3D Maze Screensaver
3D Maze is a free, in-browser remake of the Windows 95 screensaver where a first-person camera drifts forever through a brick labyrinth that the program generates itself. There is no goal and no exit — it just wanders, corridor after corridor. Open the page to watch it, and press ESC whenever you want to leave.
How the 3D Maze screensaver works
On load the maze is carved with a randomized depth-first search: starting from one cell, it repeatedly knocks down a wall to an unvisited neighbor and moves on, backtracking when it gets stuck, until every cell connects. Maze size sets how many cells across, so larger values mean longer, more winding corridors.
The walls are then drawn with raycasting — the same technique behind early first-person games like Wolfenstein. For each vertical column of the screen a ray is shot from the camera until it hits a wall, and the closer the wall, the taller that slice is drawn, which creates the 3D depth from a flat 2D grid.
Distant walls are shaded darker and the two wall orientations get slightly different brightness, so corners read clearly. The space above the horizon is filled with your Ceiling color and below it with your Floor color, while the bricks themselves use the Wall color.
The camera navigates on its own: it heads to the center of the next open cell, smoothly turning to face the direction of travel, and at each junction it picks a passage at random while avoiding an immediate U-turn. Walk speed controls how fast it glides through the halls.
A worked example
With the defaults — Maze size 10, Walk speed 4, and the signature brick-red Wall color over a near-black ceiling and floor — the camera sets off down a corridor, slows into each turn, and chooses a new direction at every junction without doubling back. Bump Maze size up to 24 for a sprawling labyrinth with far longer straightaways, or raise Walk speed to 10 for a brisk march that turns sharply at corners.
Settings & tips
- Increase Maze size for a bigger, more disorienting labyrinth; lower it for tight, twisty corridors that turn more often.
- Recolor the bricks with Wall color and set contrasting Ceiling and Floor colors so the horizon line stays crisp.
- Dial Walk speed down for a slow, dreamlike drift, or up for a faster first-person march through the halls.
Frequently asked questions
- Is the 3D Maze screensaver free?
- Yes. It runs free in your browser with nothing to download or install. The maze builds itself and the camera starts walking on its own.
- Is there a way to win or escape the maze?
- No. The 3D Maze has no exit and no goal — the camera simply wanders the corridors endlessly, just like the original Windows 95 screensaver.
- How do I exit the 3D Maze screensaver?
- Press the ESC key to close it. Moving the mouse or clicking also returns you to the page.
- Is this the real Windows 95 3D Maze?
- It recreates the look and first-person wandering of the classic Windows 95 3D Maze, rendered in the browser using raycasting on a maze it generates itself.
- Can I make the maze bigger or change the walls?
- Yes. The Maze size slider sets how large the labyrinth is, and you can recolor the walls, ceiling, and floor independently.