An Oasis among the Sands

Sometimes life can feel so dry and boring. It can feel like you’re lost and dragging your feet through scorching hot desert dunes. Feeling parched and weak, you long for a place to recharge, relax and refresh yourself.

You, like Nathan Drake, are looking for an oasis in the desert.

My ideal space to play games is like an oasis too. It’s a place to get away from the trouble of the world for a bit. The weltschmerz, the heat, the dust and the cold nights. They’re gone. Taken in the right doses, my oasis is a fantastic tonic for all that ales you.

So let me tell you a bit more about my ideal gaming space. I’ll tell you about all the wonderful things in there, besides games, that make it so good. This is where I get to be a kid again.

Stairs?

You’ve got to be kidding me. The oasis is in the basement. There are no stairs.  To get to the room, you have to slide down a pole from any floor in the house.

Now, you could come from outside and open a door to walk straight into the oasis. But the pole, used from another floor, is the preferred means of entrance. In fact, let’s make it mandatory. Make sure you’re wearing the right kinds of pants though; otherwise, your legs may spark as you glide down to the basement.

Once you’ve slid down the pole into the room, you’ll notice the nearly blinding light. There will be tons of windows, light fixtures and a sun roof. The light and vitamin D would keep me from looking like a pasty and ghoulish zombie.

Well, alright, you’ll notice more than the light. You’ll see paint and all the other accoutrements of a well-furnished room. Just sit back and relax in the oasis.

Getting Comfy

You’ll want to plop yourself down on the comfy couch to start playing. The couch will be long enough to hold you and five other friends for game time. Ideally, the couch will feel so comfy that you will sink into it like quicksand but, you know, without the terrible death. The room is more livable than that. I promise.

It’s really designed for two to three hour play sessions. There’s no time for all the petty human problems like obsessive gaming or midnight marathons. Instead, those brief hours will be full of joy. A trampoline in the basement will cheer everyone up, even during bad sessions. Playing at a desk, by contrast, is passé.

I can see myself jumping and waggling a motion controller at the same time. Obviously the ceiling will tower above me like a skyscraper, and I’ll love every minute of playing that way.

Machines, Energy and Speed

Yes, this room will be a relaxing oasis where humans and machines get along. The literary theme of humans vs. machines does not play out in this bastion of games. Unless, of course, you’re angry about your console breaking.

Speaking of machines, the room will have two of them. One is a top of the line PC and the other is a mystery console. The PC will also come in handy when I want to play a game and then immediately write a blog post about it. Of course, I’d want to share that work with all of you right away.

So I’d need a light speed fast internet connection to do all these things and to download games. I don’t play many multiplayer games, but I love to download the latest releases. I mean, those quirky downloadable games on Steam can sometime outclass their retail brethren. The good news is downloading means less cabinet space.

All that jumping, downloading and playing means I’ll need time to refuel. I eschew all the stereotypical gamer food in favour of chewing my cooking. There’s no place for refueling on Mountain Dew and Doritos in this space. But I would add a huge movie theatre style popcorn maker. That way, playing with friends will feel as fun as going to the movies.

And there’s a bathroom in there somewhere too.

I never want to leave!

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What’s your ideal gaming room? Make it as silly as possible.