> Desktop Accessory software sold for various video game and anime franchises that were popular in the 1990s and 2000s, like Konami's Tokimeki Memorial or Broccoli's Galaxy Angel, which would do various things like add mascots to the desktop ... But, that's almost all Windows stuff.

One for UNIX is MaCoPiX:

https://rosegray.sakura.ne.jp/macopix/index-e.html

It still works, I used it a few years ago.

> And on a serious note, while I kind of get why these sorts of things fell out of favor, it did add some whimsy and variety to the experience of using a computer. It would be kind of neat to see a resurgence of that sort of thing. Doesn't have to specifically be desktop mascots or pets, either; there was a gold mine of gimmicky software in the 90s and 2000s.

> Likewise, the gradual decline of the screensaver has been somewhat of a bummer. On one hand, yeah, the relevance of screensavers has fallen off so much that I hardly noticed when they were gone... but again, it added some fun to computing. Hard not to miss it a little.

The more and more prepackaged and restrictive computing becomes the more it's seen in the realm of "serious business" and consumed blandly and soullessly than something that's inherently fun and worth playing with.