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  • 7 weeks ago
A Valve engineer reveals the surprising origin of the Steam Machine's interchangeable faceplates. Learn how a necessary thermal vent evolved into a signature customization feature.
Transcript
00:00When we originally designed it, it was the front plate was just one piece.
00:05And then we did a lot of thermal studies and investigations.
00:10And we found out that if you add a horizontal slit right above the power button, you get a big
00:17thermal benefit.
00:18And so the ID guys were like, it's kind of weird to add the random horizontal slit across the device.
00:25Like there's no justification for it.
00:27But then they're like, oh, wait, actually, we can play with it and make it a printable front plate, make
00:30it customizable, make a different color.
00:32And so kind of that idea grew into being what it is now.
00:36So it was definitely form meets function kind of a thing.
00:40Like it was born out of a thermal necessity.

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