After Dark

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65221699282182556242012-02-16T06:27:06.369-08:00After DarkA module by module detail of the After Dark screen saver collections.David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.comBlogger361100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-43995989018992382262008-02-20T08:34:00.000-08:002008-12-10T10:02:24.165-08:00Flocks

Flocks by L Wennerstrom, D. Johnson.©1992-93 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the More After Dark collection.I have always loved this module. This was released back when the idea of AI on your home computer was still new. It felt like the module was actually doing something other than placing random images or animations on the screen. The idea that these object on the screen were following some

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-79749707170811612182008-02-18T06:21:00.000-08:002008-02-18T06:32:28.593-08:00Einstein

Einstein by Mark Malamud & Susan Hautala.©1992-93 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the More After Dark collection.I have no idea if these calculations are correct. But I like seeing them fly by my screen in some Beautiful Mind like fit of math evisceration. I feel smarter when this screen saver kicks in. Maybe someone will walk by my screen and maybe they will think I know what I'm doing.The

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-52075356692726555902008-01-10T07:48:00.000-08:002008-01-10T07:58:39.605-08:00Dominoes

Dominoes by M. Overlin, P. Beard, I. Gasowski.©1991-93 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the More After Dark collection.I've always really liked the Dominoes module. At the time, it was a unique idea to create a screensaver out of game and there was something slightly fascinating about watching a game play out automatically on your screen. Okay, maybe I was easily entertained back then.A small

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-6656800819271986052008-01-07T11:52:00.000-08:002008-01-07T12:02:21.626-08:00Confetti Factory

Confetti Factory by P. Lamoreux, P. Young.©1990-93 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the More After Dark collection.I love this module and I have absolutely no idea why. Perhaps it's the ducks. Perhaps it's always the ducks. The random nature of the conveyor layout lends itself to that "anything can happen" After Dark module mentality. Of course, "anything" in this case meaning what can happen

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-9368196771705441062008-01-04T09:26:00.000-08:002008-01-04T09:40:18.924-08:00Boris

Bogglins by M. Overlin, R. Vaterlaus, I. Gasowski.©1991-93 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the More After Dark collection.Boris is perhaps the exact opposite of Bogglins. The animation is nicely done, the subject matter is cute, and you can have more than one sprite on the screen at the same time. Boris really represents the direct After Dark was heading after their initial release. The quality

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-28796041407942094692008-01-02T13:33:00.000-08:002008-01-02T13:59:29.543-08:00Bogglins

Bogglins by P. Sasse, D. Auld, A. Karn.©1992-93 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the More After Dark collection.Other than "What the heck?" I'm not sure what to think about Bogglins. I mean, it works great under modern Windows and that's wonderful and all but what purpose does this module serve? (I know, it's a screen saver, what is this talk of purpose.)Perhaps as a precursor to "Totally Twisted",

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-89491726531970031282007-12-14T08:58:00.000-08:002008-12-10T10:02:24.234-08:00Zot!

Zot! by Bill Stewart & Jim Stewart.©1990-92 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the After Dark 2.0 collection.So we come to the last module in the original Windows release. There was a DOS version of After Dark but it seems those modules exclusive to the DOS release are currently lost to history.I think Zot! works best when combined with one of the rain modules. By itself, this module runs too fast on

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-64431863592278806422007-12-14T08:48:00.000-08:002008-12-10T10:02:24.244-08:00Wrap Around

Wrap Around by Richard Lesh.©1990-92 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the After Dark 2.0 collection.To be honest, before starting this web site, I don't believe I spent more than two second thinking about or examining this module. Maybe it was because Wrap Around was near the end of the list alphabetically, maybe it was because this module lacks some of the flash seen in others.But I've come around

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-42112559497136581202007-12-13T14:01:00.000-08:002008-12-10T10:02:24.254-08:00Vertigo

Vertigo by J. Eastman & T. Elmore.©1990-92 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the After Dark 2.0 collection.This is an interesting module in that it still runs on modern systems with modern color counts but because the palette cycling of the module, it is much less entertaining on modern systems. Still, some of the palette choices are pretty interesting and the shapes generated can add some

