By Alec Meer on December 17th, 2012 at 6:00 pm.
With gaming no longer a mere pastime but instead a major lifestyle choice which defines our very souls, it’s important that those who play videogames for a living share their special areas with the great unwashed of the general public. How else to make them dream the impossible dream, to have them aspire to a life of miracles and multiple different places to sit? I have been so inspired by the openness, honesty and trust other game journalists have recently demonstrated by revealing their luxurious, swag-filled play areas to the world, and now I know what it is I must do.
So, for the first time, today I exclusively invite you into my innermost sanctum: the place where I play videogames by mself, where I write Rock, Paper, Shotgun and where I go to look at websites that I don’t want anyone else knowing I look at. I think you’ll agree, it’s something quite special.
1. This is the 4′ x 6′ room where I do most of my planned gaming and blogging, the days when I know I’m going to be spending hours typing weird sarcastic response articles to weird lifestyle features written by distressingly wealthy people who I’ve never met. I’ve got it all here – chair, keyboard, some speakers I found on the street, three monitors, two of which malfunction. One day I hope to put in a fourth monitor, but for now I just use three and pray that it’s enough to keep track of all the very important information I need to know about 24/7. One day I forgot to switch on the third monitor and I ended up missing a new trailer for Borderlands 2. I know, right?
2. I’m an important man with a very serious job, and if I’m not in complete comfort at all times I might feel unable to put all my opinions about videogames onto the internet, so I saved up for this for three years. Some of my friends are actually angry with me that I only heat myself with a £10 electric heater rather than a £30 oil-filled mobile radiator, but I guess I just don’t feel inspired to do anything about that right now. I might need to get an extension cord or something.
3. This part of my desk is supposed to be a sort of game blogging-free bastion, but I managed to sneak some unclaimed expense receipts onto there. That ring on the right? That’s for my favourite coffee cup, the one with the green stripes that we picked up during a moment of madness in Waitrose.
4. This is the view from my window, which is a patch of scrubland behind this apartment block. It’s very important to me that I can see some kind of greenery every day, otherwise I’m not able to post game trailers without feeling a bit sad. Also, in the evenings you can hear foxes noisily screwing each other out there. I never let my girlfriend forget it, either. I love to interrupt conversations at parties to tell whomever will listen that I can hear foxes screwing outside the room I work in.
5. This is some of the stuff I’ve collected over the years, which I keep on a bookcase behind the door. Sometimes I just stand in front of that bookcase for hours, thinking about how amazing my stuff is, until someone opens the door and I get crushed. This is also where I keep my swag, which right now is just a remote control tank I was given about three years ago by 1C. I should probably give it to charity because that’s the kind of guy I am, but I’m hanging onto it because it has a real firing mechanism that I want to try and annoy seagulls with one day. I don’t what that black thing is.
6. Here is a) my state of the art sound system which I bought off a guy on Gumtree, and b) my state of the art air conditioning. It looks like a real Dyson fan, but actually it’s a bootleg because I’m so anti-corporations.
7. I have a collection of Soundwaves, because I think it’s really important for an important online pioneer like me to keep in touch with my past even while I write the words that will help to define humanity’s future.
8. This is my filing system and Gaming Accessory Battlestation. When I need to get even more serious about games, this is where I come to. The cable on that gamepad just about reaches the back of my PC, so I only have to lean forwards in my Argos office chair a little.
9. Yeah, there’s 10p on the floor. No biggie. I’m not the kind of guy who needs to pick up every 10p he sees. I could leave that there forever, just to show how unimportant money is to me.
I’m not allowed to play games anywhere else in our flat, though sometimes I use the iPad while on the khazi.
17/12/2012 at 18:03 godofdefeat says:
AKA almost every journalist´s gaming playground in a nutshell. (Except for the one´s with offices).
17/12/2012 at 18:07 Morph says:
I don’t know if this is a response to something specific, but it was hilarious.
17/12/2012 at 18:10 Belsameth says:
It is: http://www.polygon.com/2012/12/14/3766080/playgrounds-brian-crecente
17/12/2012 at 18:17 SF Legend says:
Since it’s Brian Crecente, this video needs to be posted.
17/12/2012 at 19:28 The Greatness says:
Oh dear.
17/12/2012 at 22:47 Aardvarkk says:
I think my life is changed now.
17/12/2012 at 18:45 The First Door says:
See, now I sort of wish I hadn’t followed that link.
17/12/2012 at 19:26 RobinOttens says:
Dear god, that article makes playing games seem like some sort of holy endeavor. A TV with an xbox in front of it is sacred, man. Take a good wide-angled, partially out-of-focus picture of it to show the unwashed masses what a gaming setup looks like.
17/12/2012 at 19:42 Guvornator says:
“When we bought the house, this room was a closet. ”
This basically translates as: “When we bought the house, we were fucking loaded, plebs”
17/12/2012 at 20:17 Apack990 says:
Heh heh, lol
17/12/2012 at 20:18 Apack990 says:
Didn’t know he was a govrnment minister.
17/12/2012 at 21:27 tetracycloide says:
It does? How do you figure? Normal people can’t put furniture in a room that used to be a closet?
17/12/2012 at 21:40 Guvornator says:
Not without folding it up.
18/12/2012 at 00:07 Gap Gen says:
A closet is technically a space too small for foxes to fuck in.
