Screen Mate Builder

Screen Mate Builder is a simple-to-use application that lets you create fun animations from images. Together with music and sound effects, you can build an entertaining character for your screen. It addresses users of any skill level.

The app's interface is represented by a wizard-like layout where you can follow a few easy steps to create an animation.

Opening a GIF image from the hard drive can be done with the help of the file browser, since "drag and drop" is not supported. You may specify a preferred color for the transparency, or make the tool automatically recognize it. Plus, it can renew every frame, and you can preview results within the main frame.

The next step gives users the possibility of enhancing the animation through music (MID format) and sound effects (WAV format). Screen Mate Builder comes bundled with plenty of sound samples to choose from, and you can schedule the sound effect to be triggered only when the screen mate starts or every time you hover the mouse cursor over it. Also, you can listen to the audio tracks in a built-in player.

In the following step of the wizard, you may establish the movement pattern for the animation (e.g. horizontally, vertically, snowfall), adjust the speed, set the direction and position, as well as make it bounce (on the screen edge, or on both the screen edge and taskbar).

An output directory and filename are required to turn the project into an executable file; this means that the animation can run on any computer, without having to install Screen Mate Builder beforehand. Two options address file overwriting without confirmation and the animation's immediate launch after creating it.

The program runs on low system resources, has a good response time, creates an animation quickly and includes user documentation for inexperienced users. However, some configuration settings are available through the animation's context menu, independent from Screen Mate Builder (e.g. change the screen resolution, set as screensaver or wallpaper, disable the background music).

To sum it up, Screen Mate Builder comes packed with a wide range of customizable options for creating fun animations for your desktop.