Some software is so good, it alone makes a piece of hardware worth buying. If you’ve any doubt about that, ask around – chances are you know someone who snapped up a Wii U just for the latest Mario Kart and/or Smash Bros. 

Mental Canvas is like that, but for Microsoft’s wildly ambitious Surface Dial. The $99 accessory was launched last month alongside the Surface Studio, but to date, we haven’t heard much from software manufacturers looking to take advantage. 

This app “allows creators to illustrate ideas and depict design concepts freely in virtual space,” which is a fancy way of saying that your drawings can now extend beyond a flat plane. Toss in a Surface Dial, and you can easily zoom in and out of a forest, building, or anything else you’re drawing with depth. 

For now, a Player app is available in the Windows Store that that allows people to explore spatial drawings created using the Mental Canvas authoring software. That piece – which is no doubt what you’re truly after – will be released later this year.

Artworks crafted within the program can be shared on any device with a web browser, and its key selling point is the ease of use when compared to complex CAD alternatives.

And to think – we had to express ourselves using sticks and loose dirt. Kids these days just don’t know how good they have it.