18/12/2012 at 15:27 ericbrasure says:
“It does? How do you figure? Normal people can’t put furniture in a room that used to be a closet?”
Brian Crecente’s office used to be a closet because the previous owners had turned a bedroom into a closet, not because he bought a small house and needed to find a space to work in and so he had to work in a closet, and therefore when he “likes” to tell people his office used to be a closet, he is using people’s expectations of what it must mean for your financial situation to have to work out of a closet, to imply that he is less-well-off than he actually is, because apparently this is a thing that well-off people that live in the suburbs like to do.
17/12/2012 at 20:31 IncredibleBulk92 says:
Instagram has a lot to answer for.
18/12/2012 at 01:00 tetracycloide says:
You’ve mixed up depth of field with out of focus.
18/12/2012 at 07:23 a2636450 says:
To be fair, due to the incredibly low wages games journos get, it is common to hope that all 5ps are secretly worth 10p…
http://www.vg247.com/2012/12/17/warhorse-studios-responds-to-leaked-medieval-rpg-demo/
18/12/2012 at 11:45 Guvornator says:
That is one incredibly sophisticated spambot. Take something someone said lower down on the comments and disguise your actual link with a fake address. Cunning.
18/12/2012 at 12:25 ItalianPodge says:
It is truly ingenious, but they could have made the name a bit less robotic.
“Are you human?”
“Yes”
“What did your mother name you?”
“a2636450″
“ok, I will click the link”
18/12/2012 at 13:09 mouton says:
On the other hand, mothers very rarely name their children “ItalianPodge” either. Which does not lessen your lady mother’s decision at all, Sir.
17/12/2012 at 19:34 ecat says:
Goes to show that money and vast expanses of space don’t make for a happy life, look at how sad the drawers look in the 4th picture… I’m sure Alec has very happy drawers :)
17/12/2012 at 19:40 Guvornator says:
The slide-y out kind or the slide-y off kind? I’m guessing both, probably…
17/12/2012 at 22:59 brecherbernd says:
Thanks for posting. Watching this and reading the article and not just skip-reading it made me giggle.
19/12/2012 at 04:06 Homercleese says:
Why in the name of sweet baby Jebus does he pronounce ‘swag’ as ‘sheah-waaag’? That alone is enough to irritate me. But of course I’m already irritated because I’ve started watching the video and observed how poor Brian has to squeeze into his teeny weeny children’s chair because his eyes are failing.
Gah!, I barely even know anything about this Brian fella and now I’m annoyed at myself for disliking him all thanks to this pretentious video series. I would’ve just enjoyed Alex’s piece if I hadn’t followed that link.
17/12/2012 at 18:13 DJ Madeira says:
http://www.polygon.com/2012/12/14/3766080/playgrounds-brian-crecente
In Alec’s defense, that guy has way more money than I thought it was possible for someone who writes on the internet about interactive entertainment for a living.
Alec, I don’t mean to be insensitive, but this very jealous attitude is kinda off-putting. I’m not rich either; I’ve never actually purchased a game at retail because I simply can’t afford it. But I don’t complain about it either (except just now, but I was making a point, don’t you see, so that makes it ok).
17/12/2012 at 18:23 Taidan says:
I’d insert a snarky line about the obvious difference in earnings between a lowly “real” games journalist like our Mr. Meer and those of an industry mouthpiece such as the staff of “the other place”, but I have no desire to summon Rossignol for a flamewar this evening, as I have a boxset of Avatar: The Last Airbender to try and finish up.
Oh wait, I just did it anyway. Woe is me.
17/12/2012 at 18:25 VelvetFistIronGlove says:
I think you’re confusing jealousy for simple mocking.
17/12/2012 at 18:30 Low Life says:
With maybe a bit of healthy realism for anyone wanting to make a career out of writing about games.
17/12/2012 at 18:35 DJ Madeira says:
Seriously, I don’t know how anyone can possibly live the tiny ad revenues generated by a comparatively tiny slice of people who read about video games for extended chunks of their lives. And even then it’s such a fiercely competitive world. And all of this is just from outside observation; it must be even worse than I imagine it. Come to think of it, you guys at RPS are nuts.
17/12/2012 at 20:40 Sarkhan Lol says:
I thought it was an entertaining and good-natured parody.
18/12/2012 at 02:11 particlese says:
That’s certainly what I got from it.
18/12/2012 at 13:30 El_Emmental says:
Exactly my thoughts, it’s just a funny parody.
17/12/2012 at 18:31 DocSeuss says:
I believe Crecente’s wife has a job as well, which might be why they moved to New York, since he can work from pretty much anywhere.
17/12/2012 at 21:06 Shuck says:
“jealous attitude”
Seems like a completely reasonable piss-taking attitude in response to something ridiculous to me.
17/12/2012 at 22:09 Somerled says:
Jealous? Alec’s mandungeon looks just about perfect (bar fox debauchery). Slightly overlarge and sparse rooms put me on edge, for some reason.
17/12/2012 at 22:48 Mirqy says:
It’s *envious* that he isn’t being, not jealous. Well, obviously he isn’t being jealous either, but the word you’re specifically oh never mind I’m going for a cup of tea.
18/12/2012 at 11:15 roryok says:
Some of us pay top dollar for fox debauchery. In fact, Alec could make a bit of extra income slapping a webcam out that window I’d wager.
