Demo Review: Captured Dreams by The Black Lotus (Amiga) (1997)

Hi folks,

If you are in the mood for a good Amiga demo, then please read on. 🙂 Tonight I’m dusting off an old text I wrote 11 years ago to see if my impressions are the same concerning this production. Has it stood the test of even more time?

Captured Dreams by The Black Lotus

At The Gathering 1996 in Hamar, Norway, The Black Lotus (TBL) shocked the crowd with the stylish demo known as Tint. It completely dominated the demo competition and it has over the years established itself as a true classic. Once can say that Tint marked the breakthrough of the Swedish demo group TBL and this become apparant by succedent releases.

A fantastic picture from Tint by The Black Lotus
A fantastic picture from Tint by The Black Lotus – Made by Rubberduck and Facet of TBL.

The demo we are investigating tonight, Captured Dreams, is not much different in this respect. It took part in the demo competition at The Gathering 1997 and won it despite very, very hard competition from other groups like Limited Edition, Artwork, Gods, Ephidrena and others. It has to be said that the amount of demos released at this party was much higher than in the previous year (1996). The quality was generally higher, meaning that winning the competition can be viewed as a bigger accomplishment. Just like Tint, Captured Dreams has entertained people from all corners of the Scene and it is looked upon as a one of the best demos of 1997. It has currently 88 thumbs up on Pouet.net.

The guys behind the demo are as follows:

Code: Dig-it – Equalizer – Offa
Graphics: Danny – Louie – Rodney – Tudor
Music: Fndr – Radix

So, what has Captured Dreams to offer us? In the demo you will see everything from swimming 3D-dolphins to a giant T-Rex dinosaur, from fast and furious effects with fresh palettes to underwater landscapes, and from the usual tunnels to stunning pictures.

While watching, be sure to enjoy the great music. There is much more that could be said about Captured Dreams, but the best way to experience the demo is simply by watching it. It is well worth it, as better demos is hard to come by. An excellent production that can be watched again and again. 🙂

Pixel art by from the demo. Drawn by Danny and Louie of TBL.

Now for the question we started with; Has it stood the test of time (again)? Yes, I think so. It’s a great demo and nice to watch in 2017, so many years after. 🙂

Want to check it out for yourself?

The demo is available for download on Aminet:

http://aminet.net/demo/tg97/tbl-cd.lha

Keep in mind that it requires a HDD, as well as 68030 with 4 MB of Fast-RAM.

If you want to check it out without an Amiga or an emulator, here’s a video from YouTube:

Hope you enjoyed this review of a classic Amiga demo and that you’ll return for more demo posts in the future. 🙂