There are just Too Many Games

[Trash]

Well, with that whole decline thing going on I was somehow sure that this list of games I really want to play would become shorter. More manageable at the very least. I've been playing games for well over two decades and somehow there always seem to be more around than I have time for. A luxury problem for sure, but with game time becoming a more and more scant available commodity the list has grown to unsightly dimensions. Which is a shame as these are all games I want to play and me being me, want to complete. Which is another reason that list stays that long. How do you deal with this? Do you even deal with this?

 

[Overboard]

I am perhaps a little more discerning obviously and have in the last decade or so often found that there has been at most one game I want to play, it's only recently that the backlog has grown. The is truly here.

Then again I'm not particularly bothered about completing a game if I've played it out, so to speak.

 

[Trash]

My list extends all the way back into the 90's. Lots of games I played shortly before ditching them aside and saying to myself that I will come back later to them. Only to never do so. Being into big-ass wargames obviously does not help the matter. Same as being a completionist and rpg gamer. Either there is a huge world to explore every nook and cranny of or there are plenty of ways to approach a situation and I get afraid to miss any cool stuff.

 

[Quilty]

Trash what are the games you have in your backlog?

There are a couple strategies I keep meaning to spend more time on, flight simulators, driving simulators, Silent Hunter 5. Most of those games are only fun if I play them for long stretches of time, and for some of them I also have to set up a bunch of controllers, TrackIR etc, so it's not something I can easily drop in and out of. I usually end up blowing shit up in Company of Heroes multiplayer with a buddy. Shame.

 

[J_C]

I feel the same thing. My backlog is increasing in every few weeks. After a time a stopped giving a shit. I accepted that I buy games that I will never play probably. But it feels good to own them.

 

[Trash]

Trash what are the games you have in your backlog?

Too many to mention really. The list is huge but incorporates newer titles such as The Witcher II (each time I'm halfway through they announce a new must have update and I uninstall again. Fuck you CDproject!) and the Mass Effects (played them all, some almost to completion, never did a full run with one character) to stuff that's older such as Half Life II and Portal to ancient games such as The Last Express (a completionist's nightmare) and Homeworld. And yes, these are all games I want to play through at least once.

And yeah, I usually end up playing through some shit fps or tower defense game instead. Decline.

But it feels good to own them.

It does. I'm a packrat when it comes to stuff like this so I keep shelving out money for games that are just collecting dust. Decided to deal with this a long time ago by selling all the boxes I had and regret that to this day. Must be the hoarder in me or something.

 

[MetalCraze]

Trash stop playing shit games like TW2 and ME and it will go away.
My to play list is only 30 games long and 95% are not shooters.

 

[Trash]

Witcher felt way more intimate and smaller and therefore atmospheric. I liked how it ignored the goddamn epic shit and instead made me feel rad about clearing out one or two ghouls from a crypt. You weren't the Chosen One but a dude who was not above fucking the miller's daughter and had to approach a fight with some small time alien monstrosities with care in order to make enough to pay the bar tab.

My to play list is only 30 games long and 95% are not shooters.

Only? I'd say 30 yet to play is a rather respectable number. Anyway, Egress, Amnesia, Nexus, Psychonauts, Homeworld, Gemini Rue, The Dig, Grim Fandango, Bastion, Freespace 1+2, Xwing en Tie fighter, Hitman Blood Money, Longest Journey + Dreamfall, Drakensang, Anachronox, Beyond Good and Evil, The Last Express, Cryostasis, Dune 1, Salammbo are just a few on the list. Not many shooters nor much shit in there.

 

[MaroonSkein]

1. Delete the list. I used to have one and getting rid of it was extremely liberating.
2. Buy one game at a time and don't gather huge backlogs. When you're done with a game, buy the one that interests you the most at the moment.

 

[Trash]

Holy shit you've got some AWESOME gaming times ahead of you. I envy you so fucking much.

I've actually played most of them. Many of them almost through. Just never really finished them. Still, thanks for the fresh perspective.

1. Delete the list. I used to have one and getting rid of it was extremely liberating.

Prolly. The hoarder in me is screaming in agony however.

2. Buy one game at a time and don't gather huge backlogs. When you're done with a game, buy the one that interests you the most at the moment.

Good one. Way, way, waaaaay too late for that however.

 

[ohWOW]

Only? I'd say 30 yet to play is a rather respectable number. Anyway, Egress, Amnesia, Nexus, Psychonauts, Homeworld, Gemini Rue, The Dig, Grim Fandango, Bastion, Freespace 1+2, Xwing en Tie fighter, Hitman Blood Money, Longest Journey + Dreamfall, Drakensang, Anachronox, Beyond Good and Evil, The Last Express, Cryostasis, Dune 1, Salammbo are just a few on the list. Not many shooters nor much shit in there.

Man, BG&E and Cryostasis are so neat. Playing it second time is not the same, sadly.

 

[Zed]

I spend a weekend (or more if necessary) just playing the hell out of a game. Either I beat it or get tired of it.

There's no need to finish a game.

