Zoo 2026 Reveals SID Music and Pixel Art Champions as Commodore Creativity Extends Beyond Games

Zoo 2026 reveals its Commodore 64 audiovisual champions, with Flotsam winning SID music, The Sarge taking top pixel graphics, and BassCadet winning PETSCII.

The final results from Zoo 2026 demonstrate that the Commodore 64's creative community remains just as interested in music and visual art as it is in programming elaborate demos. In the event's music competition, First Connect by Flotsam of Pretzel Logic secured first place with a score of 7.622. Hyperspace by Jangler of Artline Designs finished second with 7.573, while Sunglasses by Juzdie took third place with 7.467. The competition featured twenty-five musical entries, reflecting the continuing popularity of composing original material for Commodore's SID sound chip. Graphics competitions were equally competitive. Amplifier by The Sarge, associated with Bonzai and Fairlight, won the main graphics category with 8.793 points. Peeling by Electric of Extend finished second, followed by Marilyn by Sulevi. The PETSCII graphics competition was won by Sleep Well Tonight from BassCadet, demonstrating that Commodore's original character graphics remain a viable artistic medium. PETSCII artwork is particularly interesting because artists create elaborate images using the computer's built-in character set rather than conventional bitmap drawing techniques. The restrictions encourage unusual approaches to composition, colour and shading. The music competition similarly challenges composers to create expressive arrangements using the SID chip's limited number of voices. Modern production software may provide virtually unlimited audio tracks, but Commodore musicians continue demonstrating that creativity does not necessarily improve in proportion to available resources. Zoo 2026 also featured competitions for disk-cover artwork and tiny introductory programs. Together, these results illustrate the remarkable diversity of the contemporary demoscene. Forty-four years after its introduction, the Commodore 64 remains a platform where three sound channels and a collection of blocky characters can still produce genuine artistic achievements.