Windows 3D Maze Screensaver

If you were a PC user of the 1990s you probably remember the 3D Maze screensaver that was bundled with Microsoft Windows 95 thru 2000. Everyone seems to remember watching the screen of a large CRT monitor at home, school, or the office as the computer ran through a maze composed of brick walls, passing lab rats and flipping upside-down as it searched for the smiley face. You never wanted to get back to work because watching the screen saver was truly amusing and entertaining.

The 3D Maze screensaver was a staple of these early Windows operating systems, and, even after 20 years, many still go out to download versions of this screensaver for modern computers. It was the must-use screensaver for PC users until Windows XP came along and abandoned MS-DOS-based operating systems.

In our modern world of portable computers and phones, it’s sometimes exciting to be nostalgic and remember a time where your only connection to the digital world was sitting down at a large, beige box and clunking away at the keyboard. Each computer upgrade was a thing to behold as digital graphics and sounds were making their way into the mainstream. When people see the 3D Maze screensaver today, it takes them back to a time in technological-nostalgia when computers really were a thing to behold and digital life was becoming the new normal.

This LEGO build is a diorama recreation of the 3D Maze with its brick walls, “Start” button, lab rat, flipping orb, wall painting, and smiley face. LEGO bricks are the perfect medium for re-creating old computer graphics. Using un-curved bricks with sharp edges and familiar colors resembling that of the 256-color palate, the look and feel of this build matches that blocky, pixelated look of 1990s computer graphics while still presenting a smooth and polished appearance. Simple to build and iconic for many who loved the early days of modern personal computing, it will be loved by anyone and everyone who remembers the 1990s of computers.

So break out that old stack of floppy disks, log into that dial-up internet, and maybe ask for some help from that annoying paperclip with the googly eyes, and see if you can escape the classic 3D Maze!