Wine and song for the discerning gamer.

[HoneyBadger]

I've already talked about politics, religion, and sex tonight, and this is a gaming forum, so the only things left are food and music.

Every bar & grill needs a menu, so what are some dishes (besides revenge) that you all like to eat while gaming?

And what do you like to listen to?

What would be a perfect gaming environment?
How many senses besides touch and sight do you incorporate into your gaming experience?
And what games have caused you to "go deeper" into the experience than just playing them?

For an example, when I was big into the Total War series, and playing Byzantium in Midieval: Total War, I started researching and creating authentic (as close as I could get) Byzantine dishes.

After all-the Emperor of Byzantium (me) should eat like an emperor!

[Agema]

After politics, religion and sex it should be sport.

Whilst gaming, I like non-messy food I can eat with one hand and put down easily, so I can play games and eat at the same time without splattering gunk and crumbs on my computer.

Drinkwise, for a strategy game, you want something to savour, to take your time on and let the taste roll around your mouth, add to your contemplative state. Good wine or spirits. For more action-orientated games, you want a drink you can bombastically chug down in a few spare grabbed seconds before the next wave of high-octane activity. Beer, maybe cheap plonk.

Music should be appropriate to the game. The first issue is pace: listening to something mellow whilst charging around a first-person shooter just doesn't work. The other thing is the general atmosphere. I have the Conan the Barbarian soundtrack (!), which goes quite well with Dominions. The SF-themed "Pocket Universe" by Yello went very well with Starcraft, they came out about the same time.