Kindred Spirits

Way of the Rodent is an outstanding UK website that's chock-full of personal video game writings. This excerpt from Sickboy's tale of underage drinking and arcade hacking "Clicks, Tricks and Cider-Sicks" is a perfect example:

One of the back-seat crew, Michael Howell, had recently been suspended from school for two months and so bristled with the charisma of Alpha Idiot-Male. Out of a scraggy little ADIDAS bag (with the standard All Day I Dream About Sex scrawled over the logo), he pulled out an odd, vaguely dildo-ish device. It was a small plastic tube with a tiny button at one end and a metal prong at the other. When he pressed the button, a thrilling blue spark flashed at the end of the prong. Technically, the piezo ignition section of a pilot-lighter. “What’s that?” I asked.

“Fucking clicker, innit?”

We leaned in close, as, through a fug of meths-breath, he explained how to stick the prong into a coin slot, press the button and marvel at the free credits.

Discovering Way of the Rodent is like being introduced to a long lost brother. Thanks to Raina of 1-Up for making the introduction.