Documentary: The Evolution of Your Gaming Setup (aka Happy Place)

[Psycho Nulltard]

I've come to realize that I enjoy setting up and tweaking and upgrading and enhancing and rearranging my gaming area/equipment almost as much as I enjoy gaming!  It is my happy place... where the screaming children are someone else's problem... where cooking/fashion television programming is not allowed... where I can release tremendous amounts of flatus into my beanbag and there's not a goddamned thing anyone can do about it.

I know there are other similar threads, but this one's goal is to chronicle the rise to greatness of your happy place!

If you wish to participate, the guidelines are:

• Any evolution of your gaming area should be documented by appending it to your original post in this thread so that the progression can be easily viewed by yourself and others.
• Please be sure to state the date of each update you append to your original thread.
• Please limit image width to 600px or so... a little larger is fine, (i use 620px) but the world hates horizontal scrollbars... so just don't do it! If you must post a higher res image, please link to it using a lower resolution thumbnail.
• You are allowed to bump the thread to let the world know that you've updated your original post. Might even want to link to it so the soon-to-be fans of this thread can easily see the update.

Happy Place Directory:

• Nulltard (you are here)
• Esteban
• Opethian
• esadajr
• Majors
• xcrement5x
• JoshTurboTrollX-16
• Ji-L87
• jeffhlewis
• The Old Rover
• PunkicCybork

Let the epeen waving begin!!! I'll start...
March 4th, 2014
For this initial post, I've chosen to annotate the details of my current setup within the image.  I'll probably just use good old text to note any changes that are made after this point.



June 11th, 2014
Currently a low-resolution photo with very few details (i'm still organizing and stuff) but thought I'd do a preliminary update because I'm impatient and can't stand waiting until i have time to properly label a higher resolution panorma.

[MotherGunner]

Could. Not. Resist.

[RoyVegas]

Could. Not. Resist.

I eat pieces of shit like you for breakfast........

[esteban]

I have no evolution.

No game room.

I keep an old SONY CRT in a closet on an old blanket and SLIDE IT OUT when I play the video games. The blanket is powder blue (my favorite color).

 

Robin's Egg Blue?

Occasionally, I like to compare the CRT versus Modern HDTV (mounted on wall, it can pull out and swivel).

[RoyVegas]

I eat pieces of shit like you for breakfast........

Found the clip, couldn't help but post it..

I eat pieces of shit like you for breakfast

[roflmao]

March 4th, 2014
For this initial post, I've chosen to annotate the details of my current setup within the image.  I'll probably just use good old text to note any changes that are made after this point.

I think there's another thread somewhere in the abyss where people post their setups, but your approach is worth creating a new thread for. Both of my play areas are in a sad state of disarray currently, but when I get around to cleaning them up and organizing them better (and taking a photo of my rats nest of wires for that other thread), I'll post here.

One suggestion I would make is if at all possible make your 600-620px wide image link to a larger image hosted elsewhere, expecially if there's text all over the place.   My poor eyes can't read that stuff.

Aside: I have a BIC F-12 in my living room and it's capable of rattling the pictures on the walls (until I put it on an acoustic isolation riser).  Having 2 of those bad boys must be brain-meltingly awesome!

[jeffhlewis]

I'm counting down the days until I move out of this sardine can apartment downtown and into a proper 3-bedroom, one room of which will be said "happy place." Until then it's just my PVM with nothing plugged into it and 8 steralite containers all worth more than my car.

[Opethian]

my daily beater

[esadajr]

My humble setup. This is just the retro part. 7th gen onwards is in another room.

[munchiaz]

Really like this thread idea of the progression of your happy place. Ill have to post some pictures of my happy place later tonight. Also i will be moving soon, so i will be doing some changes very soon

[majors]

Console setup:
Old apartment circa 2005-


Current house June 2013



Basement movie room 201x-ish(first form):

I'm currently re-working the setup for a new screen I have. I'll have updated shot in the next month(waiting on new cables).


March 2014 HT update, in beta form:
-got a new screen so I had to move the PJ closer. Still need to get a HDMI cable so I can move the PC to the new shelf on the wall with the amps. Added some HTIB speaker for the rears and center along with a new projector(Epson 905HD). It's coming along well and the screen DOES make a difference.


