Tag: Steam Deck

Here’s how I built a Switch-like experience on my handheld…

One thing that always bothered me about Windows handhelds is how unstructured the experience feels compared to a real console.

I have games installed across multiple SD cards. And every time I inserted one, I had to rescan everything from scratch — waiting, waiting, waiting — just to see which games were on it. And if the card wasn’t inserted? The game just wouldn’t launch. No explanation. No visual feedback. Nothing.

What surprised me is that no launcher — not Steam, not the Xbox app, not any third-party tool — actually solves this cleanly. So I built something different.

The idea: treat SD cards like Nintendo Switch cartridges

On a Switch, you insert a cartridge and the game is just there.

This is how that idea translates into a PC handheld:

You swap it and the context changes instantly. That’s it. No rescanning. No waiting. No confusion.

I wanted that exact feeling on my ROG Xbox Ally X and Legion Go — except with one key difference: my SD cards can hold multiple games. So I needed the whole library to update the moment a card is inserted or removed, not just one title.

That’s what I built into ZenDeck.

How it works

Each SD card gets a hidden identity file — a small manifest stored at the root of the card that tells ZenDeck exactly which games live on it and what device they came from.

The first time you insert a card into a device, there’s a small one-time setup: add the card as a storage location in Steam, then run a library scan in ZenDeck. That’s it — ZenDeck stores everything it finds. After that:

Here’s what happens when you insert or remove an SD card:

• Insert the card → games appear instantly at the top of Recent, marked with a cartridge icon. Steam and Xbox titles alike.
• Remove the card → those games drop out of Recent and go visually dimmed in the library. Still visible, just clearly unavailable.
• Swap to another device → insert the card, do the one-time setup — add it in Steam, run one library scan in ZenDeck — and from that point forward it’s fully automatic on that device.

No launcher I’ve seen does this. Steam dims the title. The Xbox app hides it entirely. Neither one tells you why or where the game is.

The cartridge system adds that missing structure — it makes removable storage feel like a first-class part of the experience instead of an afterthought.

The part I didn’t expect to love: physical covers

Once the cartridge system was working, I realized the concept deserved something physical to match.

So I designed printable covers for the SD card cases — styled like Nintendo Switch game boxes, sized exactly to fit (4.1 × 5.2 cm). Each cover shows the actual game artwork of every title stored on that card.

Two layouts depending on how many games you have:

Up to 4 games — 2×2 grid layout

Here’s what a finished cover looks like:

5 or more games — hero + list layout

If your SD card has more games, this layout scales much better:

The covers are made in Canva. I’m sharing both templates publicly so you can make your own — with your games, your SD cards.

How to get your own copy:

1. Create a free Canva account at canva.com if you don’t have one already
2. Open the template link for your layout:
   • 📋 Up to 4 games: https://canva.link/eu2smitg6zs2j7f
   • 📋 5 or more games: https://canva.link/rf60qlrjie2bxcl
3. Once open, go to File → Make a copy — this creates your own editable version without touching the original
4. Replace the game images with your own (Steam cover art is available at cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/[APP_ID]/header.jpg)
5. Update the SD capacity text in the top bar
6. Export as PDF for print and print on photo paper or glossy sticker stock

Note: You need to be logged into your Canva account for the “Make a copy” option to appear. If you open the link without being logged in, the option won’t show up.

Why this matters beyond the cool factor

This isn’t just aesthetic. It solves real friction:

What happens now	What happened before
One-time setup per device, then insert card → games appear instantly	Every single insert: rescan everything
Remove card → library updates in real time	Remove card → games fail silently
Swap devices → one-time setup, automatic forever after	Swap devices → start over every time
Physical cover shows what’s inside	No way to know without checking

This ended up being one of my favorite parts of the whole system.

The cartridge metaphor works because it maps to something people already understand intuitively. You don’t need to explain it. You just insert the card and it works.

What this feels like in practice

I keep a 256 GB card with Cyberpunk 2077, God of War, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and Cult of the Lamb. I keep a 512 GB card with 12 more. When I want to switch what I’m playing, I swap the card. That’s it.

Fast, physical, and genuinely console-like — on hardware that shipped with a desktop OS and zero of this thinking built in.

If you’re building for Windows handhelds, rethink not just performance. Rethink how the user interacts with their games. That’s where the real experience lives.