Gaming handhelds are probably getting too gigantic—the huge boy that is the Acer Nitro Blaze 2 is a perfect example—but how far would you go to fit into a backpack? Diyer created Crastinator-Pro Steam bricka steam deck that has no mouth and has to scream, but I feel weird about it.
“The steam deck turns into a journey to a journey,” wrote Crastinator-Pro in Github Post documenting the project. “But I found myself leaving it on more often than not because it wouldn’t fit in my backpack, it took a huge amount of turning, and I had trouble getting it out of the top compartment when I wanted to use it.”
The Crastinator-Pro also has the most niche exploit I’ve heard for Valve’s Handheld: mainly keeping it on a TV or a pair of AR glasses that can project a huge screen into its field of view. “So I started thinking,” wrote Crastinator-Pro. “It could be a lot smaller and lighter without the built-in controller and screen, but that would be ridiculous, right?… Right?”
It may be entertaining, but God works. The steam brick will still boot and connect to external screen peripherals and all controls save the power button. Tragically, Crastinator-Pro notes that the newer OLED steam deck is preferred for mod—to that attractive screen of the American steam deck, early adopters.
Crastinator-Pro kept the motherboard, battery, Wi-Fi antenna, storage, USB-C, power button, and cooling fan — let’s say for the volume buttons and headphone jack in the final build in addition to the controls and screen. Crastinator-Pro trimmed the internal aluminum deck frame and embedded it in a basic 3D printed housing, resulting in the final steam brick. Crastinator-Pro warns that this really takes the life out of the machine in your hands and there is no guarantee that it won’t boil over or experience another unforeseen failure. But in the very specific case of the creator? It seems more or less perfect.
I love how Crastinator-Pro essentially turned 60 miles per hour into making a steam machine, Valve’s failed first attempt at making its own console in the early 2010s, though the ability to run off the battery certainly helps with the steam brick flaps around her Home Entrepreneur. The process of creating a steam brick and, ironically, much in common with console “rolling” designs such as those documented by Gingerofoz on YouTube. Over the years, enthusiasts have found ways to trim console motherboards to a minimum size where they will still function, allowing them to carry portable cases and run games from batteries and internal memory, but still run on the original hardware.