Console April update, some small moving around:

With the two new turbobs, I had to move stuff around...no one puts obey in the corner. More wire management going on since I had to remove a PS2 and hook the LD player through the receiver since I ran out of room on the switch box array. I'll have to play with it for a spell to make sure it suits my needs...the HD TV is mainly for OTA, so only the DTV and 360 are hooked up, but I left a PS component cord connected and easy access if the occasion arises.

Not that I need 4 PCE's all hooked up and ready, but...well, yes I DO! The Shuttle needed a riser since the damn A/V out on the Duo (and IFU) stick out, but I feel it makes it looks like it's taking off or flying. I may get creative and fabricate some sort of hidden podium/mount so it truly looks like it's floating.

[majors]

it isn't clear about the Bose bass unit... did it fall out of the trash in the pic or was it just the angle? Either way, better make sure it stays in there where it belongs! ( ;

No fears, it was given to me and was only used as a center(not bass) for a few months. It has since been replaced. I do still have it...waiting for the ebay to gouge the going price so I can make bank on some bose-fanboys.

OG post updated too

[xcrement5x]

Here's my setup in my gaming "office"



Most stuff is pretty self explanatory from the labels.  The footstool the cat is sleeping on is one of those you can put stuff in, so it's got all my extra controllers.  The beater NES is one I found for about $5 that had been painted black; it looks like shit but I did all my mods on it and it works like a champ. 

My office is pretty messy, hence why you see stuff all over the place too.

[JoshTurboTrollX]

Oddly, I don't have any actual pics (Will have to remedy that), but I do have some videos. 

Here's when we first moved into our house, and was starting to get the game stuff into the game den:

Actual presentation starts at 1:22.  Sorry, I ramble.....

Here's a few months later (Rambling warnings!)

i should get some pics together of how things look now.  It's coming along nicely.

[NecroPhile]

Heh, terrible CEDs.

[geise]

Console setup:
Old apartment circa 2005-


Current house June 2013



Basement movie room 201x-ish(first form):

I'm currently re-working the setup for a new screen I have. I'll have updated shot in the next month(waiting on new cables).


March 2014 HT update, in beta form:
-got a new screen so I had to move the PJ closer. Still need to get a HDMI cable so I can move the PC to the new shelf on the wall with the amps. Added some HTIB speaker for the rears and center along with a new projector(Epson 905HD). It's coming along well and the screen DOES make a difference.

I see your home is child proof.

[Ji-L87]

Actually had to dig on my old photobucket for pictures 
My game corner have seen quite an evolution. At least I'd like to think that.

First, it was like this. A simple TV bench on wheels with a hand-me-down PAL CRT TV, a Dreamcast, a used PS2, my cousins old PS1 and my Mega Drive in storage. Oh, and my at the time newly bought Xbox 360. Quite spartan, really. My LCD-sporting Xbox friends weren't overly impressed.



Then I got myself a Saturn and I got a more Xbox-friendly TV from a friend (that also accepted NTSC signals). I tore down the old bookshelf I used before and turned it into a makeshift multimedia bench. Lots of hours was spent here playing Tokimeki Memorial for the Saturn. 


Now we're talking! Just got bought someone's unneeded pretty much new HD TV, my Duo-R and my LaserDisc player. Let's all cringe together at this setup  Oh, also got a PS3.
This is pretty much how things were looking when I joined here.


Just did the first big re-work of the room layout. Tried dividing the gaming into 2 separate setups. A modern one, and an oldschool one. I liked this idea, sadly had to scrap that because it wasn't really space effective. Or pretty. I beat Ridge Racer for the first time in this setup, felt awesome. Can't do it now on my LCD.


Now we're really getting somewhere - New shelving! Speakers! Scalers! ...well, one. Things looked a bit empty though. I got rid of my CRT now that I had a video processor. LaserDisc collection growing nicely on the shelf.


And here's how it is today, pretty much. In all it's messy glory. Went from the bigger Technics speakers to bookshelfs because they're just so much more practical. Added a cheapo sub to compensate. I've got a two-step scaling setup consisting of an Vigatec Dune-F and a DVDO VP30. Usually, for NTSC systems, I just use the Vigatec since it's connected to the TV's VGA input to decrease lag. If I want to make use of both monitors (or add a capture device) the Vp30 scales to 1080p and into an HDMI splitter. This solution can still be improved upon 

Audio is provided by two cheap Gale monitor speakers, a small sub from König and a Denon AVR-1601 amp/reciever - a very budget friendly audio setup.


