Yes, I’m still alive and tinkering, despite not having posted anything here for six months. There will be many more posts in 2022. But as per tradition, here’s the “state of the Scratch” address that goes over what was accomplished (however little it might have been) in the past year.
For years, I’ve wanted to see a mainstream(-ish) handheld PC for gaming on the go. GPD Win and similar Chinese competitors have been paving the way, but their latest models have being putting top-of-the-line ultrabook specs inside, with a high price to match; a great technical feat, but off-putting for non-enthusiasts.
Well, after some sudden rumors of a “SteamPal” device a couple months ago, Valve has announced the “Steam Deck,” a mainstream handheld PC, with a starting price of only $399 USD. Like other hyped-up tech devices, the pre-order rules (starting July 16) were complicated, and it’s possible that the first shipment has already sold out. I was lucky and DID get a preorder in, after a few inconsistent error messages, so I’d recommend you keep trying before the gates open for non-Steam users, or else wait until 2022 when supply and demand naturally balance out, or for the eventual improved v2 model.
(And please don’t buy this on Ebay for a silly price, that makes things worse for everyone and it’s not worth it: you could buy a regular laptop with similar specs in the meantime.)
Anyway, there are different tiers for the “Steam Deck,” the cheapest one coming with only 64GB of old eMMC storage. Virtually everyone is saying to not buy that one (and instead to buy the next tier up for $529). But as a small indie game developer, the 64GB is perfect for me. This post will go over why I’m excited for the device, and why 64GB is OK for my intended purpose.
Steam is bringing portable PC gaming to the masses.
I’m fortunate to have known the strong indie developer presence in Michigan over the past few years. But passion and creativity aside, it remains a struggle for many of them to get noticed and make a living. My own view about whether or not it’s feasible to make a living off of your passionate hobby has solidified over the past decade, but even if it’s just the way things are for most people to not make money doing what they love… that doesn’t mean it’s right or the way it has to be forever.
Local communities have seen how hard it is, and are trying to elevate their groups, to bring more attention to the work their colleagues are doing. I’ve seen different ideas thrown around, and I have a few ideas of my own. My ideas are primarily from observing the mature “indie” scene in music, film and comics / books, which I think we could learn from. I thought I’d share a few of my ideas in detail below.
About a year ago, I posted about an attempt to run a gaming event in Michigan. It was canceled at the last minute, but it’s trying again this year as “GLGX” (Great Lakes Game Expo) on February 18 – 21, 2021. And it’s online only, so it won’t be canceled! Nothing stops the Internet!
GLGX Event Logo. Post it everywhere!
UPDATE (2020-03-13): In the last 48 hours, Michigan confirmed cases of COVID-19 being present. Schools canceled classes. Events of over 100 people are generally canceled, or banned. We had updated “notGDC Michigan” to be online-inclusive, and then online-exclusive when the original location became uncertain. Finally, we regretfully canceled “notGDC Michigan” today. It won’t be held on Saturday, March 14, 2020, but will hopefully be held later this year. It’s frustrating to cancel an event only 24 hours in advance, but for the safety and interest of the local community, it was necessary. Original article remains below.
I have been making games publicly since this blog was active (over 6 years now). I had never gone to GDC, the fabled conference that developers travel to from around the world each year. I was planning to go this March in 2020, but sadly, the great migration has been canceled: epidemic fears had caused all major companies that don’t NEED to be there to back out, and on February 28, 2020, GDC was officially postponed, to some undetermined date in the summer when travel fears die down.
That was about 2 weeks before GDC was supposed to take place. In that time, developers in Michigan have rolled up their sleeves, and are running their own local mini-conference: “notGDC Michigan,” on Saturday, March 14, 2020 from 2pm – 5pm at Lawrence Technological University. You can register and find out more information here: https://notgdcmi.com/
A mini-conference on game development in Michigan (plus a couple other events that weekend).
