FREEEEEEDOOOOOOOM!

Much has been made of the current health of PC gaming, with developers and fans alike voicing their opinions one way or the other. Leaving aside piracy, the casual market, and all that nonsense for a moment, I’d like to offer my reasons why I’m about ready to fly the PC gaming coop.

Being a long-time PC gamer, I am aware of the benefits of playing a game on PC over a console. Modding adds a great scope for customization and further freedom for gamers, but freedom has another meaning. Most of you reading this will no doubt spend a significant part of your day sitting at a PC for one reason or another, be it for work, college, or “recreation” (ahem). The resultant pasty complexions and hunched postures are part and parcel of the lifestyle we sadly lead. They can, however, be lessened significantly by spending time AWAY from your computer.

Why should I be forced to spend my precious free time sitting in the exact same position I do for the rest of my day? I just want to relax! When I sit down to watch a movie I do so reclining on the couch, not prone upright at my desk. Similarly, when I sit down to play a game I should be able to fully unwind. There should be at least a few hours a day where my face isn’t within touching distance of a monitor.

It’s not just a matter of comfort though. The cinematic qualities of a game like Bioshock are something to be savored. I found this hard to do so sitting at the same desk I write boring college reports at. Playing the same game in a friend’s living room, with suitable lighting and a comfortable seating arrangement completely blew me away. I was immediately convinced that this was how games were meant to be played and began to reassess my allegiance to PC gaming.

On top of this, PC gaming can be an unhealthily solitary pursuit. I may be playing alongside a whole team of living, breathing people in Team Fortress 2, but in reality it’s still just me, my computer and the voices in my headset. In my mind, the greatest multiplayer game of my childhood was Micro Machines 2, a game where you were so close to the other participants you were literally holding the same joypad. Now, I’m not saying it was the proximity that got me excited, but there’s nothing quite like being able to laugh directly in your opponent’s face after a hard-fought victory. The incessant micspam of someone I’ve never met doesn’t quite suffice.

Recently PC die hards have bemoaned the inclusion of console-style matchmaking in Valve’s latest release, Left 4 Dead. Microsoft too acknowledges how difficult it is to please PC gamers, as their Games for Windows platform floundered in its (admittedly half-hearted) attempts to introduce a similar system. This “consolization” of PC gaming is tantamount to blasphemy for PC gamers, who are used to being in total control of their online experience.

I say let PC gamers have their freedom, and I’ll take mine. Freedom to game in more comfortable environs! Freedom to play with friends without having to wear a silly headset! And freedom from my god damn desktop!