Though I didn't show it before, PC corner also got a make-over. But it's much better organized than the console corner. 360 & PS3 lives here. Both consoles and the PC are using optical for audio and the video is fed to a switch, then a splitter so I can game on whichever screen I like.
Mordaunt Short MS 3.10 speakers from eBay + another cheap König sub connected to a chinese SMSL DAC & an Audioengine desktop amp provides the sound. A somewhat budget-friendly solution 

[Ji-L87]

P.S. What is behind the hidden door on the wall?  Is that where you hide the bodies?

It's my inter-dimensional gateway
...is what I want to say. Just a small storage room/wardrobe filled with tat. There's another one on the opposite side of the room - also filled with family tat, cables and random game accessories.

[JoshTurboTrollX]

Found some more current pics of the game den:

old tower/arcadey test/ work bench thing-

Actiony figurines approving of the gaming goodness-

Earthworm Jim, wishing he was a PC Engine game.. Obviously-

36" TV with 6 consoles currently hooked up for play. (PC/Monitor below for capturing purposes)

Smallest of small Tandy CoCo 2 collection-

Nessy library-

For shame on the Y'''S!!-

Turbografx n' friends-

Xanadu poster framed-

some extra spines n' junk put in a frame-

pan back at the wall-

Emerald Dragon Poster-

collection of some framed posters- (along with Jeff's Castlevania Catacombs marquee from MGC '12)

TurboGarpiX-16 Legacy poster (THANKS AGAIN NECRO!!)

[ToyMachine78]

I want your castlevania marquee!

[jeffhlewis]

I want your castlevania marquee!

We printed those out for MGC couple years ago - if you guys want the original PSD/JPG files, I can post 'em for your printing delight.

[majors]

Post updated...

Console April update, some small moving around:

With the two new turbobs, I had to move stuff around...no one puts obey in the corner. More wire management going on since I had to remove a PS2 and hook the LD player through the receiver since I ran out of room on the switch box array. I'll have to play with it for a spell to make sure it suits my needs...the HD TV is mainly for OTA, so only the DTV and 360 are hooked up, but I left a PS component cord connected and easy access if the occasion arises.

Not that I need 4 PCE's all hooked up and ready, but...well, yes I DO! The Shuttle needed a riser since the damn A/V out on the Duo (and IFU) stick out, but I feel it makes it looks like it's taking off or flying. I may get creative and fabricate some sort of hidden podium/mount so it truly looks like it's floating.

[NecroPhile]

Flying shuttle!  Do eeet!

[majors]

Flying shuttle!  Do eeet!

[jtucci31]

I want your castlevania marquee!

We printed those out for MGC couple years ago - if you guys want the original PSD/JPG files, I can post 'em for your printing delight.

Woah yeah I would also love if you posted the file. That looks great!

[MrWunderful]

I love looking at other guys game rooms!  I will post my "corner" if I have some time.

[jeffhlewis]

[5/18/2014]



Not much to look at yet, but I finally, FINALLY have a dedicated room for my gaming shiz. No more steralite containers in storage! I've seriously been waiting like a decade to have a place with enough spare rooms to house a dedicated room.

Me and the lady are moving from our respective city apartments to a bigger and more comfortable pad out in the 'burbs. The house has 4 bedrooms, 3 of which we don't need. So boom - instant dedicated game room.

It's literally just a few boxes at the moment (we've only had the keys for 2 days and haven't moved much), but I was able to assemble my tester Ikea bookcase to figure out how many bookshelves I can fit into the space without crowding it. Probably will need at least 2 more, if not 3 more.

Once the room is complete, it will house:
1.) 32" LCD (PS2 and later)
2.) 29" Sony PVM-2950Q w/ RGB hookups (Dreamcast and prior)
3.) The whole damn game collection on bookshelves
4.) Fully restored Outrun deluxe cab
5.) My Neo Geo miniature MVS MAME cabinet
6.) Stacking file cabinet for cables, controllers, cords, etc.
7.) Tats's "HET" nobey image, fully framed as a poster (along with some other art)
8.) Badass comfy leather chair
9.) Small computer desk for my Sharp X68000 and Sega Teradrive

I'll post updated pics as it comes along...