18/12/2012 at 06:22 Zogtee says:
A slow news day, I take it.
I have no idea who this Brian fellow is, but I don’t see what is ” ridiculous” about his home or what justifies a piss-take like this. Looking through the text and the comments (OMG out-of-focus photo!), you might get the idea Brian lives in high luxury in a castle of his own, but it looks pretty normal to me. You know, an actual home. If you spend time doing something, it’s not uncommon to try and create a nice environment around it.
18/12/2012 at 08:20 Kadayi says:
Agreed. I’m not seeing the need tbh.
18/12/2012 at 11:13 roryok says:
Kadayi, you so often end your replies with tbh. It just makes me think you’re lying when you don’t, tbh
18/12/2012 at 11:53 goettel says:
Honestly, never heard of this guy.
I doubt there was jealousy at work here, but I know good writing was.
17/12/2012 at 18:08 Belsameth says:
Holy fuck, that’s small.
Also, Hi cat! \o/
17/12/2012 at 19:10 Poliphilo says:
As someone who recently lost a dear feline family member and friend all mentions of cat still fill my throat up a little. The only thing I want to say to all cat or pet lovers is; please don’t take them for granted, not even for gaems!
*sniff*
17/12/2012 at 19:14 rei says:
*hug*
17/12/2012 at 20:28 Belsameth says:
*hug*
I never would. I have 4 of the furry fiends here (including a black on!) and a 5th that died this summer. (Now immortalized by arrogantly looking out over my Twitter…)
17/12/2012 at 21:30 spongthe1st says:
This.
My family’s previous cat was very old when I was still living at home, it was quite typical for his breed to get kidney failure later in life which is a slow wasting disease.
At the time he seemed fine, if a little demanding and I had to look after him while my parents were on holiday.
Several nights he was demanding attention while I was gaming and I didn’t give him as much attention as i should’ve, I kept him well fed and watered and made sure he was safe, but I didn’t want to constantly cuddle him.
Then my parents got back the following week and he took a real downward turn. We had to have him put down a week later and I was devastated.
This was years ago now and we have two new cats but every time I think about him and that last week with him I get choked up.
I regret putting gaming first in what turned out to be the last week of his life. :’(
17/12/2012 at 21:59 solymer89 says:
I’m sorry for your lose, but it really makes one think that we need to get this whole space-time continuum thing under control!
18/12/2012 at 09:40 killuminati says:
Aw man, I know how you feel.
I lost my first cat while I was working abroad and when I got back home my father told me he died in his laps. The poor little thingy fell in a sort of depression after my mother passed away, almost a year before..
Damn that was a hard time in my life indeed..
17/12/2012 at 21:54 Guvornator says:
I feel your pain. My favorite cat is currently buried under a bunch of nasturtiums in my parents garden. She used to enjoy sitting on them, so it sort of seems right (although it may be some retrospective vengeance on behalf of my mum, whose plants they were…)
17/12/2012 at 22:34 mouton says:
No reason for a dedicated PC gaming room to be big. It’s not like you move off the chair much – or look around, for that matter.
18/12/2012 at 11:20 roryok says:
It might seem small, but I think that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I used to game in a much bigger room, but I moved into a smaller one by choice (actually slightly smaller than Alec’s). It’s easier to heat a small room, and my computer crap doesn’t spread out so much when I have less space. I like the cramped quarters and having everything within arms reach. It makes me feel like I’m in a submarine or something
17/12/2012 at 18:08 Shantara says:
Is that a health bar over something (someone?) hidden in the bushes in #4?
17/12/2012 at 18:18 Crane says:
I believe it’s a swing, actually.
17/12/2012 at 18:21 lasikbear says:
I believe it’s actually one of those meters that goes back and forth that you need to stop at a certain area, it’s part of the fox sex rhythm game.
17/12/2012 at 19:37 Tams80 says:
I’m never sitting on a swing again.
17/12/2012 at 19:19 vandinz says:
LOL! You sir are a real gamer.
17/12/2012 at 19:26 Ultra Superior says:
First I thought it’s a FPS crosshair. It’s RPS targeting reticule.
You, fox, are screwed.
17/12/2012 at 20:58 LionsPhil says:
Every night!
17/12/2012 at 21:28 Dragon Master says:
Wait, you mean to tell me it’s not?
17/12/2012 at 19:33 Arathain says:
I’m secretly glad it wasn’t just me.
17/12/2012 at 18:09 Floomi says:
I think that’s a 5p, which makes you a goddamn liar. JOURNALISM AT ITS WORST
17/12/2012 at 19:19 Pengun says:
What did it cost to get five added to it’s score to make it up to a ten? We can all clearly see that it’s a five but you’ve still given it a 10. Corruption! Madness! Doritos!
17/12/2012 at 19:38 Guvornator says:
To be fair, due to the incredibly low wages games journos get, it is common to hope that all 5ps are secretly worth 10p…
17/12/2012 at 20:39 Koozer says:
Maybe he just hasn’t seen any denominations higher than the 1 and 2p coins he gets thrown at him in the street for his articles?
17/12/2012 at 20:39 Alec Meer says:
I can assure you it’s 10p. Your eyes are being fooled because the picture is about the size of an actual 5p.
