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Piles of games on the floor. Holes in my socks. And I’m all alone—so alone! Life is miserable because I don’t have a cool computer gaming room. But then, wham! I redid my room and took a shower—look at me now, baby! Hopefully, these girls like me for my sensitive soul instead of just my stuff.

Call me sensei as I lay some gaming feng shui on you. Most home offices are cramped little corners you use to get your work done—not the best place to get your frag on. We gutted out one blasé room and modded it to make it the ideal computer gaming world. We applied a fresh coat of paint in a chill computer scheme of silver and black and then broke down some closet doors to make room for a TV stand.

We wanted to take full advantage of a multiple-monitor setup, so instead of turning the desk toward a lonely corner, we faced it out toward the television. Both the television and the desk monitor are in the same line of sight, so essentially, we created one giant monitor.

As the gear eye for you game guys, we then outfitted our game room to the gills with the tech you need to get the most out of your play. And hey, maybe once you’ve pimped out your own pad, the honeys will be more inclined to pay a visit.

Desk

What do you need in a gaming desk? Lots of wide, flat open space. Knickknack shelves aren’t necessary. Most important, this desk should handle a mouse being angrily smashed against its surface. A weak keyboard drawer just won’t do.

The cheapest solution is a fold-out catering table sold at office supply stores. They’re ugly, but they get the job done, especially as a quick LAN-gaming solution. A better solution would be Ikea’s value-minded Jerker table, which is a no-frills, solid choice at an affordable $99.

In order to build a table just for computer gaming, we turned to the wicked talent at Overkill Design Studios (www.overkilldesign.com).

Dell UltraSharp 2001 FP www.logitech.com

Most LCD monitors aren’t fit for gaming, but the 16-millisecond response time of Dell’s UltraSharp 2001 FP makes this the beautiful exception to the rule. $900

X-Arcade Joystick www.x-arcade.com

There are many MAME sticks on the market, but the X-Arcade sticks have port adapters that allow you to connect the sticks to your console.

$100

Logitech Cordless RumblePad www.logitech.com

Similar in shape to the PS2 dual-stick controller, the Logitech wireless offers glorious freedom from wires. $50

Logitech DiMuvo Bluetooth Mouse www.logitech.com

The base unit doubles as a charger for the mouse and a hub for all of your Bluetooth devices. $100

Logitech Cordless Freedom 2.4

www.logitech.com

Flight sims and Battlefield Vietnam vehicles call for an ace joystick like the Logitech Cordless Freedom 2.4. $70

iPod mini www.apple.com

Yes, the original iPod is only $50 more for 11 more gigabytes, but the mini’s style is damn sexy. $250

Overkill

I confusedly described an ideal gaming desk to Overkill: a rock-solid surface to work on that’s sharp and sexy, with a black-and-silver color scheme. I really had no idea what they would do with my scrambled thoughts, but the final product was right on. Featuring a strong, right-angled face with sexy inner curves and rivets against the metal edging, this desk is simultaneously a work of art and an operating table to frag on.

Keep in mind, a one-of-a-kind product is going to be expensive, but man, does it look good and hold this room together. The guys at Overkill Design have preexisting designs, or you can work with them to make something ideal for your own blinged-out room.

Blik

www.whatisblik.com

Blik makes wall art that you can easily apply and remove. The company has a wide range of designs, but the most popular one is the space invader.

$45

BattleChair

www.battlechair.com

Behind this table, the BattleChair looks like a throne. The embedded speakers’ extra bass kick adds some oomph to your games, and they can be rewired to serve as the rear speakers in your 7.1 setup.

$430

Logitech DiMuvo

Bluetooth Keyboard

www.logitech.com

Sleek and flat, Logitech’s DiMuvo key-

board also features a breakaway media pad that can be used as a remote. Plus, it comes with the DiMuvo mouse (see #5).

$250

Tapwave Zodiac (www.tapwave.com )

With its large color screen

and smooth metal feel,

the Tapwave Zodiac is the gaming Palm organizer

that’ll turn heads.

$300

Radeon

All-In-Wonder

9800 Pro

www.ati.com

Until there’s an All-In-Wonder of the 9800 XT model, the AIW 9800 Pro is the top of the line for your dual HTPC and gaming needs.

$400

Antec Overture

www.antec-inc.com

The Overture’s smooth black polish and audio-console-like build make it just as ideal in your audio rack as on your desk.

$250

Creative S750

www.creative.com

The Creative S750s are 700 watts of boom, with one speaker for each deadly sin! Pictured here are Greed and Gluttony.

$575

Intel D875PBZ

www.intel.com

The budget board of choice

for those of you

on the Intel side

of the fence.

$150

Sound Blaster

Platinum Pro

www.creative.com

The Platinum Pro features a handy breakout box; if you want to fill your HTPC’s drive slot, choose the Platinum model.

$92

TV Stand

LoveSac

Our favorite foam chair, the LoveSac (www.lovesac.com) has the largest selection of outer coverings. And just imagine the fun of telling people to sit on your LoveSac.

The King Beany (www.kingbeany.com ) and Foof Chair (www.comfortresearch.com) are also comfortable, and are less expensive.

In this PC centric gaming pad, the Logitech Cordless Rumblepad can be brought over for some TV-output gameplay. And for all those MAME games, the X-Arcade joystick is the answer.

The Overkill desk directly faces the television; you can just pick up that DiMuvo set or one of the joysticks and sit yourself down for the big-screen experience. Our TV stand of choice, by Boltz (www.boltz.com), has an industrial minimalism that really stands out. Boltz also has many multimedia shelves and other kinds of furniture to choose from. Inside the TV stand is Pelican’s System Selector (www.pelicanacc.com); you can use it to choose between your principal PC on an HDTV connection and up to seven other components.

For the skinny on how to put together the ultimate videogame room, more details on different lounge and shelving options, and a hot new way to play Dance Dance Revolution, check out Electronic Gaming Monthly’s May issue.

For the expanded feature on pimping out your game room and more of “the hotness,” including outtakes, go to www.gameroom.1UP.com.

Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in Computer Gaming World.

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