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The 90s was undeniably a major decade for technology. In the gaming sphere, the era was dominated by titans like Final Fantasy VII, Super Mario 64, and Sonic The Hedgehog whilst on the technological front, we were introduced to the first ever Microsoft Office.
In the years since, 90s releases have received pretty formidable nostalgic followings but 1995’s 3D Movie Maker isn’t a piece of software that I’d immediately identify as a fan-favourite but hey, here we are and the good news is, the source code is now available to everyone.
If you're in the mood for more 90s nostalgia, check out the trailer for 1993's Super Mario Bros. film below. It's a certified blast from the past.
Twitter user Foone recently took to the social media platform to ask Microsoft if they could release 3D Movie Maker’s source code. He wrote, “You released it in 1995 and I want to expand and extend it. My DMs are open, I’ll help you open source it.” A few weeks passed with no response but earlier this week, the self-proclaimed “hardware/software necromancer” received a reply.
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Microsoft employee Scott Hanselman quote-tweeted Foone granting his wish. He wrote, “Hey friends - we’ve open sourced the code to 1995’s Microsoft 3D Movie Maker [..] Thanks to Jeff Wilcox and the Microsoft OSS office as well as our friends in legal and those who continue to put up with me being a mudzh. Thanks to Foone for the idea! Enjoy.”
Enjoy indeed. You can now use the 90s gem to make your own movies - placing 3D characters in environments of your choice and selecting their movements. It might be the type of activity you’d have done after school as a kid but it’s okay to indulge our inner childhood selves from time to time.
As promised, Foone is now hard at work revamping the programme. Speaking to PC Gamer, Foone said he’s expecting to “get the basic modernised version in the next month to a few months, depending on how many issues I run into.” He went on to say, “I didn't know if it would happen, but frankly I thought it was worth a serious try.” Chase your dreams kids.