Cool! I had a hunch there’d be Deck users like you :–)

Personally, I’m just not into that solo game dev career anymore, been there done that. It’d basically require for me to start up my own business again, thanks to Finnish laws. Good point about the steam keys, hadn’t thought about those at all :–)

I have no solid plans for a game specifically designed for the Deck yet, but I’m really into local multiplayer games, and do think a game that you play on a shared Deck might be cool. For example a game with just joystick controls - one stick for each player. My background is in making local multiplayer mobile games and I feel the same kind of games would work just fine on a Steam Deck, too, with the hardware controls adding new possibilities for designs.

As a hobbyist game dev, I don’t mind making games for a niche group of users, but I’m probably going to skip the idea of making games just for the Deck, as there isn’t really a platform for that kind of games. And in my case, I’m talking about freeware games; games that won’t be making that 5 dollar profit. But still, designing a game with the Deck especially in mind feels like a fun and fresh starting point to me :–)

I too like the fact that you can tinker with the device and make the device more personal to you, especially as the Deck is also a machine that just works, if you stick to the game mode. I feel like I get the best of two worlds.

Yes, the store works so well that I’d guess not too many people bother with the desktop mode. It also works really well for developers, as @Dark_Arc@social.packetloss.gg mentioned, with installing non-Steam games still not too hard for those who really want to, like @Edge004@lemm.ee, so I guess there’s really no need for any change.

I’ll probably just end up developing for devices with gamepads in general. The idea of making a game specifically for the Deck is intriguing, like maybe a shared-controller local multiplayer game, but I guess it’s better not to lock the designs too much to the Deck’s features, especially since there isn’t really a platform to showcase those kinds of games.