SweetieGames

For my birthday this year, I treated myself to a brand new gaming setup with a new desk and monitor, switching up the setup I’m currently writing at which I’ve used for the past nearly 4 years. I love my current setup, but it’s no longer fit for purpose; I need a bigger desk, and a screen to play games at that doesn’t crash out on me like my current TV does!

Looking at all the different components for a setup got me thinking about how much social capital setups have in the gaming community. The most liked photo I ever got on my otome stan account on Twitter was of my setup. Whole Instagram accounts are dedicated to meticulously detailed gaming spaces, whether that be just a desk in a bedroom or a whole dedicated room in a house. Setups aren’t just black and lime green anymore. They’re coquette, they’re pastel, they’re gothic, they’re nature themed and come in all colours of the rainbow. And they’re flooding Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest. But when did this happen?

For the longest time, my gaming setup consisted of my console, a TV and a place to sit, usually my bed. As a kid, my brother and I used to stand up to play the PS2 as it was on top of a chest of drawers and connected to the smallest CRT TV screen I’ve ever seen. This was also back in the day of a PC setup being in a dedicated computer cupboard, and the games in question that I was playing were Over the Hedge and Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. In the early 2010s, any “gaming” gear I saw was usually black and some form of neon colour, which didn’t appeal to me at all. It was only when I was in university in 2020-2021 that I started to see designed gaming setups that I thought were cute on apps like TikTok and Instagram. Pink and white keyboards, mice, monitors, desks, headsets and more were exploding in popularity, ready to rake in the gamer girl bucks for brands like Razer. It definitely worked!

For some creators, content of their gaming setup is actually more important than content about the games they’re playing. An impossibly clean, well thought-out setup where every aspect compliments each other is a huge draw for many, as it’s an aspirational goal. I remember looking at my setup of random wires all over the place and mismatched equipment and wishing I could achieve something like the content creators I had seen online. That’s one of the main reasons why I wanted a new desk this year in the first place!

The rise of PC gaming has definitely allowed this culture of flexing setups to thrive. There’s an element of snobbery around it, with those in the know often commenting on pieces of equipment or aesthetics that they personally don’t find appealing. I saw multiple users describe a coquette angel themed setup as “cringe”, but this unfortunately doesn’t surprise me as it was a feminine aesthetic. There’s sponsorship money to be made for gaming influencers who sell different aspects of gaming setups. Online gaming culture will have you believe that a setup, complete with a specific gaming chair, gaming desk, gaming energy drinks and more is integral to the gaming experience, rather than something nice to have.

You don’t need an entirely dedicated gaming room to enjoy gaming. I experienced some of my favourite games while curled up on my bed in a box room, or at a cheap monitor at a tiny desk. Of course, a pretty setup is fun to put together; I can’t wait to finish mine, but it’s something I decided I wanted after many years of playing games with the basic materials. So many people are buying cheap and flimsy equipment purely for its cute looks and discarding it when they decide they don’t want to play games anymore or when it inevitably breaks. You don’t need to splash a lot of cash to have a good time with video games, no matter how hardcore into them you are!