17/12/2012 at 22:14 Sinky says:
Forgive him, he’s so poor that he doesn’t know what money looks like any more.
18/12/2012 at 01:29 tomeoftom says:
I dunno, reads like a 7p.
18/12/2012 at 01:46 fish99 says:
I still remember the old 10p which you needed a crane to get off the floor.
17/12/2012 at 18:10 Optimaximal says:
*applause*
I also appreciate the taxidermy exhibition on the bookshelf!
17/12/2012 at 18:10 Sp4rkR4t says:
Brilliant but what the hell is this in reference to?
17/12/2012 at 18:23 JB says:
It’s in reference to this: http://www.polygon.com/2012/12/14/3766080/playgrounds-brian-crecente
17/12/2012 at 18:11 airtekh says:
Yay for electric heaters!
I’d be screwed without it, my mouse movement is severely hampered if my hands are cold.
17/12/2012 at 18:19 seamoss says:
Absolutely! I’ve got a portable oil-filled radiator right next to my desk in my basement so that I can warm my hands when they get cold & numb from too much gaming (and I live in Colorado…)
17/12/2012 at 18:25 JB says:
I have a lo-tech solution, I wear fingerless gloves. Cheaper to run than a heater, if not quite as pleasant/effective.
17/12/2012 at 20:38 Gorf says:
I have a £30 oil filled mobile radiator!!
17/12/2012 at 21:48 Guvornator says:
OooooOOOoooo, look at Mr Lah-de-DAAAAH, coming ’round here with your oil filled radiator, like Lord Snooty. In my day we used to burn game packaging to keep warm, and we were glad to do it! F14 Fleet Defender’s manual kept me warm for days…
17/12/2012 at 18:13 ShineyBlueShoes says:
I like that the cat is part of the collection and required to sit in that exact spot without moving at all times.
Edit: Upon further inspection did you murder and pose a cat?
17/12/2012 at 19:18 tungstenHead says:
There is no such thing as murdering a cat. There is only self defense.
17/12/2012 at 21:50 Guvornator says:
Poliphilo, I have an inkling as to what happened to your cat…
17/12/2012 at 18:14 NathanH says:
This is a good article because it isn’t completely clear pre-jump that it is a pisstake. The advantage of this approach is that not only does the reader get to appreciate a pisstake, they also have a small moment of hope that it’s not a pisstake and they’ll have the opportunity to make a post about how much Alec Meer is a prat.
Of course, it could be argued that losing the chance of calling Alec Meer a prat is too great a price to pay for a mere pisstake, but then the reader can rest easy in the knowledge that Alec Meer will write an article full of animal noises or memefaces in the next few days.
18/12/2012 at 03:31 Thermal Ions says:
But can it still be called a genuine pisstake if it IS his gaming / writing sanctum?
17/12/2012 at 18:14 IneptFromRussia says:
What is the model of that middle monitor? Currently looking for a second one for my setup, but i’m amazed how much tat is there on the market right now.
17/12/2012 at 19:40 KingCathcart says:
I believe it may be this one: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/08/24/hard-choices-the-200300-2560×1440-27-monitor/
17/12/2012 at 20:36 Alec Meer says:
Truth!
17/12/2012 at 18:15 DanPryce says:
Ooh, I’ve got two of those heaters at home.
17/12/2012 at 20:24 lordcooper says:
Fuck da 1%
18/12/2012 at 11:28 roryok says:
Please stop posting progress reports about having sex with your father
18/12/2012 at 12:44 LennyLeonardo says:
This comment made me giggle, and for that I hate you. I am better than that dammit. No I’m not.
17/12/2012 at 18:19 Crane says:
I like that the only bit of title I can read on any of the books appears to simply say “KINKS 200″.
17/12/2012 at 21:46 MacTheGeek says:
Is that not a shelf of LPs, for use on the turntable in the next shot?
If so, we could be looking at some sort of compilation by The Kinks.
Or perhaps that shelf really does contain books, and that one needs to be punished for having behaved so improperly.
17/12/2012 at 18:21 limbeckd says:
I knew it. There’s no way you could afford such a sweet pad if RPS hadn’t sold out to the man.
17/12/2012 at 18:39 Badgercommander says:
Look at that chair, it even has arm rests! Such decadence!
17/12/2012 at 19:44 Tams80 says:
Arms?! Back int’ my day we didn’t even have arms on our chairs!
18/12/2012 at 02:22 particlese says:
Back in my day, we didn’t even have arms.
18/12/2012 at 12:38 Rawrian says:
Back in my day, we didn’t have days! So we hunted rats in the eternal night, armless, and you know what, trying to grab a live rat with your teeth is quite difficult.
18/12/2012 at 22:56 particlese says:
Hats off to you — that is quite the feat! The fastest thing I ever managed to catch was a lettuce.
17/12/2012 at 21:29 Adekan says:
My chair has only one arm, does this make me half way to being a respectable games journalist?
17/12/2012 at 22:34 Skabooga says:
If he had any respect for the common man, he’d play computer games on the ground like the rest of us.
17/12/2012 at 21:35 Zarunil says:
Look at that fancy door handle!
18/12/2012 at 12:11 Noodlemonk says:
My thoughts exactly!
17/12/2012 at 18:21 Visualante says:
Bloody foxes, used to get that a lot in Bournemouth.
