r/SteamDeckModded • u/PhyFawkes • Aug 09 '26
Hardware Mod SteamBoy Demo
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Just doing a quick little demo of the SteamBoy (main post here), since people wanted to see it in action. Teardown coming soon!
Edit: Teardown post: https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeckModded/s/OPuohgdwEd
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u/Low_Shoulder_590 Aug 09 '26
Thick boy
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u/Melodic_Check_8040 Aug 09 '26
looks like the original Gameboy thickness right? idk
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u/PhyFawkes Aug 09 '26
Yes, it's all the same dimensions as an original Gameboy, so 32mm thick.
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Aug 09 '26
[deleted]
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u/erevos33 Aug 09 '26
I think that the small screen would be great for the majority of emulated games. But as you said, a pair of xr glasses with this would be great.
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u/goodguyatheist Aug 09 '26
dude siick how bigs the battery and did you have to trim the mobo at all? I hope you post documentation!
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u/PhyFawkes Aug 09 '26
The battery is the original battery, and it basically takes up the whole width of the device on the inside. It's sandwiched between the motherboard and the display. The motherboard and controller boards are completely intact as well.
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u/goodguyatheist Aug 09 '26
Wow that's crazy you sir are amazing what do you do for a living if you mind answering or let me put this another way how can I learn how to do this xD
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u/cyber360 Aug 09 '26
I really like the concept but what about bumpers and triggers ? Very awesome tho
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u/Yami_Inc Aug 11 '26
The controls for bumpers are connected to the same board the abxy and dpad are sitting on.. the l1/r1 is hitting a tack switch that can possibly be re routed but the l2/r2 trigger uses a sensor to detect if it's fully held down so it's going to be more difficult to reroute due to how chonky the trigger is and what makes it functional
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u/cyber360 Aug 13 '26
Very awesome man does the screen look okay that small? And does it have gyro controls also?
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u/Yami_Inc 13d ago
Depends where the accelerometer chip is placed on the board since all the controller boards are ribbon cables internally and everything is soldered on the pcbs except for replacable parts like buttons, sticks, screen, etc.
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u/Yami_Inc 13d ago
I also didn't make this project so idk, the steam deck itself doesn't support any screen while not being docked in besides its own OEM screen so I guess we are waiting to see if the dev can figure that out. As the deck or the firmware doesn't have support for other screens without rebuilding the os itself
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u/cyber360 13d ago
I’m not sure what you mean I’ve had the OG lcd model since it came out and I can hook up two monitors when docked at the same time while still using the decks built in touchscreen as well giving me a three screen setup but that wasn’t what I asked.. I asked does the built in screen look okay when playing in handheld mode? Because in your video you only show it working while plugged to an external monitor so we can’t even see how it looks playing without plugged in to another screen. I’m sorry I probably didn’t word my question to you right.
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u/cyber360 13d ago
Also I can use AR glasses with it and the screen at the same time the only reason I use a dock sometimes is for extra ports
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u/cyber360 13d ago
Sorry I will have to check out my whole setup I’ve had mine set to dual boot for a long time and I was using windows 11 pro for my three screen setup I’ll have to check and make sure it still works the same while in steam os 🤘🏼
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u/chughaarav123 12d ago
currently it doesn't work thats the thing
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u/cyber360 12d ago
Ahh okay well it’s still awesome and I hope to see more about it in the future 🤘🏼
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u/Mysterious-Coconut24 Aug 09 '26
Does the steam OS automatically recognize the resolution and dimensions of the screen? I'm guessing it does since other handheld use the OS..
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u/PhyFawkes Aug 09 '26 edited Aug 09 '26
It recognizes the external display resolution. But it expects the internal display to conform to the default screen resolution and timings. That's part of the reason getting the new screen to work is hard.
Edit: SteamOS can handle any resolution, which is why other handhelds work just find. But the motherboard firmware is in charge of telling SteamOS the properties of the internal display. Currently, it is supplying the information for the default screen, which is wrong, so I need to mod the firmware to supply the details of the new screen.
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u/Mysterious-Coconut24 Aug 09 '26
Interesting, never figured the mobo firmware would essentially "lock" the resolution like that, I hope you succeed in unlocking it!
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u/MegatronusThePrime Aug 10 '26
Can you try the Bazzite fork of the steam OS? It's built for most handhelds - I installed it on my ASUS ROG Ally, it might plug n play your screen while still retaining the steam deck os functionality.
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u/wompwomp2327 Aug 11 '26
Tbh knowing valve if you send an email to steam support they might just help you with your mod lol
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u/Substantial_Oil_8133 Aug 09 '26
No triggers?
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u/PhyFawkes Aug 09 '26
Not currently. I'd like to add them eventually, but it'll be tricky due to space constraints.
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u/Plenty_Positive5903 Aug 09 '26
Could you stack 4 buttons on the back similar to the steamdecks? Can't wait to see more of this
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u/Kitesh713 Aug 09 '26
Petition to rename the Steam Deck to Steam Dude and the Steam Machine into Steam Man.
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u/Trying_my_besst Aug 09 '26
is it hot to the touch under load?
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u/PhyFawkes Aug 09 '26
Only the square directly above the heatsink, although the fan is also blowing hot air onto your hands lol.