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-57165126463396997462007-12-13T12:25:00.000-08:002008-12-10T10:02:24.267-08:00Swan Lake

Swan Lake by B. Resner & M. Overlin.©1992 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the After Dark 2.0 collection.My old roommate once described the Swan Lake module as Flying Toasters for girls. Actually, that never happened but it felt like a good story and I can certainly see him saying something like that. That's just the kind of guy he was.Swan Lake was a bit of an oddity when it was released as it was

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-62501617584189862142007-12-11T13:55:00.000-08:002008-12-10T10:02:24.279-08:00String Theory

String Theory by Bill Stewart.©1990-92 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the After Dark 2.0 collection.Another (but not the last!) module consisting of a line bouncing around the screen. I always liked this one specifically because it doesn't pretend to be anything it's not.I'm probably thinking too much into it but String Theory was always simple to understand and gave you on screen exactly what you

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-36356022133232133162007-12-10T09:43:00.000-08:002008-12-10T10:02:24.289-08:00Stained Glass

Stained Glass by J. Tantra and W. Boyd.©1990-92 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the After Dark 2.0 collection.When I first installed After Dark, I didn't like Stained Glass. I felt it looked like a module that was broken and the developers kind of liked it broken and left it that way. Over the years though, it has grown on me and is now one of my favorite random design modules.Whatever options you

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-51177789765249901432007-12-10T09:33:00.000-08:002008-12-10T10:02:24.300-08:00Spiral Gyra

Spiral Gyra by K. Alphonso & J. Casey.©1990-92 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the After Dark 2.0 collection.This module runs too fast on modern systems to be watchable. Even when it did run at a more normal speed, it wasn't the most entertaining of savers.Based on the "in-program" text given below, I don't think the makers of this module were that excited about it either.SPIRAL GYRA(tm) is another

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-24387966998948820042007-12-06T08:51:00.000-08:002008-12-10T10:02:24.311-08:00Sounder

Shapes by Rob Gale.©1992 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the After Dark 2.0 collection.Oh wave files, with your large size and your .wav extension. Perhaps it's a testament to Windows that this module still works absolutely fine. Granted, many people no longer have a large cache of wave file lying around but Windows still installs a bunch so there's always some to pick through if needed.Of course,

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-74214452645225954052007-12-05T09:13:00.000-08:002008-12-10T10:02:24.320-08:00Shapes

Shapes by Bill Stewart.©1990-92 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the After Dark 2.0 collection.Again, this isn't one of those really exciting modules that makes you laugh and cry or makes you day dream about all the exciting and wondrous things you will see and options you want to try.What, that's not what you day dream about?This seems like one of those modules that kind of had to be included

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-16663965205739544212007-12-03T13:14:00.000-08:002008-12-10T10:02:24.330-08:00Rainstorm

Rainstorm by P. Beard & T. Elmore.©1990-92 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the After Dark 2.0 collection.Not much to say here other than this is a very mundane module with a very exciting name. The lightening effect was cool back in the day but as this module now runs a little too fast the lightening flash is too frequent and annoying.Okay, I have to say something nice. Well, the module does have

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-12789357447386390662007-11-28T08:02:00.000-08:002008-12-10T10:02:24.340-08:00Punch Out

Punch Out by Bill Stewart..©1990-92 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the After Dark 2.0 collection.It's not the most exciting of modules. It does (as they say) what it says on the tin. It does run a little too fast on modern systems but this is less of a detriment for Punch Out than for other modules like Aquatic Realm.I think this module is best used in conjunction with others in a randomizer as

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-78820357882578908532007-11-27T07:02:00.000-08:002008-12-10T10:02:24.352-08:00Penrose

Penrose by A. Karn and T DiZoglio..©1992 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the After Dark 2.0 collection.Penrose is capable of generating some really beautiful patterns. This was definitely one of the more professional looking savers included in the original Windows release. With the various color palettes and a nice collection of patterns, although nothing really moved, it was still one of the

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-13455450089951895902007-11-26T11:11:00.000-08:002008-12-10T10:02:24.363-08:00Nocturnes

Nocturnes by J. Steinmetz & R. Herrell.©1990-92 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the After Dark 2.0 collection.To be honest, I've never thought about Nocturnes much. It's not the most exciting of modules. It does what it does and it does it fine which I guess is saying enough.The title suggests this is a night scene. This means your screen stays mostly black and the saver only needs to draw eyes.