17/12/2012 at 18:48 serioussgtstu says:
If you hear two foxes screwing, do you immediately know what is making the sound, or do you have to see it happening in order to truly grasp what you’re witnessing?
17/12/2012 at 19:42 Floomi says:
It’s an awful, unearthly sound, and in your mind you imagine it’s two babies with rabies fighting to the death. Then you scour your mind for what else it might be (this is Britain, we don’t do that here), and you remember seeing a fox crossing the road the other night.
So to answer your question: you don’t immediately know. It takes two guesses.
17/12/2012 at 20:34 tigerfort says:
Or just scour your mind, with bleach. Because it’s a frankly hideous noise that clearly indicates unearthly suffering, and you want to forget that you ever heard it.
18/12/2012 at 02:48 particlese says:
>_>
<_<
*youtube when no one's looking*
WOW that's a freaky sound! If I hear it in real life, I'll probably jump like the first time I heard this one dog in my aprartment complex: At the time, I could only imagine that someone had met a violent end, slowly enough to yell incoherently on their way down (even though I'm in a safe area). Fortunately (for my immediate sanity, anyway), it made the noise another few times with more small-dog-sounds mixed in. I can't stand those little dung machines some times…cats are great, though. :D
17/12/2012 at 20:36 Alec Meer says:
One day there were two foxes out there. For several weeks there were these horrible screaming noises at night. Then one day there were three extra, much smaller foxes out there too.
17/12/2012 at 21:13 AmateurScience says:
Science!
17/12/2012 at 21:49 MacTheGeek says:
Can’t sound any worse than the raccoon fights I hear in the wooded area behind my house.
17/12/2012 at 22:06 Guvornator says:
After copulation the male fox’s penis can become trapped inside the female for up to 11hrs. Imagine what noises you’d make if your cock was stuck in something for up to 11hrs*, then multiply it by something that, on a good day, sounds like banshee that just accidentally shut it’s thumb in a car door, then we’ll talk about who’s nocturnal scavenger makes the most noise…
*involuntarily, I know what you’re like ;)
18/12/2012 at 00:12 Gap Gen says:
What.
18/12/2012 at 03:18 particlese says:
Ooo! I saw this nature doc about Yellowstone National Park (BBC Earth series) where they explained a similar thing about wolves, but it was more like 5 mintues, I think… Apparently, the females sometimes meet up with males from other packs, which helps with the whole genetic diversity thing but pisses off their pack leader. It was suggested that the lock-in helps increase the chances of success before the leader comes to break them up and/or kill the outsider. It’s simultaneously fascinating, repulsive, scary, and hilarious. And “science!”, as so eloquently put by AmateurScience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3rhQc666Sg
With or without a question mark, you asked! :P
…11 hours is just insane, though…
18/12/2012 at 12:39 Rawrian says:
Maybe they were their midget relatives and the screaming was foxes’ alternative of the phone call to invite your midget friends to the party in the backyard of a celebrity!
18/12/2012 at 15:51 LennyLeonardo says:
I used to live in a ground floor flat whose bedroom window was more or less in a bush frequented by naughty foxes. Those sounds are utterly mad.
17/12/2012 at 18:21 McDan says:
Thoroughly amazing.
You sire, are living the dream.
No sarcasm, this article is brilliant and hilarious.
17/12/2012 at 18:23 Drake Sigar says:
It took five kidnappings and a few years study, but I found the optimum temperature for a game journalist is a crisp 18 °C, only then are the creative juices at their highest.
18/12/2012 at 16:13 Rawrian says:
That’s a commendable scientific achievement!
17/12/2012 at 18:27 DocSeuss says:
My understanding of the Polygon posts was that they were inspired by some forum threads prior to the move from The Verge to Polygon’s stand-alone site. Chris Grant, the EIC, kicked everything off with his post, and it sounded like they’d be allowing their community members to participate in showing their gaming setups.
This is fairly common practice across gaming boards, so while I enjoy this article (quite a bit, in fact; it reminds me of Old Man Murray in tenor and tone), as a piece of satire, it does little for me.
17/12/2012 at 23:48 yrrnn says:
Agreed. I don’t think the satire was necessary. I actually like seeing what kind of gaming setups different people and journalists have, even poky little offices in East Sussex belonging to RPS writers. So, uh, I guess thanks for sharing Alec.
17/12/2012 at 23:56 mpk says:
I thought the Polygon piece was incredibly self-indulgent. It’s not the sort of thing I personally have any interest in and I don’t really think it has a place on the front page of a “serious” site.
Alec’s response was perfectly pitched and I hope it’s received in the correct manner.
18/12/2012 at 11:30 roryok says:
so do we not like Polygon anymore? Someone tell me what to think!
18/12/2012 at 12:15 Groove says:
I agree with self-indulgant. I’m used to people posting these things, but surely a picture or two covers basically everything there is to say? Also, is it that interesting any more? Before multiple monitors became common-place and video-gaming was generally a younger-person’s hobby these were quite fun, but now I have a good part of the Polygon setup myself.
17/12/2012 at 18:28 FurryLippedSquid says:
“Yeah, there’s 10p on the floor. No biggie.”
This made me guffaw loudly.
17/12/2012 at 18:29 ruaidhri.k says:
we have the same wallet
Since i am so well to do i have two of those black cats.
