I recently spent an excessive amount of time playing demos on Steam's Next Fest, and I must say it was a mixed bag. On one hand, I was excited to see the innovative ideas and fresh takes on various genres that many developers showcased.However, some demos felt like glorified trailers, lacking meaningful gameplay or substance. This got me thinking about the impact of such experiences on game development. Can we truly gauge a game's potential based solely on a short demo, or are we doing developers a disservice by expecting too much from their work at this stage?While Steam Next Fest has undoubtedly provided a platform for indie devs to showcase their work, I couldn't help but wonder about the ethics of demanding beta access without contributing anything substantial to the development process. Is it fair to expect devs to invest time and resources into a project solely based on the promise of future funding or community support? The line between enthusiasm and exploitation is thin, and it's up to us as players to be mindful of ouole in this ecosystem.