 

[Tigranes]

For the last 3 years my catalogue of got-to-plays has been (1) about two new titles a year, at least one of which disappoints; (2) old games that I had never heard about, like King of Dragon Pass, though now with GOG et al that list is growing shorter and shorter.

In fact, the only ones on my list now are ones that I could never get into in the first couple hours but know better than to give up - JA2, ROA1/2, a few others. On the other hand, the list of will-never-finish/play-and-good-riddance is growing: all the Mass Effects, DA2, Amalur, Arcania, Two Worlds...

Anyway, I see some awesome in your list Trash, so I envy you.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

I have the same problem. I have tons of games to play but I don't have time to play them because I play Armored Brigade most of time.

 

[Trash]

I have the same problem. I have tons of games to play but I don't have time to play them because I play Armored Brigade most of time.

Wargames suck away all the game time when you get into them. I can spend an hour playing a single scenario in Decisive Campaigns. Then retry to see if I can do better. One of the few genres in which you don't often 'finish' a game as you grow tired of them. Roguelikes do the same. I just saw that I played FTL for over 16 hours already. Damn.

Fun to see the differences here. Some just play a game for a weekend, others keep lists, some are very discerning and others seem to play an awful lot. I mean, I saw some of your steam game lists. Goddamn.

 

[TripJack]

i have enough games in my pirata folder to last me for the next 50 years

it's a nightmare

 

[Humanity has risen!]

Only play the games most hailed as classics in each genre, and a few games that offer something especially unique that you're looking for (atmosphere, game setting, story, combat system, etc).

 

[PorkaMorka]

Develop other, better hobbies and more discerning taste in games.

Games are not a particularly rewarding hobby. Mostly they're a mundane time filling activity for dumb and lazy manboons. It's remarkable how often you find yourself just staring at the screen pressing buttons, not thinking or doing anything fun.

I only play the "must play" games in a few specific genres. Consequently, I have a very short list of games that I need to play. I'm actually wishing they'd come out with a few more "must play" party based RPGs, since I've already played everything that I care to in that genre.

 

[Trash]

i have enough games in my pirata folder to last me for the next 50 years

Yeah. Fuck those terrabyte hd's.

Only play the games most hailed as classics in each genre, and a few games that offer something especially unique that you're looking for (atmosphere, game setting, story, combat system, etc).

Already do. Still got that huge list dogging me. When you play through two to three games a year the list tends to grow. Especially when I keep finding out about awesome classics from before I somehow missed. I mean, I only played Snatcher one or two years ago. Policenauts made it to the list afterwards and is still on it.

Develop other, better hobbies and more discerning taste in games.

Other hobbies are one of the many things that keep me from gaming in the first place. Look above regarding my taste.


How many games do you people play through yearly anyway? Do you only play one genre?

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Only buy games from your top 5 favorite developers, skip the "me too" nonsense like Borderlands 2 etc., and only buy if you're 100% motivated to finish them also. Voila, the list suddenly shrinks considerably.

 

[TalesfromtheCrypt]

I know the problem. I have a huge backlog of old games that I want to play for the first time or replay them. Unfortunately I haven't really found a way to deal with the time problem. Much to my regret my "solution" is that I don't play games very often. This is even worse because I have always been a slow player and completionist, so it takes easily two times longer for me to complete a game than for the average player.
I have been playing Icewind Dale for the last 6 months or so and still have I reckon 15 percent of the game ahead of me. That's how little time I have to play. I delude myself that one day I will have enough time to play all the classics I want to play. Meanwhile, I'm spending much more time reading about games on the codex than actually playing them.

 

[Trash]

Only buy games from your top 5 favorite developers

While I can agree with the rest this is just silly. Way too many good games made by relative unknowns, one day flies or devs long gone.

Meanwhile, I'm spending much more time reading about games on the codex than actually playing them.

Amen.

 

[PorkaMorka]

How many games do you people play through yearly anyway? Do you only play one genre?

I play under 10 games a year. I only play war games, strategy games (no warcraft style RTS) and RPGs.

I used to play more games but then decline happened. Also, I've finished the few old, accessible titles that I missed the first time around. I don't force myself to go back and play titles from the 1980s that I missed the first time, as standards for entertainment have increased since the 1980s, thanks to the internet. It's more fun for me to read stuff on the internet than to force myself to play Ultima II.

I also don't replay games, except for war/strategy games with no plot, which are designed for multiple playthroughs (Paradox stuff for example).

When I do get into a game, I still put a lot of hours into it, but I don't play through mediocre games.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

Well, humans are social creatures, it's only natural that when one encounters lots of game fans, one spends more time socializing with them online.
One of the reasons why I play almost exclusively Armored Brigade is that I can talk with people when playing.

The last game I recall finishing is Iji... I think it was three years ago.

 

[The_scorpion]

i have a very different problem... but somehow it's related. I'm basicly always playing the same game, but since i have more ideas on how to mod that game than what i could possibly implement, i never get to really finish it in terms of "okay, there's just nothing more i could get out of this game"

i might have missed out on tons of great stuff because of that. Though i keep hearing that there haven't been many games in my preferred genre, and that other gernes have... well... seen a certain level of