My home office is approx 6×7 feet which is larger than yours.
So i think we can categorically state that I am considerably richer that you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8Kum8OUTuk
17/12/2012 at 18:31 Michael Fogg says:
Radiation from these three screens slowly burning away the skin…
17/12/2012 at 18:34 felisc says:
you have quite a nice view from the window. working while seeing trees and grass is pretty cool. also yay for vinyl records, you’re the best.
20/12/2012 at 20:57 mr.black says:
That’s relative. I can see lots of green bushes from my window where my neighbor’s house should be, but that doesn’t relax like a real nature, when you realize it’s there only cause no one could afford to build a house there, and left the perfect building parcel go to waste, run wild with bushes, act as a bit of rubbish heap and probably is home for rodents in the middle of the neighborhood..
17/12/2012 at 18:41 Lambchops says:
Joanna Newsom vinyl. Lovely.
Quite fancy one of those.
17/12/2012 at 19:11 leeder krenon says:
Cleverly and strategically placed. Lets us all make snap judgements on musical tastes. Mine was “Joanna Newsom? Jeez”.
17/12/2012 at 23:04 Dances to Podcasts says:
Your favourite band sucks!
17/12/2012 at 18:47 Yosharian says:
GIRLFRIEND?
Not a true nerd.
18/12/2012 at 12:18 Strabo says:
He talks about a girlfriend, but you don’t ever see or meet her… True nerd!
18/12/2012 at 12:23 Lanfranc says:
She’s in Norway right now. >_>
19/12/2012 at 02:14 mod the world says:
It’s the kitty!
17/12/2012 at 18:55 piecoughed says:
So much swag.
And cat, much cat.
17/12/2012 at 18:57 FreezerBag says:
Am I the only person who couldn’t help but click on the ‘cribs’ tag and was disappointed to find this was the only article?
17/12/2012 at 19:23 The Greatness says:
Ditto ‘gratuitous cat photos’ :’(
17/12/2012 at 18:58 Rout says:
Soundwave is by far the greatest Transformer. I approve of your burgeoning collection.
17/12/2012 at 19:02 caddyB says:
Lovely cat.
17/12/2012 at 19:07 Dthen says:
Cat! CAT! CAT CAT CAT! Alec, you have a cat! Did you know you have a cat? Cats are good. I like cats. You have one. A cat. You have a cat! CAT! I REALLY like cats. Do you like cats? You should like cats. You have a cat. A CAT! CAT! MEOW! That’s the noise cats make. Did you know that? They go “meow, meow”! I really like cats. I saw a cat. Meow, meow! I really like cats.
17/12/2012 at 19:57 Lambchops says:
It’s nice to see a bit of satire in the comments . . . or should that be . . . .
. . .
wait for it
. . .
just a second more . . .
CATIRE!
Iiiiithankyooouu!
17/12/2012 at 23:26 Dthen says:
I assure you I am entirely serious.
18/12/2012 at 02:09 CPLDANABD says:
That pun just made my day.
18/12/2012 at 13:38 Guvornator says:
I had to think about it. That’s right, I had to Mull Of Catire….
17/12/2012 at 19:14 DarkFarmer says:
aw, East Sussex is one of the only places I’ve been to in the UK! Also at least Alec gets a closet! My lair from where I intrepidly pilot Martian Arctic games as well as my day job is hanging out horribly exposed in the corner of my living room which is also my kitchen… and dining room.
Still beats living w your parents or in a dorm room any day.
17/12/2012 at 19:21 UpsilonCrux says:
@Alec Meer; shamelessly off-topic, but what did you make of Have One On Me? Also, just out of curiousity, was it you who posted Sleep Research Facility as the music for a Sunday Papers ages back?
P.S. Shame on you! Unwind that controller cable! Shame on me also, I speak from the loss of two wired controllers to grievous cable torsion
17/12/2012 at 19:29 Greggh says:
This was the most awesome post EVER* in the history of this site.
*seconded by the one which had that cute little girl which reminded me of my niece :D
17/12/2012 at 19:31 x1501 says:
Shouldn’t there be a tenth footnote for the piss bucket?
17/12/2012 at 19:33 RobinOttens says:
Where’s the video tour Alec?
17/12/2012 at 19:40 fallingmagpie says:
Chair with its back to the door? Risky. Very risky.
17/12/2012 at 21:02 LionsPhil says:
Bad Feng Shui.
Also distracting as all hell if you’re even slightly paranoid, even if there’s nothing but wholesomeness on your monitors and you’re sure nobody’s sent a bald man with a suit and red tie after you.
17/12/2012 at 22:58 Radiant says:
THIS. A THOUSAND TIMES THIS.
18/12/2012 at 00:59 Sleepymatt says:
Personally I believe Alec sits in the chair as it’s pictured, and just cranes his neck and arms 90 degrees to the right to play. Bad posture must be better than bad feng shui….
17/12/2012 at 19:41 Om says:
Serious question: How do you play or write about games all day without ending up riddled with RSI?
17/12/2012 at 19:44 Moraven says:
Breaks, stretching, don’t let hands get cold. Advil.
(Program by day, game at night)
Doing non keyboard gaming activities time to time also helps.
17/12/2012 at 21:05 LionsPhil says:
And while you’re taking the breaks, change your eye focal range to something other than “monitor”.