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-35294924699119778282007-11-20T06:48:00.000-08:002008-12-10T10:02:24.374-08:00Mountains

Mountains by B. Haller & T. Elmore.©1990-92 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the After Dark 2.0 collection.I've always like the Mountains module. When first released it was one of my first exposures to the complexity that is possible with a computer. This was like the random baby brother of VistaPro without any of the complexity.The mountains still look pretty cool today and thankfully, this is one

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-14349119988684884582007-11-20T06:39:00.000-08:002008-12-10T10:02:24.384-08:00Mondrian

Mondrian by Bill Stewart & Wes Boyd.©1990-92 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the After Dark 2.0 collection.To be honest, I'm not sure what to make of this module. It's always seemed to run a bit fast, even on much slower systems but I think that's part of the effect. The effect is kind of cool and a still image seems to look interesting and enough like modern art to qualify as a randomization of

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-50310719758661896192007-11-07T08:38:00.000-08:002008-12-10T10:02:24.395-08:00Marbles

Marbles by M. Overlin & K. McLeod©1990-92 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the After Dark 2.0 collection.One of my favorite modules back in the day, Marbles was a fun module to watch and still holds up (for the most part) today. The physics are a little wonky and it has been replaced by a later version 4.0 module with better graphics, more accurate physics, and customizable options.This one seems to

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-62401150054433366862007-11-06T07:38:00.000-08:002008-12-10T10:02:24.406-08:00Magic

Magic by Bill Stewart and Ian MacDonald.©1990-92 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the After Dark 2.0 collection.Perhaps a little mundane and boring for the modern screen saver fan, Magic still works great on a modern computer. However, since the decedent of Magic is built into every version of Windows there is little this module can offer of which most users are not already tired.Still, it's a good

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-44686156309757528642007-11-05T12:36:00.000-08:002008-12-10T10:02:24.417-08:00Lasers

Hard Rain by Bill Stewart.©1990-92 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the After Dark 2.0 collection.I know it's just lines on a screen but like the Magic module and other similar savers, there's just something cool about the Lasers module. I do wish it worked a little slower on modern systems so as to approach what feels more like light show speed but the frenetic pace does give an exciting colorful

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-81440930863881723342007-11-02T08:32:00.000-07:002008-12-10T10:02:24.428-08:00Hard Rain

Hard Rain by W. Stewart & T. Elmore.©1990-92 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the After Dark 2.0 collection.One of the original line art modules, Hard Rain has not aged well. It runs too fast on modern systems so the ripple effect is lost. Instead of the almost calming image of growing circles lazily appearing on the screen, you get a rapid flash of circles all over the place.In addition, there

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-41655311079062721142007-11-01T07:43:00.000-07:002008-12-10T10:02:24.439-08:00Hall of Mirrors

Hall of Mirrors by Alex Zeltser©1990-92 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the After Dark 2.0 collection.Not a bad module though this one was more impressive in lower resolutions where the mirrors could take up a much larger portion of the screen. Still, Hall of Mirrors works really well on modern systems when set to a slower speed and has no problem with current resolutions.It is still kind of neat

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-13812831259821607972007-10-31T08:37:00.000-07:002008-12-10T10:02:24.450-08:00Gravity

Gravity by Bill Stewart & Tracy Elmore©1990-92 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the After Dark 2.0 collection.Though essentially replaced by later "marble" based modules, Gravity still retains some old world charm of the original After Dark release. Though not as flashy as Flying Toasters, gravity perhaps epitomizes what was enjoyable about the After Dark series. Each module was a mini-show of

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-39623179698109606552007-10-30T07:44:00.000-07:002008-12-10T10:02:24.462-08:00GraphStat

GeoBounce by H. Chesley & W. Boyd.©1990-92 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the After Dark 2.0 collection.One of the first modules that allowed a user to edit the contents and feel like they were part of the creation process. It was also one of the first to kind of, sort of, almost look a little like work, if you squinted.You may have some trouble finding the text file associated with this module.

