Wayback Wednesday: Lights Out Screensaver & NBA Jam TE
This is Wayback Wednesday, your midweek blast from the past! From retrospectives of basketball games and their interesting features, to republished articles and looking at NBA history through the lens of the virtual hardwood, Wednesdays at the NLSC are for going back in time. This week, I’m taking a look back at the free Lights Out screensaver that was packaged with the PC version of NBA Jam TE.
Considering that it’s one of my all-time favourite basketball video games, it should be no surprise that I’ve covered NBA Jam Tournament Edition several times in Wayback Wednesday. The PC version is particularly special to me, as it’s one of the very first hoops games that I bought. Indeed, I still have my original copy, which is fortunate as it seems to be a rare and expensive collectible nowadays! In any case, I’ve discussed so many aspects of NBA Jam TE in detail, from retrospectives of the game, to Kevin Edwards’ incorrect portrait, to theories about ratings.
However, apart from a fleeting mention in the aforementioned retrospective, I’ve never really talked about the Lights Out screensaver that came with NBA Jam TE PC. As a young, hoops-crazed PC gamer back in the 90s, it became a source of frustration for me, as I was never able to install it. This wasn’t a case of technological illiteracy, as I’ve been tinkering with computers since the age of eight or so (is it any surprise that I got into IT?). Rather, it’s an apparent mistake with the included documentation, one that I’ve long sought a solution to. Let’s take a look back…way back…
These days, many of us don’t bother with a screensaver. Modern LCD screens don’t have the problems with “burn-in” that their CRT predecessors were prone to, and most of us now just let our systems go into standby according to their “sleep” settings anyway. When CRTs reigned however, their screens definitely needed saving. Since we enjoyed personalisation back then as much as we do now, in addition to the stock options in Windows, there were plenty of free and commercial screensavers featuring a range of themes. To that point, there isn’t a more delightfully 90s screensaver than “Hey, Macaroni“, of course parodying the 1996 phenomenon that was the Macarena.
Naturally, sports and video games were also popular themes for screensavers. The Duke Nukem Kill-a-Ton Collection came packed with extras, which included a wide selection of screen-saving carnage. NBA Live 96 has a built-in screensaver, randomly displaying all of the team logos on a plain black background. There was also plenty of software that allowed us to create our own custom screensavers from saved photos and music files. To that end, I’ll probably always associate Montell Jordan’s “This Is How We Do It” with the Chicago Bulls’ 1996 championship, as a screensaver that I once downloaded used it as the backdrop to photos from that iconic NBA campaign!
The adoption of CD-ROMs over floppy disks made it much easer to pack in bonus content with games and other software. Screensavers and other desktop utilities were a popular choice, being both lightweight and an effective way of personalising our system with relevant branding. That brings us to NBA Jam TE PC, and the Lights Out screensaver that was packed in as a freebie. Lights Out Sports Fans was a series of commercial screensavers by Quadrangle Software, catering to fans of the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB, and college sports. They were available as standalone software – you can still find them on eBay – but they were also ideal bonus content for PC sports games.
Obviously, NBA Jam TE PC included the NBA-themed Lights Out screensaver. Like all the other screensavers in the series, it was comprised of an array of customisable modules. These included selected team logos floating around the screen, or appearing alongside a fireworks display; simulated games, represented by either logos moving around a virtual hardwood, or a “live” scoreboard; logos competing in dunk and three-point contests; a broom boy sweeping the court to uncover logos and slogans; a clock displaying logos and the current system time; an NBA crowd showing off their team spirit; and a giant team sneaker that gobbles up the logos of their Division rivals!
Simulated results were powered by real NBA statistics, and there was an option to ensure that the home team always emerged victorious. NBA wallpapers were also included, authentic basketball sounds played during the modules, and there was even a password security option; a standard lock screen feature now, but quite useful back then. In short, it was far more action-packed and exciting than your average burn-in protection, well worthy of a commercial release, and a bargain of a pack-in. It’s just the kind of thing that I, as a newly-minted hardcore basketball fan, would’ve enjoyed customising a desktop with. It’s too bad, then, that I was never been able to install it!
As I said, it wasn’t a case of not knowing how, but rather hitting a roadblock during the installation process. Since NBA Jam TE PC was a DOS release and the Lights Out screensaver was Windows software, they were installed separately. The requirement of the CD-ROM to play NBA Jam TE was ample copy protection – at least at the time – but since the Lights Out screensaver would need to run without the CD, it required a serial number to be entered during installation. A straightforward procedure that many games have gone on to use – but there was a catch. I couldn’t find that serial number anywhere; not on the box or CD case, and not in the manual or any other documents.
Determined to install a screensaver that sounded so cool, I tried every single number that I could find. I pored over every scrap of documentation that was in the box, with no luck. I even wrote down numbers that were printed on the CD-ROM itself so that I could punch them in, to no avail. As far as I could see, the Lights Out screensaver had been included without the necessary code to complete the installation, unfortunately making it a worthless pack-in. These mistakes certainly do happen with games and other software. Infamously, first run DVD-ROM copies of NBA 2K9 PC lacked the CD key that was necessary to activate the game when installing it through Steam.
