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So I was just browsing on Facebook on my PC, and a video post came on my news feed. It was a creepy video of zombies banging on the screen trying to get out which spooked me real hard. Also, the other thing that I noticed was that there were desktop icons on the screen. Turned out that the zombie jump scare video was a live wallpaper. YES! A live wallpaper. This is a thing. So I immediately researched on how to get live wallpapers for PC and found out that there is a software for that on Steam called Wallpaper Engine.
Now, what is Wallpaper Engine?
It is a software which lets you have live wallpapers on your desktop. You can have anything as your wallpaper from 2D to 3D animations, videos and also interactive applications. You can even make your own live wallpaper if you have any animation or a video clip. Currently, the software is only on Steam, and it is still in Early Access and can be purchased for $3.99.
System Requirements
Minimum-
OS | Windows 7 (with Aero), 8.1, 10 |
Processor | 1.66 GHz Intel i5 or equivalent |
Memory | 1024 MB RAM |
Graphics | HD Graphics 4000 or above |
DirectX | Version 10 |
Storage | 512 MB available space |
Recommended-
OS | Windows 8.1, 10 |
Processor | 2.0 GHz Intel i7 or equivalent |
Memory | 2048 MB RAM |
Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660, AMD HD7870, 2 GB VRAM or above |
DirectX | Version 11 |
Storage | 1024 MB available space |
So if your system meets the minimum requirements, then your PC will be able to run Wallpaper Engine.
Time to check out the software itself.
As I said before, you will have to install Steam client on your PC. Once the software is purchased, you can view it in your software library.
While launching, it will ask whether you want to launch it in 32-bit or 64-bit. 64-bit version might use more ram so choose the version depending on your PC specs. I have a good PC, so I am using the 64-bit version.
On the first time start up, you will be asked to input the settings.
Settings
In the general section, there’s the Start with Windows option. Tick it if you want your live wallpaper to be seen on startup. This may slow down your PC if you have a lower configuration. I didn’t have any problems with the startup.
Adjust Windows color will change the color of the taskbar and other windows UI according to the live wallpaper. You can enable or disable it depending on your choice.
In the Performance section, you can choose whether you want the live wallpaper to pause or keep on running when other applications are maximized or are on fullscreen. Then there are 3 presets- low, medium and high. You can change it according to your PC specifications.
Now that we are done with the basic settings let’s apply some wallpapers. Applying a wallpaper is super easy. Just single click on the wallpaper you want and the live wallpaper is applied.
You can change the playback rate and volume of the wallpaper as well.
Downloading wallpapers from Steam Workshop
There are tons of amazing wallpapers in the steam workshop. Check out the video for a tutorial on how to download and apply wallpapers.
FEATURES
- Wallpaper Engine supports formats such as mp4, WebM (Workshop); mp4, WebM, avi, m4v, mov, wmv.
- There is support for multiple monitors and supports aspect ratios and native resolutions including 16:9, 21:9, 16:10, 4:3.
- Tons of interactive wallpapers which will interact with the movement of your mouse.
- Playlist mode so the wallpaper changes automatically.
- Wallpapers pause when you are using other applications.
- Wallpaper Editor lets you create your own live wallpapers and upload them on Steam Workshop.
- Download thousands of free wallpapers from the steam workshop.
Playlist
You can set up custom playlists so that a particular set of wallpapers play in a set period of time. You can have as many playlists as you want. A tutorial on how to setup playlists is given below.
Interactive wallpapers
There are lots of fantastic interactive wallpapers which interact with your mouse movement. I have made a video of some of the interactive wallpapers that I have tried. Wallpaper Links in the video description.
Wallpaper Editor
Not only can you download content from other users but you can also make your own wallpapers with the Wallpaper Editor. I haven’t tried it but read a guide on how to create your own wallpapers. This is the guide link- http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=768427357
If it’s difficult to understand, then I can make a tutorial for that. Let me know down below if you need a tutorial on the wallpaper editor.
Here are some of my favorite workshop wallpapers that I found-
Cats dancing and singing- http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=826320878
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate logo- http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=827961360
Battlefield 1- http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=809416343
Quantum Mechanic- http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=839946897
Rocket League- http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=859788936
Megumin anime- http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=861087035
Dark Souls- http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=860858511
Campfire- http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=860318425
Funny Indian singer- http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=840207235
Darth Vader- http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=801371054
Genji from Overwatch- http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=852382058
Zombie Swarm- http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=865250951&searchtext=zombie
These are the links for the interactive wallpapers-
Silk- http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=823274093
Here are some videos to show the Wallpaper Engine
My Thoughts
We are influencers and brand affiliates. This post contains affiliate links, most which go to Amazon and are Geo-Affiliate links to nearest Amazon store.
Hi my name is Rohan Jadhav. I am a guy who loves to play games and a tech lover. I like to be updated on all the tech stuff. I enjoy watching movies and I am currently doing a specialization course in VFX.