VIDEO: THE WINDOWS 95 TRIBUTE GAME TRAPS YOU IN THE 3D MAZE SCREENSAVER

Back in the day, I remember getting super excited to have 'computers' as a subject on a Friday. We could play games like Super Mario and stare at cool screensavers like the 3D Maze screensaver and the 3D Pipes Screensaver.

Now, thanks to itch.io's Procedural Generation Game Jam, Microsoft's iconic Windows 3D Maze screensaver has made a comeback, but this time in the form of a hyper-nostalgic experience called Screensaver Subterfuge. No longer do you have to sit and watch an AI-controlled rat mindlessly pursue the smiley face at the end of the labyrinth, now you can be that rat!

To be completely honest, Screensaver Subterfuge is not a great game. It is basically a maze game with super bad voiceovers and choppy graphics. But, as a piece of vintage Windows bricolage, it works nicely.

The game's developer, Cahoots Malone, took great care in crafting a 3D maze with authentic Windows 95 feel. The texture of the bricks, carpet and stones are the same standard Microsoft bitmaps found in the original screensaver, according to the game's readme file.
Other assets had to be extracted from the screensaver’s ssmaze.SCR file, such as the classic start button icon. Tile patterns for the game’s menu screens were excavated from old system files. And a later version of the screensaver, which let you swap out the walls with psychedelic patterns, is also represented in the Screensaver Subterfuge game.

Even the chill music is distinctly electro, having been ripped from the game demo for Hellbender, a nauseating whirl of grey and black polygons that was included on the 1996 Microsoft Interactive CD sampler.

The Screensaver Subterfuge game is available for Windows, Mac and Linux.