Resistance is a demo and cracking group founded in 1995 by 4pLaY, a young Norwegian teenager who wanted to become part of the scene.
At the time, there were already many established and respected groups. As a young newcomer, I didn't feel that I had much to offer the bigger groups, and joining one of them wasn't necessarily what I wanted either. I've never really been much of a follower. I've always been more interested in creating things myself, taking the initiative and building something of my own.
So, in 1995, I decided to start my own group. That group became Resistance.
The BBS Connection
At the time, I was also running my own BBS, which gave me a natural way to meet people and become part of the wider scene. As a Sysop, I was in contact with a lot of different people. Some of those conversations developed into friendships and closer relationships, and eventually I started recruiting some of those people into Resistance.
I was also active as a trader on other BBSes. Trading meant constantly getting in contact with people from other parts of the scene, and those connections became another important source of new members.
In many ways, the BBS scene provided the foundation for Resistance. There was no social media, Discord or easy way to find people with the same interests. BBSes were where people met, talked, traded software and built relationships. Being a Sysop and an active trader put me in contact with a surprisingly large number of people, both locally and internationally.
Little by little, the group grew. What had started as one teenager's attempt to create something of his own began turning into a real team, with people joining from different places and bringing their own skills and interests to the group.
The group initially focused mainly on utilities, doors, and other tools for the BBS scene. As Resistance grew and its members became more involved in the scene, the group also moved into software cracking.
Resistance was primarily active on the Commodore Amiga and Nintendo Game Boy Color (GBC), while also venturing into PC and other platforms.
Around 2004, Resistance closed its cracking sections. By then, only the PC cracking section remained active. Following the closure of the cracking operations, Resistance continued as a pure demo group.
But before Resistance became the international group it would eventually become, there was just a young teenager in Norway, a BBS, a bunch of contacts, and the desire to create something of his own.