Software and game preservation is an increasingly important topic, and the best way to keep software accessible for future generations is by releasing the original source code. That's exactly what just happened for Microsoft 3D Movie Maker, originally released in 1995.Microsoft has open-sourced a few older applications in the past few years, including MS-DOS 1.0/2.0 and the original Windows File Manager, but now the company has published the code for Microsoft 3D Movie Maker. This isn't the Windows Movie Maker most people are probably familiar with from the Windows ME/XP days --- it's a 3D animation program for children. The application allows anyone to create movies by placing 3D characters and objects into pre-rendered environments, paired with actions, music, text, and other effects.Microsoft 3D Movie Maker is similar to many later 3D-based rendering tools aimed at children, like Kid Pix 3D (a staple on my family's iMac when I was growing up) and Toontastic. Microsoft also sold a modified version in partnership with Nickelodeon, which included models, backgrounds, and effects from shows like Ren and Stimpy, Rocko's Modern Life, and Aaaahh!! Real Monsters.Even though 3D Movie Maker is almost 30 years old, there's still an active community using it to create new animations. The low resolution lends itself to surreal or ironic videos quite well, and there are plenty of examples on sites like YouTube and 3dmm.com.

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