Show Us Your Rig: Hyper Light Drifter's Alex Preston

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Show us your rig

Each week on Show Us Your Rig, we feature PC gaming's best and brightest as they show us the systems they use to work and play.

Alex Preston, creator of Hyper Light Drifter at Heart Machine, has two setups at the same desk so he can quickly switch between what he is working on. Preston has a Macbook he uses with a Cintiq, before switching to his PC for Hyper Light Drifter's level editor. Though I would've liked to know more about the dog that's blending into the photo above, Preston was kind enough to tell us about his rig and what he's playing right now.

What's in your PC?

  • CPU: Core i7 (first gen)
  • Motherboard: Asus board
  • Storage: 256 gig Samsung SSD for the main drive, 500 gig Samsung SSD as storage
  • RAM: 8GB
  • Radeon HD 6950 2GB (I know, I need something new)
  • Case: Old beat up Lancool
  • Keyboard and mouse: Corsair K65 (love mechanical keyboards) + Logitech MX 518 (best mouse I've used, still kicking after all these years)
  • OS: Running good old Windows 7
  • Monitor: First gen (and best!) 30 inch Dell monitor.

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What's the most interesting/unique part of your setup?

I use a Macbook with a Cintiq attached for my art and design work (the workflow is much more pleasant for Adobe products on Mac, for me at least.) I then move over to the PC to work in our editor and build levels. It's been surprisingly efficient.

What's always within arm's reach on your desk?

Headphones and water. I need to shut noise out at times to focus, and I always forget to drink if a bottle isn't staring me in the face.

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What are you playing right now?

I'm replaying Dark Souls and Ocarina of Time. Also Smash Bros every day at the studio. Luftrausers before bed.

What's your favorite game and why?

A toss up between Ocarina of Time, Fallout 3 and Super Mario RPG. These games, while very different, all stunned me on the first play-through. Each has a world, story, tone and/or aesthetic that gripped me and felt magical at the time.

Tom Marks
Tom is PC Gamer’s Associate Editor. He enjoys platformers, puzzles and puzzle-platformers. He also enjoys talking about PC games, which he now no longer does alone. Tune in every Wednesday at 1pm Pacific on Twitch.tv/pcgamer to see Tom host The PC Gamer Show.