Way back when: People used screensavers to prevent "burn-in" on CRT monitors, where static images could permanently damage the screen. Screensavers like 3D Pipes animated the display during inactivity, protecting the screen and extending its lifespan. Additionally, they provided a customizable, visually engaging experience for users when their computers were not in active use.

Programmer Raymond Chen's story starts with his friend and unnamed Microsoft colleague working on the company's OpenGL graphics programming interface team in the mid-90s. They had successfully implemented hardware-accelerated OpenGL for the upcoming Windows NT 3.5 release but had no way to showcase the advanced 3D rendering capability to end users.

With the OS's ship date rapidly approaching, the team needed a slick OpenGL demo – and fast. His colleague proposed holding a screensaver design contest within the Windows team. Screensavers were the perfect low-risk vehicle since they could advise users to avoid them if any issues arose.

The contest rules were simple: each team would create their most dazzling 3D screensaver with a company-wide vote deciding the winner. The winning screensaver would make it into the final Windows NT product. The OpenGL group went into overdrive, churning out 3D animations like 3D Text, 3D Maze, and 3D Flying Objects.

But their masterwork was the mind-bending 3D Pipes. After gathering all the entries, the team sent install instructions and a voting link to their Windows NT .