I’ve got a nice Home Theatre PC hooked up to my new TV, and now I want to try some gaming from the couch. It’s a lot trickier than you’d think.

First, let’s get it out of the way: I love my HTPC, but the wireless keyboard and mouse that came with it have a range of about 2 feet. If you like to sit with your nose against the screen, they’re great.

Furthermore, if you’re gaming, you want a decent mouse. Logitech makes a wireless gaming mouse, which looks fantastic– I’ve been using their gaming mice for years and never been disappointed.

As far as I can tell, Logitech does not make a companion keyboard. In fact, there are very few wireless keyboards, and most of them are “made for HTPCs”. This means they include trackballs and such, and have really poor key layouts because you’re not supposed to be doing much typing on them. Assuming I do find a decent wireless keyboard, it’ll be running on another dongle.

On top of all that, I don’t really want to pull out my gaming mouse and keyboard when I just want to play an mp3. I’ve been looking at the Gyration Media Center Universal Remote. It’s a universal remote that also works as an in-air pointing/mousing device: super cool. It’s supposed to have a really great range. So there’s dongle number 3. I think that’s how many USB ports the PC has, so I’m almost to the point of a USB hub– not to mention possible interference from three separate wireless devices on one computer.

Assuming I get all this worked out, what about the ergonomics of mousing on the couch? I’ve found that my current mouse (a Logitech gaming mouse) actually works quite well directly on the couch. Other mice get a little scratchy on it, though, so I might need a mouse pad. Also, while a laptop sits quite nicely in your lap, a wireless keyboard can bounce around a little while you type. That might be okay for watching media, but it’s not great when you mean to target a boss in WoW, and instead end up shooting at him– killing off your whole raid. There are some semi-clunky looking lapboards, which I think are for laptops. I may have to get one to try it out.

Judging from my search results, not many other people are interested in this. (And to be fair, it’s probably better just to game on your desktop.) If I do end up working out a solution, though, I’ll be sure to post the results for the couple other people who, like me, just can’t help themselves.

I love when video games and the real world converge, and this World of Warcraft map of Paris (made for this year’s Blizzard Worldwide Invitational / WWI in Paris) was too much fun to pass up.

The Apple iTunes Updater– I’m sorry, the Apple Software Updater– I’m sorry, the Apple Software Installer– is now distributing Safari to unwitting Windows users.

Maybe, like me, you’re lazy and install those auto-updaters on purpose. Hey, who doesn’t like updates? Or maybe you installed iTunes while drunk and ended up with the Apple Updater on your machine after forgetting to click that checkbox (I once got the Yahoo Toolbar that way. Talk about a rough morning after).

In this case, though, you may end up with quite possibly the worst mainstream browser on the planet: Apple Safari. It’s not Safari’s fault it’s terrible. Nobody cares about poor old Safari, with its itty bitty market share. Tiny companies with names like “Google” can’t be bothered to make sure their pages work with Safari, and Apple can’t be counted on to implement every single IE quirk.

Fault is irrelevant, though. The only person who would ever want to run Safari is a web developer who needs to test their pages. If that’s not you, keep a wary eye out for the Apple Software Updater. (And don’t drink and download.)

A couple of the Spacetime Studios guys have put together a fantastic series of blog entries describing their rapid gameplay prototyping process, which they call Greyworlding. Give ‘em a look: though studios are constantly trying new development techniques, it’s rare to get this level of insight into a studio’s new methodologies, even at a conference or other large gathering of developers.

In some ways, “Grayworlding” is a logical, and almost obvious, implementation of the idea of prototyping first to “find the fun”. Anyone who’s actually tried that with a large and complex game knows, though, that the details are far from trivial.

I have a favorite song that I love to put on when I need a bit of an energy boost. Recently, though, I put it on and got no real charge out of it. The difference was that I’d switched to headphones, and this particular song couldn’t come through intact without its chest-shaking bass. I switched back to my stereo, and the problem was solved.

I frequently neglect my listening environment, but I’ve thought for quite some time that I also neglect my console gaming environment. I have a comfortable PC setup that makes it easy for me to sit down and fire up a gaming any time, day or night. On the other hand, console gaming frequently presents me with small barriers, from a poor audio setup, to issues with input-switching. They’re all barriers that can be fairly easily overcome, thought not generally late at night when I’m looking to do some gaming.

It’s clear to me that my setup affects both my choice of games, as well as my experience playing those games. A bigger TV and better audio situation have improved my appreciation of Bioshock, for example. I’m sure there’s a huge range of influences, though: time played per session; light in the room; environmental distractions. Ironically, the PC wins most of the factors I’ve been able to identify, in my particular setup. (It loses in the area of updating my video drivers, installing add-ons, purchasing antivirus software, and entering 17 registration codes from the back of my manual.) For most people, I’d guess the reverse is true: they’re more comfortable gaming on a console.

How do you like your gaming setup? Does it tend to favor console vs. PC? Does it push you towards immersive experiences, or do they leave you cold?

Starcraft 2 Zerg preview vids, screenshots, and new unit info is now available.

Starcraft had a few units that were only minimally useful, and rarely made an appearance in games. Blizzard appears to be focusing on a smaller number of highly useful units for Starcraft 2. Marginal abilities like infesting a Terran base have been expanded (infest any structure; infest using a unit that can move while burrowed– and that same unit has Dark Swarm). The Nydus Canal is gone, replaced by a mobile version called the Nydus Worm.

I vastly prefer the Starcraft philosophy over the Total Annihilation/Supreme Commander philosophy, so I find the Starcraft II development incredibly exciting. Top-notch RTS games are released pretty infrequently, and good games in the Starcraft vein are truly rare.