Video Game Deep Dives

Explore and discuss design decisions behind video game demos together, highly recommended to bring laptop and headphones

A calm group session unpacking design decisions from video games

Video Game Deep Dive is an in person session where we come together to experience and discuss an indie game demo in a quiet, focused setting.

Participants will collectively vote on a demo in advance. During the session, everyone will play the selected demo individually on their own laptop, then take part in small table discussions followed by a whole group reflection.

This is not a talk, workshop, or lecture. There are no slides and no formal teaching. The focus is on shared experience, careful observation, and thoughtful conversation about how games communicate, guide players, and invoke feelings.

The session is best suited for people who already make games or seriously study them, and who enjoy slowing down to notice design details.

If this sounds like your kind of session, we’d love to have you join us.

What we’ll do

• Arrive, settle in, and briefly introduce the selected demo
• Play the demo individually in a shared, quiet space
• Discuss observations and impressions in small table groups
• Bring the tables together for a whole group reflection
• Use remaining time for optional exploration, additional Steam Next Fest demos, or continued discussion

The final portion of the session is intentionally flexible. Participants are welcome to explore other Steam Next Fest demos, replay parts of the selected demo, or stay to chat quietly with others.

Rough schedule (3 hours)

This is a relaxed afternoon session. Timings are approximate and may shift.

• Arrival and setup: 10 minutes
• Selected Steam Next Fest demo, individual play: 40 minutes
• Short break: 5 minutes
• Small table discussion: 15 minutes
• Whole group discussion: 20 minutes
• Open time: up to 90 minutes

During open time, participants may:

• Try other Steam Next Fest demos
• Continue discussing the selected demo
• Compare experiences across different demos
• Leave early if they prefer

There is no expectation to stay for the full duration.

What to bring

• A laptop capable of running indie demos
• Headphones