Gaming is a hugely popular hobby in modern times, as well as a titan of the entertainment industry, alongside mainstays that might have been thought previously untouchable. If you’re someone who finds this hobby particularly appealing, you might be interested in knowing how you can get the most out of it. As with many things in life, there is a great deal of personal preference to consider when trying to find the right answer, but even among those preferences, there might be certain paths deemed more objective that you’re interested in following.
Games can be massively entertaining, but they can also be genuinely moving creations that are worthy of artistic consideration, and regardless of whether you play games for either experience, they deserve the best chance of delivering on their promise.
For PC
For many people, they’ll hear the term ‘gaming setup’ and they’ll immediately think of it as being a term that applies exclusively to those who enjoy games on PC. This might be due to the greater degree of customization that is afforded to PC gamers, as the machines often have some element of personal touch or implementation required to consistently keep up with more modern titles. However, when considering what a good gaming setup looks like, the fact that your PC is going to be as powerful as it needs to be is probably something that you take for granted, so what about everything else around that?
Well, your initial thoughts might go to the monitor. Although the PC itself will be what decides how smoothly the game runs, and even how good the game looks, that might not matter as much as it could without the right monitor(s) in place. First off, as suggested, you could have multiple monitors, and you might well decide that this is the best route to take if you’re interested in simultaneously talking with friends as you play games. However, you might also be interested in how your monitor fits into your room at large. The classic desk setup, with the keyboard, mouse, and monitor all nearby might be what immediately comes to mind, but it’s far from your only choice, with candidates, such as monitor mounts, allowing you a greater degree of versatility in how you play your games.
For Traditional Consoles
For those who enjoy gaming through more traditional consoles, however, your setup is likely going to look completely different. While PC gaming is something that tends to be enjoyed in the classic desk setting that was previously mentioned, when you think of console gaming, you might think of the couch. This means, then, that your primary thoughts here might be to do with matters like the proximity between where you’re sitting and the TV – how well you can see it. At that point, it’s also important to consider the quality of the TV itself (which you’ll ideally want to be able to hit 4K resolution if you’re dealing with more modern consoles).
It doesn’t stop at the visuals, though, and to best appreciate the inordinate amount of work that often goes into video game sound design, it might be best to look into sound systems that can allow you to get the most out of them.
For Portable Consoles
It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the debate of PC gaming vs. console gaming (primarily referring to PlayStation and Xbox), that it’s easy to forget about other contenders that can present equally enjoyable opportunities. The most famous of these might be the Nintendo Switch, which many people like to enjoy portably in a wide variety of situations. In these conditions, it’s difficult to think about a gaming setup in the same way that you would with the other options due to the inherently changeable nature of your surroundings. Therefore, it might be best to think about the environment that you can create to be most relaxed.
For example, high-quality headphones might help you to get the most out of the audio here, as well as canceling out other noises that might be present in your wider surroundings. This provides a more immersive experience. Additionally, though, finding a comfortable seating position if you’re planning on playing for a while can help you to relax without your posture suffering in the long run. On a similar note, holding the screen too close to your face for prolonged periods might be damaging, so you must think about what a more optimum distance might be.