17/12/2012 at 19:49 jezcentral says:
I am totally and unironically proud of my gaming den. It has lots of blue lighting and a signed poster of Darth Vader (David Prowse).
17/12/2012 at 19:50 realitysconcierge says:
I want one of these for every journalist on this site ^.^
17/12/2012 at 19:58 danimalkingdom says:
Personally I’m just happy he has a copy of Have One On Me. Good man.
17/12/2012 at 20:04 Laurentius says:
The heater bothers me a little, wouldn’t be enough to just turn your PC around and fire up Crysis or Metro ?
17/12/2012 at 20:05 Squishpoke says:
A window? Top class.
17/12/2012 at 20:14 Buttless Boy says:
That chair looks pretty snazzy.
17/12/2012 at 20:26 The Dark One says:
Alec, how exactly did you fit that desk through the door, then rotate into its current orientation?
17/12/2012 at 21:02 LionsPhil says:
I bet he built it in there.
17/12/2012 at 20:37 Edgar the Peaceful says:
What?! No reference to the lovely 35mm Nikon prime lens. What body have you got? /Slavering stalker.
18/12/2012 at 12:48 Rawrian says:
Quite a weird phrasing, “what body you have?”. Try something like “show me the goods” next time.
18/12/2012 at 16:21 emotionengine says:
It’s not a weird thing to say when referring to (D)SLR cameras. Distinguishing between lenses and bodies just goes with the territory.
17/12/2012 at 20:42 glock1974 says:
Brilliant article…..although this improves it 0.05%.
http://www.gizoogle.net/index.php?search=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rockpapershotgun.com%2F2012%2F12%2F17%2Fthis-is-my-playground%2F%23more-135744&se=Gizoogle+Dis+Shiznit
Maybe you should start a daily readers crib-photo-competition? Best Gaming crib photo every month wins the 10p.
17/12/2012 at 21:00 zbmott says:
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but it even translates the comments!
17/12/2012 at 22:01 alexrok says:
My favorite translation service of all time:
http://www.rinkworks.com/dialect/dialectp.cgi?dialect=hckr&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rockpapershotgun.com%2F2012%2F12%2F17%2Fthis-is-my-playground%2F
17/12/2012 at 22:05 Donjo says:
And.. now your comment is translate. Woah. I’d better look at it again.
18/12/2012 at 17:02 MrLebanon says:
it makes the RPS comments appear a lot more hostile than usual
18/12/2012 at 17:13 darkChozo says:
“Cat, muthafucka! CAT, muthafucka! CAT CAT CAT, muthafucka! Alec, you gots a cold-ass lil cat, muthafucka! Did yo dirty ass know you gots a cold-ass lil cat, biatch? Pussies is phat. Y’all KNOW dat shit, muthafucka! I like cats. Yo ass have one fo’ realz. A cat. Yo ass gots a cold-ass lil cat, muthafucka! CAT, muthafucka! I REALLY like cats. Do you like cats, biatch? Yo ass should like cats. Yo ass gots a cold-ass lil pussaaaaay fo’ realz. A CAT, muthafucka! CAT, muthafucka! MEOW, muthafucka! That’s tha noise pussies make. Did yo dirty ass know that, biatch? They go “meow, meow”, muthafucka! I straight-up gots nuff props fo’cats. I saw a cold-ass lil cat. Meow, meow, muthafucka! I straight-up gots nuff props fo’cats.”
I don’t know why I find this so funny.
18/12/2012 at 12:56 The Random One says:
“How tha fuck else ta make em trip tha impossible dream, ta have em aspire ta a thuglife of miraclez n’ multiple different places ta sit, biatch?”
That was beautiful.
17/12/2012 at 20:53 daphne says:
So I generally get the impression that Mr. Meer’s more grouchy than the rest of the RPS crew, so my initial reaction upon seeing this post was one along the lines of “wat”. Then I saw that it was a pisstake, but one that I really agree with.
And assuming it’s actually your gaming space, this is a post for the future “Greatest of RPS” compilations.
17/12/2012 at 20:58 PoulWrist says:
Thanks for sharing :D
17/12/2012 at 21:03 amok777 says:
Right click and set as desktop background.
Pretend I’m Alec Meer!
A new RPG for xmas!
17/12/2012 at 21:04 The Random One says:
I’ve done the “this sounds like a band name” joke a lot lately, so I’ll pass this one. I’m not sure if it’s a good or bad idea to refrain from imagining what sort of band Foxes Noisily Screwing would be.
17/12/2012 at 22:03 Grey Ganado says:
Post-rock folk with a little chiptune music mixed in.
17/12/2012 at 21:08 cairbre says:
Alex your gaming den gets my vote. I’m glad to see you are spending my €1.56 wisely!
17/12/2012 at 21:19 Flit says:
More cribs posts please
17/12/2012 at 22:05 Lev Astov says:
Hear, hear!
I like how it humanizes this whole games journalism industry thing.
17/12/2012 at 21:35 solymer89 says:
I notice a distinct “thigh-line” on that nice leather chair…. some tip, place a towel down when your on, or not on, those sites you don’t, or do, want everyone to know you go on, your leather will thank you.
Also cute cat!
18/12/2012 at 11:16 Chaz says:
Not forgetting the bits of soggy biscuit that drop between your legs after giving them a dunking in a mug of coffee.