[6/10/2014]

Everything's in the new place and we're about done unpacking. Gameroom started out as a clusterfuck and still largely is:



Shortly after move-in I picked up the rest of my Ikea shelving (with a corner unit) and got that in position - had to shim the bottom of these things since the floor in this room is warped. I'll be fine if I never have to built this shit flat-pack furniture again:



Panning to the left a bit is the entertainment center which currently holds my Sony PVM-2950Q and a VGA CRT for the Sharp x68k. The LCD will probably hang on the wall overtop of these two.



Still a ton of work to do, and it's looking like 4 shelves won't be enough to hold the entire collection, which is what I feared, haha.

[roflmao]

Nice!

[munchiaz]

I will be moving into a townhouse at the end of the month and my game room is moving to the loft ob the second floor. Im really looking forward to it.right now all my stuff is in the 2nd room,with all our extra stuff,so its cramped. Its also used as our gust room. Now i will have my own space. Cant wait to not share.
Stuff that will be in room:
Asus 22" evo monitor (wii and up)
Sony pvm 19" (ps2 and down)
Dreamcast kisok
All my games
Should have pics in a few weeks

[OldRover]

eponasoft . com/myhappyplace.jpg

My happy place is where I work. This is my new workstation. If you can't tell because my cellphone cam is total crap and the pic is overexposed, teh turbob is running Lucretia, and I have the project in the editor on the laptop.

[PunkCryborg]

Game room before friends came over the other night

[PunkCryborg]

Nice! I would comment on how cool many things are... but i see that boom box on the shelf in the corner and all I can think about is how I wanna prop it on my shoulder, get out my parachute pants, and dance like hammer.

That is  a Lasonic TRC-975 JUMBO, it's to big I doubt you could carry it on your shoulder very long

[jtucci31]

Game room before friends came over the other night

2 candy cabs! My jealousy is overflowing. Great game room!

What PCB's ya got in them?

[Medic_wheat]

I'll see what I can dig up...I have done so many moves I am not sure what kind of state my various gaming setups looked like.


I can say that my current one is.......well...........loosed up...sigh......

Sure I have a little still put together but it pains me to think the majority is in storage...I seriously hope it doesn't take me ten years until the wide and I get our first house.......

[Medic_wheat]

Lol oh how I hate my inept spelling cuppled with auto txt...


Wife lol wife. Lol not the wide lol......trust me she can't even donate blood she is so skinny lol....which I find funny when she complains about her weight lol

[jeffhlewis]

Updated pics of my abode on page 3...

[PunkCryborg]

Game room before friends came over the other night

2 candy cabs! My jealousy is overflowing. Great game room!

What PCB's ya got in them?

I have about 15 PCBs right now. The one that's vert is currently set up with rotary sticks and heavy barrel and the hori I usually play my shooters. Think I have Xexex in there right now

[Medic_wheat]

Wow I didn't realize Ikea make corner shelfs..makes them look much more professonal in the space instead of having gaps and mesh mash of shelfs cramed in.  Now I feel doing Ikea (when I get my first house/man cave) will be the way to go so I can maximiz my shelfing and access/display of stuff. 

I always preffer a clean organized game room versus having stacks and stacks of games hidden behind games ontop of systems.....mainly becuase it looks messy but equally because you end up ignoring games and systems because they are not viewable/accessable/ready to go. 

[jeffhlewis]

it's the classic "Billy" bookshelf system from IKEA - the corner unit really is just a half sized shelf along with a special bracket that makes them all fit together snug. You bolt the tops together and use the bracket on the floor to line them up at angles. Pretty ingenious actually and very easy to install.

Three shelves, the corner unit and the bracket was about $350 I think after taxes.

I think I can avoid having to buy a fourth full sized shelf if I can just pick up extra shelves - each bookcase had about three feet of free space at the bottoms.

[Medic_wheat]

it's the classic "Billy" bookshelf system from IKEA - the corner unit really is just a half sized shelf along with a special bracket that makes them all fit together snug. You bolt the tops together and use the bracket on the floor to line them up at angles. Pretty ingenious actually and very easy to install.

