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Google Chrome Labs’ digital Etch-A-Sketch feels like the real thing

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5 years ago

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My most successful Web-A-Skeb piece, in which I attempted to write "MASH."
My most successful Web-A-Skeb piece, in which I attempted to write “MASH.”

Image: screenshot: rachel kraus/mashable

2017%2f09%2f19%2ffa%2frakheadshot.f59fbBy Rachel Kraus2019-01-10 17:10:09 UTC

Want to relive a frustrating yet addictive childhood experience? Now you can!

A Google Chrome Labs developer has built a web version of the classic Etch-A-Sketch. It’s called Web-A-Skeb, which is a name that rocks. And I am happy to report that attempting to create anything with it is just as maddening as the original.

Google Chrome Labs is a group of “experimental projects” from the Chrome team created to showcase creativity in coding for Chrome. Earlier this year, the Chrome Music Lab debuted Song Maker, an application that lets anyone compose songs with a few clicks of your mouse.

The digital Etch-A-Sketch comes from developer Rowan Merewood, who introduced the project on Twitter (h/t Ars Technica).

Web-A-Skeb lets you do everything an original Etch-A-Sketch would. You turn the dials on the side to draw, and shake your device to erase. You can enter full screen mode (though that didn’t work for me on my iPhone). And you can even go into ~Fancy~ mode, which lets you draw with colors.

It works best with a touchscreen. You can use it on a browser but your mouse really only lets you toggle one knob at a time. So, no curved lines for you.

My attempts to write and draw in Web-A-Skeb were… not successful. But it was also strangely fun and addictive. Which is to say, it mirrored the experience of using the real thing.

Here was my attempt to write something. I started with the word “The,” which then tapered off as I was like, OK, I’ll just try to make a heart. Sad.

Hard fail.

Hard fail.

Image: screenshot: Rachel kraus/mashable

Then I decided to simplify and just go for the heart. Better, but still heinous. The hubris of going for curved edges…

Just ugly.

Just ugly.

Image: screenshot: Rachel kraus/mashable

Wow, the internet can still be fun guys! Faith = restored.

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