> What I would love to see, is a very focused "how to make your own games on Steam Deck" book/video/whatever. I know my kids are interested in making some games, but have no idea where to start. Having a very basic primer to get it up on the Deck would be amazing.
Short summary: The Deck is a Linux computer. Get SSH running on it, compile your game for Linux, copy over the files and run it. Out of the various console SDKs, Deck is probably the easiest for indies to get started on, as it's just another computer.
>Out of the various console SDKs, Desk is probably the easiest
Understatement of the year. For most "consoles" (switch, PS5, xbox) you practically need to have an incorporated legal entity to even begin to do anything. I looked briefly at the process for getting started on the Switch, and it seemed to me like they either wanted you to already have a relationship with them (an existing studio) or have an already-completed game that you can show them you want to port. THEN you can enter into contracts for development-capable Switch hardware and the SDKs and etc.
Meanwhile the "linux SDK" has been available for open download via http literally since I was born.
You don't even have to do any of this, you can compile for windows and use the SDK (once you've enabled developer mode in the steam deck settings and paired) (https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/steamdeck/loadgames) to add your packaged game as a new title. I've compiled and tested games from unreal 4 and Godot 3.something without issue using proton. Using the SDK vs ssh is really nice since it shows up in Steam automatically and updating is easy (just redeploy via the SDK). Be warned the SDK is windows only.
Scratch is "games for kids." They are very prescriptive and have guides - you know, lesson plans - for everything they can teach. Either it supports Steam Deck or it doesn't.
If they're 14+ Unity is realistic and is the same thing the pros use.
I haven't tried Unreal Engine for Fortnite but if they play it, it is probably the best option.
Minecraft, Bloons and Terraria modding is also pretty good.
You can give them a GPT4 sub and it seems to do a good job answering basic computing questions if this is going to be their first time e.g. installing a professional tool.
Again, I know a lot of these tools. And I'm willing to get my kid a unity account. I'm not seeing a solid guide for them, at the moment. Which is a little surprising, as I do agree all of the parts are there.
They are already making scratch games. Would be amazingly fun for them to run a game on the deck just like any other game. Not in a browser, which is how most of those games are executed.
I'm not sure what the guide would really be about? Take Unity, export as a Linux standalone game, transfer to the Steam Deck and run it, literally double-click on the executable and it'll run just like on a Linux computer.
I'm guessing the lack of guides for this specific thing is because it's trivial to do.
Any risks with letting the kids install these directly on the Deck? My preference would be to only let them load the games there, but it is a very soft preference.
That... doesn't give me too much confidence, then. I have a habit of wiping my computers and rebuilding from scratch every year or so. I don't want that habit with the deck. :(
shrug your games are on the cloud, your saves are on the cloud even. If you keep good backups of your non-Steam stuff, all you lose is an afternoon with a flash drive and the SteamOS ISO.
This is probably right for kids development, but if I was actually making a game I would probably target Proton rather than Linux. That way I have both Windows and Linux support very easily.
Short summary: The Deck is a Linux computer. Get SSH running on it, compile your game for Linux, copy over the files and run it. Out of the various console SDKs, Deck is probably the easiest for indies to get started on, as it's just another computer.