The press might not be allowed at Valve's annual Steam Dev Days gathering, but we've sent Seattle native Sam Machkovech to the conference under the incognito name "Daniel DeveloPerson" to deliver you all the news straight from the show floor.

OK, we didn't really do that. What we did do is follow along with the dozens of developers who are livetweeting all the news from the opening keynote on the #SteamDevDays hashtag (and through very shaky Periscope streams). This kind of second-hand reporting means sifting through some obvious trolling from less than reputable sources, but when we see the same information tweeted from multiple attendees at the same time, we can be pretty confident it actually came from the show itself.

Valve seems to be focusing heavily on virtual reality at this year's show, and that includes revealing a new prototype controller compatible with SteamVR. The biggest change in the new prototype seems to be the ability to open your hands completely without dropping the controller, making the prototype somewhat akin to Oculus' own Touch controllers. Attendees also say the prototype does away with the annoying "grip buttons" on the side of the current HTC Vive controllers and simply recognizes when your palms and fingers grasp the side of the controller instead. It's not clear from early tweeted pictures (above) just how that prototype attaches to your hand when it's open, but we look forward to hearing more.

Other tidbits that attendees are tweeting about from the VR-focused Steam Dev Days keynote today:

We'll keep an eye out for any more leaked news from the Steam Dev Days attendees and keep you updated when it comes in.

Update: The original photo in this post has been updated with a more detailed picture from Pluto VR developer Shawn Whiting, who shares even more controller photos on Twitter. As you can see, the prototype stays in place using a solid semicircular support that curves around from the back of the palm through the crook between the thumb and forefinger, as well as velcro straps around the wrist. The controller face itself also appears to have new buttons additional buttons aside and below the touch-sensitive touchpad. We can also spy some sort of colored LEDs peeking out from the front of the controller.

Whiting has also posted a video of the prototype controller in action. Here's another video.