Idle animations have their origin in the mid 80s, when
graphics capabilities of home computers began to improve and with the move towards more realistic imagery, it suddenly became evident that a
static sprite of a standing character
just didn't cut it anymore.
Rather than give you a
static screenshot of it, which
just doesn't do justice to how cool it is and how great the
graphics look, we'd encourage you to check out this interactive sample on the Overviewer website.