Godot Engine on the Steam Deck – Developing games on the go?
Once I found out about the Steam Deck’s Desktop Mode, it got even more interesting.
Steam Deck’s Gaming Mode vs Desktop Mode
You see, the Steam Deck defaults to an analog of Big Picture mode on PC. It runs full screen in “Steam Deck gaming console” mode. But underneath all that is a Linux system (runs Arch, btw), and it comes with a desktop environment as well. To access it, hold down the Steam Deck Power button, and it will give you the Power menu:
A tap on Switch to Desktop, and Steam shuts down, and a more Linux-y window manager pops up:
At this point, only Steam Deck’s touchpads work. The right touchpad controls the mouse pointer and the left button, and the left touchpad acts as the right mouse button when pressed. There doesn’t seem to be any way to enter characters with the Steam Deck alone. Well, there may be, but it’ll probably require installing packages from the Linux distribution ecosystem.
Desktop Mode needs a keyboard and mouse
If you really want to interact with this thing, you need a keyboard, and ideally a mouse. And since the Steam Deck only has a USB-C connector, you’ll need to find a way to connect your (probably) USB Type A keyboard and mouse to that.
In my case, I’m using a USB-C male to USB Type A female adapter that came with a Nexus or Pixel phone, and I’m plugging in a Logitech Touch TV Keyboard.
I used to use these to control Media Center PCs, but those have all been replaced by Chromecasts.
Let’s get Godot running. First, we’ll need to download and extract it:
Launch the extracted Godot executable:
And look, it’s running.
With this, it’s possible to create games directly on the Steam Deck. It’s not the most practical thing, but it could work in a pinch.
The main issue is powering/charging the Steam Deck while using it. It probably needs a powered USB-C hub, so it can deliver power along with supporting additional peripherals.
For some reason, my Godot game would no longer launch on the Steam Deck. I could hear it running as if it were running in the background, but the screen kept showing the Steam Deck’s UI. Since it’s all Linux I figured it should be possible to just drop to the command line and launch …
This inventory system release refines a lot of architecture guide sections based on customer feedback and adds over 100 additional pages to the PDF guide. Features: Bug fixes:
Right after I got my Steam Deck, I wanted to know how hard it is to get a Godot game running on it. What’s the developer experience for someone who’s stepping through this for the first time? It was really easy to do, so I’m sharing this here, whether you’re following along or like to …
The Terrain3D addon for Godot lets you create and manage 3D terrains within Godot. It looks quite promising for making landscapes, hills, valleys, and other natural environments. The addon provides tools for sculpting the terrain, and you can paint different textures like grass, dirt, or rock, and blend them smoothly. It also supports features like …
Godot Engine on the Steam Deck – Developing games on the go?
Once I found out about the Steam Deck’s Desktop Mode, it got even more interesting.
Steam Deck’s Gaming Mode vs Desktop Mode
You see, the Steam Deck defaults to an analog of Big Picture mode on PC. It runs full screen in “Steam Deck gaming console” mode. But underneath all that is a Linux system (runs Arch, btw), and it comes with a desktop environment as well. To access it, hold down the Steam Deck Power button, and it will give you the Power menu:
A tap on Switch to Desktop, and Steam shuts down, and a more Linux-y window manager pops up:
At this point, only Steam Deck’s touchpads work. The right touchpad controls the mouse pointer and the left button, and the left touchpad acts as the right mouse button when pressed. There doesn’t seem to be any way to enter characters with the Steam Deck alone. Well, there may be, but it’ll probably require installing packages from the Linux distribution ecosystem.
Desktop Mode needs a keyboard and mouse
If you really want to interact with this thing, you need a keyboard, and ideally a mouse. And since the Steam Deck only has a USB-C connector, you’ll need to find a way to connect your (probably) USB Type A keyboard and mouse to that.
In my case, I’m using a USB-C male to USB Type A female adapter that came with a Nexus or Pixel phone, and I’m plugging in a Logitech Touch TV Keyboard.
I used to use these to control Media Center PCs, but those have all been replaced by Chromecasts.
Let’s get Godot running. First, we’ll need to download and extract it:
Launch the extracted Godot executable:
And look, it’s running.
With this, it’s possible to create games directly on the Steam Deck. It’s not the most practical thing, but it could work in a pinch.
The main issue is powering/charging the Steam Deck while using it. It probably needs a powered USB-C hub, so it can deliver power along with supporting additional peripherals.
It would be more useful to interact with it remotely.
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The Terrain3D addon for Godot lets you create and manage 3D terrains within Godot. It looks quite promising for making landscapes, hills, valleys, and other natural environments. The addon provides tools for sculpting the terrain, and you can paint different textures like grass, dirt, or rock, and blend them smoothly. It also supports features like …