The more I tell you about the Stimulus Clicker, the less interesting it becomes, so let’s keep it simple. Apparently, this is an idle clicker that starts with a button in the center of the browser screen. The more “thrills” you get by clicking, the more options are available. It keeps escalating. and upgrade. and upgrade. I’ve found that my happiness is roughly proportional to my computer’s processor usage. After 30 minutes, I was like a drunken horse, panting to the soundtrack of Laptop Fan Crash.

“Clicker” looks back and forward at the history of the Internet. On the one hand, this is a ruthless prank that tramples on nerve endings tortured by the ultra-fast Internet 3.0 era. On the other hand, it’s a testament to the expressive power of HTML that harkens back to those glory days 20 years ago, when every website was a wishing well filled with elusive or hidden moving parts and connections, including the digital will-o’-the-wisp known as Things like “pop-ups” were a source of surprise and curiosity at the time. You may even click on them occasionally! Ahwwwwww. I miss the good Internet.

Thanks to reader jamhandy for discovering Stimulation Clicker and including it in the latest Maw live blog. I’m reviewing an open world game right now and it’s just the change of pace I’m looking for, although I do have a bit of a mixed bag about Owls and Wells right now. The creator is Neal Agarwal, whose other works include the alchemical monster Infinite Craft.

If you want a deeper understanding of the above, and your mushy feelings about the page losing its charm, play corru.observer, which Alice0 (RPS in Peace) calls “the most surprising and enjoyable I’ve played all year “One of the games”, a huge, transforming science fiction story that is still unfolding through updates.