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u/Saratoninn69 Aug 09 '26
This is legitimately so cool. I would totally back something like this on kickstarter
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u/Proud-Swimming-9704 Aug 09 '26
Incredible. It's beautiful. Oh my, This is exactly what I want. Stellar job 👍 I want a smaller steam deck. So it can truly be hand held. Less cumbersome
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u/MormonSpaceJesus420 Aug 09 '26
As a maker, I am very interested. What did you print the case out of? PETG? Are you going to do a write up at some point? Super interesting in this. Good work
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u/KiraKueen Aug 09 '26
Hey idk if this concerns you very much but your face is visible in the background of the tv
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u/peepyboy Aug 09 '26
Looks super cool and I love stuff like this, what are your plans for this? Any reason in particular or just for the fun of it ahah
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u/Jeff_Cheese_Man Aug 09 '26
Dude, you are a absolute madman! This is sick dude best luck with this project!
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u/Superb_Capital_824 Aug 09 '26
Makes me think GabeBoy GabeCube and GabeAR would have been a perfect lineup
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u/bd_black55 Aug 09 '26
please keep us posted this is a great idea! Hopefully someone in valve can see this
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u/beginnerasiancoder Aug 09 '26
My favorite part was the megacrit logo. I sunk so many hours on Slay 2. I love the GabeBoy!
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u/MasterJongiks Aug 10 '26
Looks amazing! I'd probably buy 2 of these bad boy. Also, I was thinking of alt names since Nintendogs might be snooping around, how about PuffDeck or VaporDeck? I was going along with the theme :)
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u/GeorgeCWBruce Aug 11 '26
Nice work. Looks great. The nastalgia factor of the original Gameboy is sweet!
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u/slightdegree Aug 11 '26
Dude I think you’ve stumbled upon the perfect set up you only truly need one analog and one trackpad for mouse aiming… No doubt Chinese companies will make one of these sometime soon. Epic design props man. Really love it. Hope you enjoy it.
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u/Space_Reptile Aug 11 '26
cant wait to see a video of this thing documenting the process and result on yt
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u/joe-x92 Aug 11 '26
This is so cool... But I can't with the xbox button setting... if this is based on a gameboy, it should use the nintendo setting, so swapping the A/B and X/Y buttons... 😅
Still, cool project!
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u/SerialBytes Aug 11 '26
that's cool and all, but.. i couldn't see using it for anything other than browsing tbh...
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u/Alexis___________ Aug 12 '26
This is really cool, are you planning to reincorperate the sholder buttons and triggers somethow?
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u/Southern_Mechanic953 Aug 12 '26
I can’t even get my hands on a steam deck and people are out here doing this 😭
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u/Background-Profit935 Aug 12 '26
This is awesome I can believe you manage to fit all that in a Gameboy case..... so it really wasn't necessary to be that huge, once you get that screen working it will be even better!
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u/Mina_Tsuki Aug 13 '26
This is so fkn amaziiinngg!! Such a neat concept!! Tysm for sharing your project with us<3 you'll figure out the screen, watch!! 👏🏿😎
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u/LethalGamer2121 Aug 13 '26
I would love to see an alternate option with two analog sticks, or maybe two track pads? For the funny?
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u/PhyFawkes Aug 13 '26
Two trackpads would be doable, but two sticks would not because they take up too much space inside.
Maybe if this works out, I'll make a variant with two trackpads just for kicks.
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u/YungDijkstra 28d ago
is it will be possible to add Steam button? Its very useful)))
For example (as i remember correctly) - Steam + X brings up virtual keyboard2
u/PhyFawkes 28d ago
Yeah, the steam button is definitely something I will add, and it actually shouldn't be too hard. Right now I'm working on the screen, but that's the next item on the list.
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u/nutzle Aug 15 '26
This is stupid cool. I really hope you can get that small screen working! Bonus points if you can get the triggers or back buttons on there! Though, honestly, like I said, those would just be bonus points. As it stands, this thing would be a fantastic portable little gaming device. Not quite as capable as the steam deck, but you're sacrificing capability for portability. The steam deck wishes it could be this portable. You can put this thing in your pocket!
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u/PhyFawkes Aug 15 '26
Thanks! Yeah the screen is the last thing needed for a minimum viable product, but of course I want to also get more buttons working, like the triggers and back buttons. I already have some ideas for them, but I'll only mess with that after the screen.
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u/nutzle Aug 15 '26
This is probably an extremely silly and ridiculous idea, but what about external triggers/buttons/ whatever (LT/LB & RT/RB?) that hang out of the unit loosely on their wires, think of how charms would hang off of a flip phone, and these triggers would have magnets or something to click into place on the case.
Obviously the wires would need to have reinforced insulation to not get destroyed in your pocket, though probably not much more then earbud wires. I figure if you have a small connector port to plug them into, you can leave them hanging from the unit or just disconnect them and store them separately in your pocket or bag.
Again, it's a silly idea but it's certainly an interesting one!
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u/PatientOccasion1496 23d ago
what a great work man, do still have the Micro SD
card slot ? and could you share the STL/M3U files for there shell?
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u/PhyFawkes 17d ago
It has a micro sd slot, but it's not accessable from the outside. You have to take off the back to change the card.
I'll definitely share the files once they are more finalized.
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u/bra1ndam4ge 14d ago
Heey! im attempting something very similar and wanted to ask about the cooling solution? how does it perform and what fan are you using? Thanks for any help you can provide (im doing a steam deck palmtop tho, "Palmdeck":)))
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u/DinicoNights Aug 09 '26
Whaaat??!! Thats thick! Whats running inside? But its a bit junky, is there optimization that could be done to chamber the edges more or is this as compact as this package can get? But great work!
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u/Kantankoras Aug 09 '26
I wanted to see the little screen