Tag: allthegames

The 7 commandments of tackling the pile of shame

Deal with the devil


As  I mentioned in my previous post, I intend to limit my gaming library to just eight games for one year. This is to fully explore the games I already own and to try to put the brakes on purchasing more games.

After much consideration, I think this is going to be too tricky to actually do. So I’m going to add some amendments  to what should have been a rather simple premise. Here are the rules that I’ll stick to from 1 July 2017 until 30 June 2018.

  1. I will choose up to eight games to play across all consoles during the next year. I don’t need to choose all eight games initially and can add in titles to empty slots later in the year.
  2. I will exempt anything that isn’t really classed as a game. The main things that fall into this category are VR-type experiences. This does not mean that games such as Skyrim PSVR would be exempt, anything that I determine is a game has to go in a slot.
  3. I will exclude multiplayer titles that I would otherwise only play with the kids (Lego Dimensions, Mario Kart 8, etc). But on the flipside, I can’t play these titles on my own and we can only play games we already own. If I want to buy something else then that has to be one of the eight choices. I think that’s a fair compromise.
  4. If I get the platinum trophy, then I can swap that game for something else. But this only applies to PS4/PS3 games where completing a game 100% can be easily measured. Once a game has been swapped out though then it’s gone for the rest of the year.
  5. There is no restriction on the purchase of DLC for existing titles.
  6. I’m wrestling with rules six a little. I was considering adding a rule that means I can add an extra choice once I’ve platinumed five games. But I also feel that goes against the spirit of what I’m doing. But looking at my choices, the chances of me getting a platinum on two games, let alone five, is so remote as to not worth bothering with. What do you think?
  7. This rule is called my ‘I might want to buy a Switch’ rule. This rule states that I can play any of my choices on any format it’s been released on. So if I pick Stardew Valley then I get to play that on PS4 or Vita (hopes) or whatever.

Choices, choices…..


Now comes the tricky part, what do I choose for my eight games? To get a flavour of the pool of games I’ve got to pick from, here are some pics of my library. I’ve also got a smattering of PS Vita and 3DS games.

Rex's PSN library
Rex’s PSN library
Rex's Wii U library
Rex’s Wii U library
And the library of physical PS4 games
And the library of physical PS4 games

The final eight


So what made the final cut? Well, before I name the lucky picks, I’m going to say that two slots are being left open. One is almost certainly for Everybody’s Golf on PS4. I’m confident it’s going to be a great game, and if I don’t buy it then I can’t run a GRcade tournament. The other slot is either for Skyrim PSVR or any other surprise title (Ace Combat on VR looks mighty interesting). On that basis, I’ve got just six left to pick. 🙁

  1. Horizon Zero Dawn (PS4)
    Only recently acquired but is currently hogging my PS4 time. I’m about 10 hours in but it feels like I’ve barely scratched the surface and I’m also looking forward to the DLC.
  2. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (3DS)
    I was initially going to include my absolute favourite Monster Hunter title in my selection – Monster Hunter Freedom Unite on Vita. But I’ve had MH4U kicking about for a year or so and barely played it whereas MHFU has had 100s of hours gone into it. I love MH games and this seemed like a great way to dust off something from the shelf. It’s also my only portable game so I’d better like it!
  3. Stardew Valley (PS4)
    Taking a break from this at the moment due to HZD but I can’t imagine not being able to play it. It has to be in the selection. Rule seven was created specifically with this in mind, portable Stardew Valley would be astounding.
  4. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Wii U)
    I’ve hardly touched this game after picking it up at launch. I’ll need a palate cleanser before diving in after playing a lot of HZD but I’m excited to go back to it sometime later this year. It’s also the other reason for rule seven.
  5. Resident Evil 7 (PS4)
    I bought a PSVR because I’m weak and I also like buying peripherals that’ll sit in a drawer until the end of time. So I need something to play on it to justify the outrageous cost. I bought Resi 7 and tried to play it on VR but it was too scary. I need to grow a backbone and get stuck in. It’s also one that is relatively easy to platinum (I think).
  6. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PS4)
    I’m a reasonable way into this but haven’t got round to the DLC yet (which I also own), and haven’t touched it for well over a year.

I think this gives me a reasonable mix but is probably leaning more towards big, open world games. Nothing bite-sized which may come back to haunt me. By the time this gets posted then I’ll be into the year. I’ll attempt to post along the way, but you know how these things go (abandoned by Christmas).

Tackling the pile of shame


Reflection


I’m slowly coming to the conclusion I have a serious problem with my relationship with games. It may be you also share this same issue, or you may not even consider it a bad thing. My problem is I just can’t stop buying games.

There isn’t any kind of affordability concern, I’m not racking up vast amounts of debt in order to feed my addiction. No, my problem is I don’t have enough time to actually play the games I own. I think we can all agree that life is busy and when you’ve got a full-time job, kids, a household and various other responsibilities then it’s even busier. Finding the time to play games is becoming more and more of a struggle and I can really only ever count on approximately 30 minutes of game time a day.

The problem


So why, when I already have enough content to last me several years do I then buy other things? In the last couple of weeks I’ve added Paper Mario: Colour Splash, Farpoint and Torment: Tides of Numenera  to a pile that already contains Final Fantasy XV, Resident Evil 7, Eagle Flight, Stardew Valley and Breath of the Wild – and that’s just from 2017.

Using the numbers on HowLongtoBeat that is conservatively 200 hours of gameplay. Which at 3.5 hours a week works out at well over a year’s gaming, and that doesn’t take into account the other games sitting on my shelf from previous years that go unplayed. There are so many amazing gaming experiences on my shelf/PS4 HDD/Vita/Wii U that I’ll more than likely never see and this makes me sad. But then the flip side is I’m actively considering buying a PS4 Pro with Horizon Zero Dawn (20 plus hours) and Wipeout: Omega Collection (lots of hours).

The solution


What can I do? Well, inspired by the idea behind Desert Island Games, I’m planning on limiting myself to playing only eight games for a year. How exactly I do this is still undecided. Do I just draw up a list of eight existing games, or do I leave a couple of slots in there for upcoming stuff? I’ve got to include games I might play with the kids, but do I really want two slots out of eight taken up with Lego games? Are there some exceptions I can get away with (VR experience type stuff for example not counting as games)? These are all things I’m going to have to consider. I figure I’m also going to need to cover many different genres as when it comes to games I take an attitude similar to Banky Edwards’ attitude to porn.

Holden McNeil : You’ve got like 30 books there! We’re only going to be gone for two days!
Banky Edwards: Variety’s the spice of life. I like a wide selection. Sometimes I’m in the mood for nasty close-ups, sometimes I like them arty and air-brushed. Sometimes it’s a spread brown-eye kind of night, sometimes it’s girl-on-girl time. Sometimes a steamy letter will do, sometimes – not often, but sometimes – I like the idea of a chick with a horse.

So over the next couple of weeks I’m going to start considering my own eight games (but only for a year) and I’ll post my thoughts on here.

And yeah, I know #firstworldproblems.