Variations of the 3D Maze screen saver.

I really miss the old 3D Maze screen saver that came with Windows 98. Not only was it fun to watch, it was also fun to replace the floor, wall and ceiling textures with your own pictures. Here are some variations I came up with.

Here I transform the maze into a virtual Martian landscape. The wall texture here is a real picture of Mars that was transmitted by the Sojourner rover during its thrilling exploration of Mars years ago. The floor texture came from my Rise of the Triad game CD and the ceiling texture was downloaded from the web.

I call this variation The Rules. Here I imagine being one of the last free humans exploring a futuristic world ruled by machines. The machines keep coming up with new rules for those humans who survived the invasion. The text on the ceiling reads:

RULE 599. DO NOT RUN
RULE 600. DO NOT WALK
RULE 601. DO NOT SIT
RULE 602. DO NOT BREATHE
RULE 603. DO NOT LAUGH
RULE 604. DO NOT SING
RULE 605. DO NOT SMILE
RULE 606. DO NOT SNEEZE

It is up to me to find the switch that will end the machines’ reign of terror and save the world. Pretty heavy for an ordinary screen saver.

This variation I call Vertigo is a real trip. I’m surprised the computer can still find its way around the maze. The confusion is maddening but it does a heck of a job saving your screen.
I still don’t know why 3D Maze doesn’t come with Windows XP or Vista. It actually works fine on both of those systems if you still have your Windows 98 CD.