I’ve encountered other people over the years who have mentioned running into this issue while trying to install the NBA Lights Out screensaver included with NBA Jam TE PC, suggesting that it was a common problem. Of course, I couldn’t rule out the possibility that we’d all overlooked something; especially considering that I somehow missed that secret characters and expanded rosters were advertised right there on the box and attract mode screens, not to mention the fact that Kevin Edwards was using Blue Edwards’ portrait! And so, rather than relying on vague memories, I decided to go looking for that serial number once more, ensuring that I left no stone unturned.
Googling Lights Out screensaver and NBA Jam TE PC brought up the manual over on archive.org. Flipping to the section about the screensaver, I discovered the elusive serial number! Surely, it hasn’t always been there? Could I have skimmed over it time and time again? Possibly, but I had my doubts. As noted, others have also reported not being able to find the serial number, and such errors aren’t unheard of, as NBA 2K9 PC demonstrated. Furthermore, the uploaded manual looks notably different to mine. This suggests that there were at least two different manuals included with copies of NBA Jam TE PC, with one lacking the serial number for the Lights Out screensaver.
Digging out my manual, which is from the international release, I confirmed several differences from the US booklet. The text is smaller and the pages are less detailed, presumably to squeeze in the additional languages for the European market. More to the point though, the serial number isn’t listed under the installation instructions for the Lights Out screensaver, as in the US manual. In fact, the instructions themselves appear to have been copied from the original standalone release, referring to a floppy disk rather than a CD-ROM, and not mentioning NBA Jam TE at all. It was a relief to confirm that I wasn’t crazy, or lazy; some copies are missing that serial number!
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the registration card or any other documentation that was in the box. It’s possible that there was an insert that I lost very early on, but it’s unlikely that everyone else did, too. Just to be sure, I browsed the CD-ROM on the off chance that there was a text file listing the serial number; unfortunately not. It would seem that it was indeed missing from the international release. However, thanks to the US manual that’s been uploaded to archive.org, the serial number B16-1-10-915711 is out there for anyone and everyone to use. I fired up my Windows 98 virtual machine, ran the installation, and entered that code. Success at last, almost thirty years later!
Needless to say, after all this time, there was a good chance that I’d be underwhelmed by the Lights Out screensaver. Thankfully though, it wasn’t an anti-climatic occasion! I can honestly say that it was exciting to finally complete the installation, and get to play around with all of its features. Sure, it isn’t deep or visually stunning by modern standards, but it certainly isn’t your average screensaver. The ability to customise the modules, select which ones will appear in the rotation, and pick teams using their logos in a drag and drop interface, is really cool. I love the sounds, but I guarantee that my folks would’ve been annoyed after a while, so I would’ve turned them off.
Not only was it fun to finally experience the Lights Out screensaver after almost three decades, but quite gratifying to get an answer as to why I and others could never find the serial number. Clearly there hadn’t been enough care taken with the international version of NBA Jam TE PC, leading to the omission of that vital information from the section of the manual covering the Lights Out screensaver. It’s possible that some US copies had this problem as well, though I’ve not yet been able to confirm that. Bottom line, it seems safe to say that if you couldn’t locate the serial number for the Lights Out screensaver anywhere in your manual for NBA Jam TE PC, it wasn’t your fault!
Since the screensaver is a 16-bit application, short of a viable workaround, it can’t be installed on 64-bit Windows. That’s fine by me; as I said, screensavers are no longer the necessity that they used to be. I’m just thrilled to finally have clarification that the necessary serial number was indeed missing from my manual, and to have gotten it working after tracking down a valid one online! Much like Microsoft Complete NBA Basketball 1995 and 1996 – two literal interactive almanacs – it’s something fun to have installed on my Windows 98 virtual machine. I may not mess around with it all that often moving forward, but I’m pleased that I finally have the opportunity to do so.
Once again though, it’s something that I’d have made the most of had I been able to get it to work way back in 1996. No, it’s nowhere near as fun as playing NBA Jam Tournament Edition on any platform, but it would’ve fed my burgeoning basketball fanaticism. It’s all part of the experience, especially as a young fan. You want to brand everything with your favourite team and player, and be reminded of hoops at every turn. You’ll most likely end up annoying a few people with your new obsession, but it needn’t be unhealthy. My parents certainly supported my newfound enthusiasm for hoops, though again, I’m sure they’d have insisted I disable the sounds on Lights Out!
At the end of the day, stuff like this is fun, and that’s what being a fan of basketball, video games, or anything for that matter, should be all about. Yes, there’ll always be tribalism and spirited debate, but our hobbies and interests should bring us joy. That’s much easier when products are packaged with everything they need, but at least the game itself always worked! I’ve made so many fond memories with NBA Jam TE PC over the years, and even if I had been able to install the Lights Out screensaver, the game is what I’d be most nostalgic for. Nevertheless, I’m glad I can still add to those memories, and to have finally resolved a frustrating issue after nearly three decades.
The post Wayback Wednesday: Lights Out Screensaver & NBA Jam TE appeared first on NLSC.