If I had a major critique of the Steam Deck, it'd be the battery life. But if I had a minor critique of the Steam Deck, it'd be the power button. It's a little bit fiddly to my clumsy fingers, although I admit that's probably a me thing. Still, after that you get a simple logo to tell you that handheld gaming PC experiences are on their way, followed by a little swirly animation. It's a bit default looking, if you ask me. Dull, even.
While the power button itself remains a small bugbear, it's been brought to my attention that I need not suffer from the tyranny of a boring boot sequence any longer. TikTok user bradleyparks5 has been posting videos of custom boot animations on their particular Deck, and each has been modified to great effect. My favourite so far has to be this modified Scrubs intro:
@bradleyparks5 ♬ original sound - Bradley Parks
Glorious, isn't it? Far from simply playing the time-trodden opening credits of a show that I associate with daytime TV on a rainy afternoon, they've even gone the extra mile and added custom text. "Created by Gabe Newell" indeed. Him, and a team of very clever Valve engineers, at the very least.
The fun doesn't stop there, either. How about the Xbox 360 loading screen, with customised "SteamDeck" text? Or perhaps the Persona intro, with a particularly splashy stylised display?
There's even the "Gabe Boy", which features a sound effect that causes something in the back of my brain to tingle in the same way it might if I remembered a childhood holiday. Actually, lets face it, I'm a gaming nerd. Playing Game Boy games by the pool pretty much was my childhood holiday, and darned proud of it I am, too.
@bradleyparks5 ♬ original sound - Bradley Parks
While editing the videos to create appropriate text may be a step too far, it turns out modifying your Deck to show a custom boot animation isn't all that complicated. There's plenty of YouTube tutorials to show you how to set it up, with various different methods to choose from—from the simple to the slightly more involved.
Voila, ta-da, and there you go. You are now officially a Steam Deck modder (although on the lowest rung, I would venture), and your intro video now sets you apart from the rest. If you're in a multi-Deck household this might even be an easy way to tell your various handhelds apart, although I'd still get something like this standing case to really make myself stand out (forgive me) from the pack.
Or even one of these freestanding cushions, which might not do wonders for your image, but will let you watch your new-intro-equipped Steam Deck while laying in comfort on your sofa. A bit much, isn't it? Still, I want one.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to PC Gamer-ify my Deck boot animation to really stand out from the pack. That or the Game of Thrones intro, with a rubbish MS Paint over the title text. I haven't quite decided yet, but the possibilities are endless, ey?
