Mr.Duck on 8/11/2010 at 06:11

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So, videogames, helluva hobby, eh?

Bit of expensive, but hey, we all manage to get the game we want eventually.

Now, time, ah, a more precious currency which, sadly, some of us have less than others, and that's worse than having little $ for that coveted game.

Such an eventually in many of us create a substantial backlog, which we must plow through in order to A)justify the purchase of a new game and B)feel that we didn't just "buy the game", but eventually get to enjoy it, and hopefully finish it.

Me?

I have quite a backlog, I'm ashamed to say. Of course I only consider games in my official backlog list those that I have purchased and have not yet finished after months/years of buying them (i.e. an old game that I just bought a week ago for the first time in my life doesn't really count, despite the game being old). In my case it's a multiplatform backlog, which makes it quite a bundle of all sorts of games. Divided primarily in 3 big groups: consoles, PC and portables.

As usual, I'm always trying to balance the books between finishing a few backlog games, replaying a few golden gems (i.e. games that I finished and consider personal classics to stay with me and have a go at'em after a certain amount of time), getting down with the crowd in some multiplayer games and also searching the new next thrill my gaming hands are, metaphorically speaking, full.

And I'm always trying to figure out how to bundle my games best for time efficiency (I usually finish-only a previously unfinished game, leaving the find-and-do-everything for the replay). Mind you, it never becomes a chore to "play games to finish'em and move on", I ain't complaining about that, and the few times that I've had games I considered on the med/long run to be more chore than fun to finish I resell'em, so it's cool :)

So, how do you guys manage with your backlog and new games?, any tips or tricks? (and please skip the "HUR DUR DON'T BUY GAMES!" comments, tyvm) :)

Currently I'm stacking a few games in a bundle and making myself -only- play said games in a bundle. Some in a chain-like way (I finish one, go to the next, finish it, go to the next, etc), some I play at the same time (2 - 3 games that I distribute the time to advance more or less at the same lenght of time for each).

Right now I'm playing GoldenEye 007 and Kirby's Epic Yarn for the Wii, I have stacked to play a few more other unfinished Wii games. That's it for the consoles atm, for the portables I'm playing nada aaaand for the PC I'm playing The Witcher, Medieval 2, Deus Ex and trying to get a Guild Wars game going on.

Wow....what a bundle....

So how are your current gaming schedules atm? :)

june gloom on 8/11/2010 at 07:58

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I have a long backlog that gets longer because I tend to replay games a lot, especially if it's been some years. I also tend to plan things out months in advance, which is why I haven't played Fallout New Vegas yet because I wasn't expecting them to patch the game so quickly. Fallout 3 took 3 months for the PC version to see a patch and I was fully expecting a repeat.

Not counting Minecraft, I typically play in the late evening and late at night; when course work gets in the way, I often don't play at all. Weekends I'll often play as soon as it gets dark.

Koki on 8/11/2010 at 08:28

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No problems with my gaming schedule, since there's nothing on it most of the time.

Zerker on 10/11/2010 at 00:21

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Having a very limited gaming budget helps this, I find. Maybe a self-imposed budget might also be worthwhile if you normally have lots of disposable income.

Regardless, I've also found myself carefully re-evaluating games in my backlog according to:
A) How much I like the game
B) If I'm ever likely to play it.

I've also been prioritizing games that I'm not sure about so I can answer those two questions and either play it and love it, or get rid of it and have one less game to play.

As a result of this, I recently set up and played/am playing NOLF and Outlaws, both of which are awesome. I also started playing more Ape Escape, which was rather lousy. If you ever had a somewhat indiscriminate buying phase, it may be time to re-evaluate what you actually bought.

Kroakie on 11/11/2010 at 01:13

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Ever since I've gotten used to getting games on Steam, my backlog has been getting larger and larger. I'm a sucker for those sales and compilation packs. But lately I rarely get around to playing these games I've bought, except Minecraft. There must be a few dozens of games on my Steam list that have never been installed.