Three shelves, the corner unit and the bracket was about $350 I think after taxes.

I think I can avoid having to buy a fourth full sized shelf if I can just pick up extra shelves - each bookcase had about three feet of free space at the bottoms.

that is the thing I always find odd with Ikea shelfs.....the finding just the shelfs for extra use in already owned book shelfs is always a PAIN ....BUT I am going to book mark this for future refferance and that price is pretty good!....is the material quality? NO but if you are living in a house instead of apartment hoping like I have in the past and only really need to install and leave in place instead of move the darn thing around and get the partical baords and cardboard all messed up it will be fine. 

[jeffhlewis]

that is the thing I always find odd with Ikea shelfs.....the finding just the shelfs for extra use in already owned book shelfs is always a PAIN ....BUT I am going to book mark this for future refferance and that price is pretty good!....is the material quality? NO but if you are living in a house instead of apartment hoping like I have in the past and only really need to install and leave in place instead of move the darn thing around and get the partical baords and cardboard all messed up it will be fine. 

Eh...it's typical IKEA shit - one step away from being cardboard. The finish is pretty nice and they're pretty sturdy all things considered. I wouldn't put it in a damp area like a basement unless you had a dehumidifier down there. They're light enough that one person can carry them in and out of rooms. Gets the job done for what I need it for. Buying quality real-wood bookshelves would have set me back two times as much easily.

[Medic_wheat]

that is the thing I always find odd with Ikea shelfs.....the finding just the shelfs for extra use in already owned book shelfs is always a PAIN ....BUT I am going to book mark this for future refferance and that price is pretty good!....is the material quality? NO but if you are living in a house instead of apartment hoping like I have in the past and only really need to install and leave in place instead of move the darn thing around and get the partical baords and cardboard all messed up it will be fine. 

Eh...it's typical IKEA shit - one step away from being cardboard. The finish is pretty nice and they're pretty sturdy all things considered. I wouldn't put it in a damp area like a basement unless you had a dehumidifier down there. They're light enough that one person can carry them in and out of rooms. Gets the job done for what I need it for. Buying quality real-wood bookshelves would have set me back two times as much easily.

The funny thing is I have a friend who is a carprinter who minus beer and materials would do a similar set up as your for free, but he doesn't live where I am at and asking the guy to travel 4 plus hours to spend a wekeend to build me a play den is asking to much......maybe.....I don't know ......lol.......I am sure he'd do it, but I first need to buy a hosue so this is all just wishfull thinking and dreaming.....

[Medic_wheat]

The more I look at how this space was really maximized I drool...

Honestly if I could find this exact design but in aluminum all metal that would REALLY excite me.

Okay not these picture lol the one of all the shells lined up with that corner unit lol

[xcrement5x]

I use the Billy bookcases as well in my office and I think they're pretty solid for what you're paying.  I couldn't build anything of similar quality for that price or less once I factored in my time, so that's what I used. Another thing I really like about them is the cutout on the back so that they can fit over your trim and right against the wall!

What I did after setting them up though, is stack a majority of my console boxes on top of them to kind of have a display area and maximize the vertical space all the way up to the ceiling. 

[Sadler]

Pics?

[jeffhlewis]

I use the Billy bookcases as well in my office and I think they're pretty solid for what you're paying.  I couldn't build anything of similar quality for that price or less once I factored in my time, so that's what I used. Another thing I really like about them is the cutout on the back so that they can fit over your trim and right against the wall!

What I did after setting them up though, is stack a majority of my console boxes on top of them to kind of have a display area and maximize the vertical space all the way up to the ceiling. 

Yeah - those cutouts at the bottom are a smart addition; they go right overtop of the moulding on my baseboards and flush with the wall. The Billys also come with a wall-mount bracket to keep the thing from toppling over.

Totally could have built my own shelves, but I definitely don't have the patience and free time to do it these days.

[Medic_wheat]

Is anyone else thinking what he needs in that center corner shelf unit is a Vetrex?  Looks like a perfect fit and if positioned in the center would make for a great play area for it as well...

[Opethian]

I should take anew pic of the laser active with a   PCE pac this time and on the 14L5

[xcrement5x]

Pics?

I'm not really a big fan of posting big pictures of my office, but I will try and come up with something for ya

[Opethian]

Obeystation 2.0