17/12/2012 at 21:48 BlackestTea says:
Now I can feel good about subscribing to RPS :) (although I use that as an excuse to enable adblock because I can’t stand having my screen filled with tanks and guns all the time, please don’t hate me for it).
Honestly though, this is not about giving out pity. This is what you guys want to do it, you do it, that’s awesome and you are doing a stellar job at that!! The polygon features disgusted me quite a bit – in particular in conjunction with their “buy this expensive stuff for Christmas” guides – although I do appreciate quite some things about the site otherwise.
Alec, your room looks nice and cozy, also my backyard looks almost the same :)
To be honest, until I reached the mid-point I didn’t even directly realize the connection to polygon. It just seemed like a somehow really cool (if I may indulge in RPS voyeurism) idea to show how you actually live and work *join in the applause :)*
17/12/2012 at 21:49 Snids says:
Aggressively self-effacing. Making me a bit angry to be honest. How dare he!
17/12/2012 at 22:01 Grey Ganado says:
But where do you put your feet?
17/12/2012 at 22:03 Spider Jerusalem says:
i do believe i have that same chair.
excellent choice!
it’s cheap!
17/12/2012 at 22:50 Radiant says:
That is the room of a man with the ambition of an orange.
17/12/2012 at 22:53 Radiant says:
In all honesty that is a ridiculously tiny cramped room.
I think they gave Mandela a bigger room than that for crying [freedom] out loud.
17/12/2012 at 22:54 Radiant says:
Again, fairly seriously, looking at that space you must be riddled with tendon and muscular issues.
18/12/2012 at 12:52 Rawrian says:
I’m pretty sure Alec does exercises like fox chasing at least once a day.
18/12/2012 at 00:03 grenadeh says:
Very unimpressed. No offense. It’s not bad though. Maybe there’s something to be said for the actual gamers/nerds working IT instead of doing what we like.
18/12/2012 at 09:16 rustybroomhandle says:
The point of the article was not to impress anyone. It’s a jab at a stupid piece over at a certain self-absorbed other online publication that thinks they are here to save gaming (from what, we don’t know) and at last bring us real game journalism that’s been missing for so long. Yay, go them.
18/12/2012 at 01:47 Bfox says:
Why do all us tasteful game types have Soundwave collections?
18/12/2012 at 03:01 JoeGuy says:
This was god damn brilliant Alec. Nothing in gaming journalism beats proper RPS satire.
18/12/2012 at 04:13 frightlever says:
Is there an ethical difference between owning a knock-off Dyson fan and buying knock-off games?
Discuss.
Also, where can I buy a knock-off Dyson fan?
18/12/2012 at 07:22 wodin says:
A 1C remote control tank..don’t believe a word he says on any 1C game ala Company of heroes 2..;)
18/12/2012 at 08:39 Hunchback says:
*chuckle*
18/12/2012 at 08:46 Fenix says:
This is why I read RPS.
18/12/2012 at 08:47 Tom Camfield says:
I really liked this.
18/12/2012 at 08:55 Milky1985 says:
I don’t know what that black furry thing in the 6th picture was either, but i guess it would be unlucky if it ran in front of you.
18/12/2012 at 09:21 GoliathBro says:
Can the other aspects of the hivemind do a similar post? I’m strangely curious.
18/12/2012 at 11:10 JonasKyratzes says:
This is why I read RPS and don’t read Polygon.
18/12/2012 at 11:10 Chaz says:
Re: photo number 8. If you download the Barclays app for your smart phone, you’ll be able to ditch the pin sentry device as the app can do that for you. I’ve found it very handy, especially since mine has finally started to run out of battery and bits of the LCD display are going awol. Plus if you just want a quick over view of recent transactions, then I find it much quicker to use the app than to fire up the Barclays Online website, and log in with your membership number etc. I’m presuming of course that you’ve got your phone hooked up through your wireless router.
Just my little tip.
18/12/2012 at 11:33 mbp says:
What sort of gaming nerd doesn’t have a shelf of lovingly preserved big box games beside his gaming rig? Have you no appreciation for history?
18/12/2012 at 12:47 DickSocrates says:
I have that Joanna Newsom album, but only the CD version as I’m not as cool as Alec. But I am cooler than those of you who don’t like Joanna Newsom.
18/12/2012 at 13:01 Mctittles says:
Occupy Crecente!
18/12/2012 at 13:54 strangeloup says:
I’d not actually looked at Polygon until a link in the comments here explained that this was a pisstake article. Had a bit of a poke around on it.
Dear god. And people say Edge is pretentious.
18/12/2012 at 20:11 guygodbois00 says:
Agree on both Polygon and Edge. Presumably, that’s why we take our tea with 2 cubes of RPS
18/12/2012 at 17:55 mpk says:
Interesting to note that any comments on the theme of “wtf this article” have been deleted from the below the Polygon piece, including my own which read “This article is so utterly self-indulgent it’s embarrassing.”
EDIT: and also one from someone else which had a link to this article.
EDIT2: And I received a warning from them! Apparently I missed the whole point of the article, which is for all gamers to show off their “collections”. Ok!
19/12/2012 at 09:37 dab88 says:
Joanna Newsom? Instant respect. And a nice turntable to play it on too!