There's also quite a bit of novel functionality, like easy mechanisms for defining new brushes, new transitional visual effects, and even custom "widgets". Decker has grids and a SQL-like query language for working with bulk data, and a growing ecosystem of libraries and tools. Development is ongoing! The scripting language, Lil, is deliberately unlike HyperTalk, but tries to thread the needle between offering accessibility to beginners and power tools to experts. (It's secretly in the APL family.)

If you give it a chance, I hope you'll find that Decker is much more than a superficial imitation of HyperCard's look and feel.

I never found anything like HyperCard that predated HyperCard; it really did seem to be borne from a special burst of insight. I could be wrong though, because as soon as something is declared "the first" someone invariably finds a earlier protoype from PARC or somewhere.

Presentation software definitely feels similar, especially with its card-and-buttons metaphor. Its intentionality is obviously quite different, but I just did a quick look and it seems like there is VBA scripting available in PowerPoint. Maybe the distance between it and HyperCard isn't the vast gulf I thought. Even if that's the case, then it really only supports your conclusion, "We really haven't progressed that much more." That sense of stagnation gnaws at me, TBH.

Thanks for reading and sharing your story.