Nothing at all - was just wondering what if any why I see this. So now you have explained in a better detail what is happening. But you still have not answered all my questions as to what you are using for graphics and such. I believe this may be the problem. That and along with what are your specs for the computer we are speaking of here.
All of this imformation is in my DxDiag.txt file, hence my posing of it. See Reply #3. My computer is more than capable of running DeskScapes flawlessly.
Is it the same game(s) all the time, or is it just any game?
Generally, I only play games over Steam. So it's a multipltude of Steam started games. A quick list would be;
Audiosurf
Counter-Strike: Source
Crazy Machines 2
Day of Defeat: Source
Eets
Gmod
Gish
HL series
I-Fluid
L4D
Lost: Via Domus
Portal
TF2
The Ship
Trials 2
Vample: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
Hidden: Source
Mass Effect
Oblivion
Etc, etc.
However I have experianced this issue with one or two games that were not run though Steam.
Although earlier today as a control I ran Oblivion standalone (not through the steam client,) and the effect was different. This time in the stead of the usual error, the content displayed, but was frozen. It wasn't a dynamic dream, just a movie. It seemed to play through, then stopped where it would normally loop.
I hope this information helps.