I have always liked gaming with my brother. When the PS4 was announced, I persistently prodded him to buy the console so we could continue to play games together.
It was the winter of 2013 and I had pre-ordered my PS4 and gotten it at launch. A month later, while I was up north visiting family for Christmas, I finally wore him down and he ordered one off Amazon. When it arrived, he hooked it up and I told him he should absolutely download Resogun because it was so much fun.
I had played Resogun quite a bit from the get go, and had loved its arcade action and overwhelming amount of voxels.
Also, I just like the word, voxels.
When he booted up his brand new PS4, I knew what he was in for with Resogun. What I did not know, was what a really good sound system and a big a** television could do for a game.
Holy crap did I find out.
After all the initial updates and such, he got Resogun downloaded and ready to play. My partner and I were there in the room when he played it for the first time. And when I saw those voxels flying all over his giant television and heard that b*tchin’ music pounding out of his sound system, I was entranced. It took me back to the classic arcades of my youth and the incredible energy they had.
I had a major gaming MOMENT.
I immediately wanted a bigger television and some sort of sound system. It didn’t have to be fancy, but I wanted to be able to recreate that feeling.
So for weeks after we returned home from our trip, I researched televisions and sound systems. As I said before, I’m not fancy, and I wanted to find the sparest way to create the best sound. I did that with a highly rated (but inexpensive) speaker system that connected directly to the television (eliminating the need for a receiver), and a brand new television.
I researched the crap out of that television. And I negotiated a better price than was listed. As with all large purchases, I did my homework.
A lot of silliness later, the new setup was assembled and holy good gravy it was amazing. It still is amazing. I have to admit, I often don’t use the speaker system because it gets so loud, but the difference in my gaming experience is unreal. It made me appreciate the sound design of certain games that I’d never thought much about before. Destiny is one of the first that comes to mind. The sound design for that game is crisp. I’ve heard it through the Sony Gold headset, as well.
At the time, I felt like a ravenous and overzealous consumer for wanting a better setup; after all, none of those things was necessary to enjoy games. I would be a great big liar though if I said it didn’t enhance my experiences. I’m terribly grateful to be able to have those experiences at all.
With that I ask: has a particular game ever made you want a different/better setup? Have you bought a better television just for a game or a particular system? Or perhaps a better speaker system to enjoy all that audio goodness? I’d love to hear about it…no pun intended.
Categories: games
Rebekah Lang 
I bought a new TV last year so l should be good for a while.
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Did you buy it for a particular game?
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No I just needed a new TV.
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Voxels is a pretty great word.
I can’t think of a particular game, but I can think of a particular moment. As a traveling construction worker I wisely invested in a projector for my gaming (PS2 at the time). No matter the setup in the apartment or hotel room I was put up in I could always find a nice white wall to project my massive screen onto, and the projector was small enough to take with me anywhere. Then the PS3 happened…
I was actually living at home for a while because of a string of projects that were local to the office and was able to enjoy the comfort of my man cave when my wife planned a weekend away for some reason or another. Being the only one home, it was not an imposition to anyone to drag my PS3 downstairs and connecting it to our 40″ LCD in the living room. Holy crap! I had no idea how crisp my graphics could have been the whole time!
Since, I’ve always managed to ensure a giant hdtv was setup in the man cave at home. And when travelling, if the place I’m staying in does not have an hdtv in it, I will bring one with me (I have a 42″ for travelling) or will buy one that I will turn around and sell once the project is complete.
I’m less particular about the sound system. Someday I may put in the time to set up a great sound system for my gaming environment, but for now I’m happy with a great headset (which is also easier to travel with).
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VOXELS!
A projector is a great idea for travel. That makes a lot of sense.
But I do understand the want to use a regular television when possible. And yes, a good headset can change everything!
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Cheers! To the sight & sounds that make gaming, well GAMING!!!
“That’s a lot of math!” Speaking of all those Voxels.
Journey.
A perfect sound track.
Much success to you Rebekah.
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IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT!
Just kidding. Sort of.
I just never understood how awesome at home gaming could be until I heard and saw it when you booted up Resogun.
You can download Journey for free right now on PS4, with PS Plus. For what it’s worth.
Also, thank you. Truly.
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It might not be for the best reason but the original Dead Rising made me wish I had an HDTV. When it first released and I played it, for whatever reason the game formatted the text for HD and playing on a SDTV made it unreadable. When HDTVs became more affordable and I got one it was a much better experience. In regards to sound, playing Call of Duty at my friend’s place with his surround sound actually helped me get a little better at the multiplayer. Hearing where gunfire was coming from makes it slightly easier to pinpoint enemies and react.
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Oh interesting! I didn’t think about how that might affect text.
I didn’t think about that, either! Sound design is amazing. Good sound, that is. I wonder if I’d be any better at the Crucible with my special headphones on? :)
I doubt it.
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