Festival Demo Checklist

The definitive demo-build pack for Steam Next Fest & co. Ship a demo that converts browsers into wishlists — not one that crashes in the first five minutes.

What's inside

📅 8-Week TimelineWeek-by-week plan from scope lock to launch day: what to lock, what to cut, what to test — with catch-up notes if you're starting late.
✔ 35-Point Build QA ChecklistStartup, first-5-minutes, progression, saves, input, audio, perf, Steam integration — every festival demo-killer, itemized with severity ratings.
⏱ Demo-Length Tuning GuideTarget lengths by genre, the 3-act demo arc, exactly where to end it, and the wishlist-CTA screen that pays for the whole demo.
🚀 Day-of-Launch ChecklistThe 48-hour launch sequence: Steam backend traps, pre-written posts, triage playbook, day-2 patch rules, and the post-festival postmortem.

Free sample — from the QA checklist

First 5 minutes (items 6–11 of 35)

  • First input works immediately. Player can move/act within 10 seconds of gameplay start — no dead air, no unexplained waits. (P1)
  • No soft-lock in the opening. Player cannot get stuck in geometry, fall out of the world, or trap themselves in the first area. (P0)
  • Skip works. Every cutscene/dialogue over 15 seconds is skippable, and skipping never breaks scripting. (P1)
  • No crash in the first 5 minutes across 5 consecutive fresh runs. A crash here costs more wishlists than any other bug. (P0)

The full pack includes all 35 items plus the 8-week timeline, the length-tuning guide with per-genre targets, and the complete day-of-launch sequence.

One price. Yours forever.

$12

Four guides, 35-point QA checklist, timelines, launch-day playbook. Instant download after payment.

Pay with Bitcoin — a fresh payment address is generated for every order. No account needed.

FAQ

Is this just generic "test your game" advice?

No. Every item exists because a real festival demo shipped without it and suffered — the 35 QA items are specific and checkable (e.g. "controller hot-swap mid-game: no crash"), the timeline has weekly milestones, and the launch checklist covers Steam backend traps like depot-on-the-wrong-branch.

I'm only 3 weeks out from the festival. Is this still useful?

Yes — the timeline is written so each week stands alone, with starred catch-up items for late starters. Weeks 3→0 (QA gauntlet, Steam backend, soft launch, launch day) are the highest-ROI sections if you're short on time.

Does this apply to festivals other than Next Fest?

Yes. The pack is written for Steam Next Fest but applies to any demo festival — Scream Fest, Deckbuilding Fest, LudoNarraCon, etc. The Steam backend section applies anywhere you ship a demo through Steam.

What format is the download?

A ZIP of Markdown files — readable everywhere, searchable, printable. No DRM, yours to keep and reuse for every future demo.

How do I pay?

With Bitcoin: clicking buy generates a fresh BTC address and exact amount, with a QR code. Your download unlocks automatically once the payment is seen on-chain. Card payments are live too.