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-43409048913261475152007-10-29T08:52:00.000-07:002008-12-10T10:02:24.473-08:00GeoBounce

GeoBounce by Ed Hall and R. Herrell©1990-92 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the After Dark 2.0 collection.Why in my day, this passed for 3D graphics and we liked it! You young whipper snappers wouldn't understand.Seriously though, this actually did push some limits in what was possible for a 3D graphic screensaver at the time. Now though, it runs much to0 fast to be pleasant and it sticks to the

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-5791290811302564732007-10-26T08:29:00.000-07:002008-12-10T10:02:24.484-08:00Flying Toasters

Flying Toasters by Bill Stewart©1990-92 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the After Dark 2.0 collection.Flying Toasters is, of course, the iconic, classic, After Dark module. It is nearly impossible to think of After Dark without picturing these determined winged appliances and their accompanying toast.Unfortunately this original 2.0 module runs too fast on a modern computer to be watchable. It does

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-35387165453583649402007-10-26T06:26:00.000-07:002008-12-10T10:02:24.495-08:00Fade Away

Fade Away by Bill Stewart©1990-92 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the After Dark 2.0 collection.Fade Away takes the prize for least exciting module in the 2.0 collection. I have clear fond memories of finding this completely useless when I first installed After Dark. The most entertaining of the styles is Dissolve (pictured above) but by entertaining I mean "yes I suppose something is kind of

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-69038531598800189282007-10-25T07:49:00.000-07:002008-12-10T10:02:24.505-08:00Down The Drain

Down the Drain by W. and J. Stewart©1990-92 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the After Dark 2.0 collection.This module still technically works but is fairly useless on modern systems (I know, this could describe screensavers in general - stop being so negative). The area covered by the "drain" effect is apparently designed for a smaller resolution and does not cover the entire area of a larger

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-80851624347890057212007-10-24T12:03:00.000-07:002008-12-10T10:02:24.515-08:00Clocks

Clocks by Bill Stewart & Jim Stewart©1990-92 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the After Dark 2.0 collection.Yes, it is a clock floating by. Yes, you can choose from a couple of styles for the clock. No, there is not much else. This module works but there is nothing really exciting about. The modern clock doesn't look at that good but the antique clock is passable. The sound for seconds is

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-12178472697938895182007-10-24T08:50:00.000-07:002008-12-10T10:02:24.526-08:00Can of Worms

Can of Worms by J. Eastman & T. Elmore,©1990-92 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the After Dark 2.0 collection.A module that still works well. Segmented worms wiggle their way across your screen leaving a trail of black pixels as they go. This module does suffer from slow down on larger screens but it continues to operate without crashing. My favorite option is to leave the worms completely

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-40370473234354991132007-05-16T21:21:00.000-07:002008-12-10T10:02:24.536-08:00Aquatic Realm

Aquatic Realm by Bill Stewart©1990-92 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the After Dark 2.0 collection.The fish graphics are cute but the animations are limited in this classic module. Though the speed of the module can be turned down by combining with other modules, this saver was replaced by later fish based modules in other After Dark releases and serves little value now. Still, Aquatic Realm

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6522169928218255624.post-34643386255964036412007-05-16T13:38:00.000-07:002008-12-10T10:02:24.767-08:00Starry Night

Starry Night by Craig Dickson©1990-94 Berkeley Systems Inc.Part of the original After Dark collection.The classic "default module". It still retains its simple charm. Starry Night works great when combined in MultiModule with a fireworks based display.STARRY NIGHTOriginal Concept by James J. EastmanThe Number of Buildings can be varied from 0 to 100. The maximum height of the buildings can be

David Donarumohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00705914107341178826noreply@blogger.com6