 between the one file demos at the 2026 edition of the X party demo competition.
Release date: 06/06/2026
Credits:
“The final breaths of a man sealed within the cockpit of Colossus, adrift on a journey toward a world that has no name for him.” A one file demo we started some days after releasing We Are The Anomaly. We wanted to explore a different idea and tell a short story with a more abstract and surreal approach. We packed a lot of content in a single file, with a strong focus on the synchronization between the music and the events on screen.
This demo introduces Mixed Mode, a custom video mode combining multicolour and high-resolution scanlines in a full-screen interleaved bitmap. Odd scanlines operate in multicolour mode, while even scanlines operate in high-resolution mode.
The rationale behind this approach is as follows: rather than increasing the colour limitations, the mode expands dithering opportunities for artists by interleaving 2×1 and 1×1 pixel formats, without relying on sprite overlays or underlays.
Each 8×8 tile supports up to 3 colours plus a shared background colour on multicolour scanlines (2×1 pixels), and up to 2 colours on high-resolution scanlines (1×1 pixels).
Due to memory constraints, the mode has not been fully exploited in this release — however, extensions such as side-border sprites or sprite overlays can be implemented with minimal effort.
A PNG converter is currently in development and is expected to be released shortly.
Since the demo is based on a single file, we decided to release it on tape as well, with a custom cassette cover. The cover was designed by Sulevi, and it features a surreal and abstract representation of the themes explored in the demo. There’s a removable sticker on the cover that can be peeled off to reveal a hidden GP/EXT logo underneath.
