I have a VERY complicated relationship with belongings that can be organized.
Games, CDs, DVDs, cords, clothing – you name it, I strive to impose organization in the midst of chaos. My current or perhaps slightly dated obsession is (was?) yellow topped storage bins.
Sadly (as I posted in a Patreon Quip) I may need a bin-tervention.
The tiny bins are fucking adorable, though, and actually house a fair amount of stuff. They just all look alike and I need to figure out some way to label or organize them without detracting from their beauty. Why don’t they sell different colored lids…
Ahem.
Our Steam libraries may be digital but they CAN be organized (Steam has even made great strides in this department over the past year or two) and I’m currently fixated on ‘fixing’ mine up. I’ve made some progress so far (see the before vs current images below) but those changes, IMO, were the easy ones.
So far I’ve:
- hidden dead/abandoned/garbage games that were just sitting visible for NO reason
- hidden games that I know I will never revisit. Ex: Firewatch. LOVED the game, paid full price, would do it again, will probably never pick it up again since it was, to me, a story that I don’t need to revisit. (If you have somehow never played it, please do, it’s very short and frequently on sale.)
- hidden games that I just have no interest in playing. (Think excess keys from sprawling Humble Bundles, random key giveaways, etc.)
89 hidden games, now we’re cooking!
Still a slew to go, though, and at this point I could feel myself teetering away from “organization” and more towards “what the fuck am I going to do with all of these games?”
I mean obviously they can – or should, or may, or at least there’s intent to- be played.
For the first time in forever I want to play (at least some of) them and I can see that it’ll never happen if I don’t have a plan. The weird part is that my backlog never really bothered me until the Steam Deck. It really restored the magic and fun of gaming that I haven’t felt much of since back when I rented PS1/PS2 from Blockbuster.
Those were the days.
Given that money and time are in short supply – and they’re so valuable – I want to tackle my library in a way that feels productive. The Steam Deck didn’t make me want to OWN more games, it made me want to PLAY more games. This knocks the backlog organization on its ass because my real issue is: how do I get the most out of the games I already own. (And set the stage for future purchases to not become a new backlog, that would be fucking terrible if I retain nothing from this experiment.)
I also want to point out that there’s nothing wrong with having a large game backlog and many of my friends have waaay bigger libraries than me and there’s nothing wrong with any of this. It just feels like there’s a tipping point – and this could just be in my own head, not universal – where the backlog becomes less of a collection that can be used/admired and turns into a decision-making problem. (Raise your hand if you’ve ever “felt like playing a game” and then just kinda meander through your different launchers/libraries, unable to pick something. I get like this over dinner, too.)
I popped on YT and dawdled through some videos related to backlogs and intentional gaming (RIP my feed because now it’s endless), and a few ideas popped up that I found useful.
Theory: Play ONLY One Game At A Time
Why: Focusing on one game at a time allows you to get more out of it and enjoy it more. He does note that this isn’t necessarily ironclad, and he still plays Stardew Valley as a more casual/mood-dependent pick.
My Thoughts: This is prrooooolly a little more nuanced and ADULT than I need. (Or that I’ll follow, even.) Games and gaming have never been my introspective moody time sink – that would be books and music – so this level of scrutiny would drive me wild. It would take ages to “play one game at a time” with more and more games being somewhat eternal, content-wise. Even on my small docket I have Diablo 4, WoW Forever, Guild Wars 2 (and eventually 3!), etc.
Takeaways: A secondary game that serves a different mood can coexist with a primary game.Waiting to buy isn’t just backlog management; it’s also a pretty easy way to spend less.
Theory: Just Make Progress
Why: The basic idea is simple: just make progress, even if you only have 15 minutes.
The concept of “doing a thing just for 15 minutes” is pretty universal across hobbies/tasks/work/whatever – tons of articles.
Handhelds allow you to hop in and out of games quickly, with little to no barrier, meaning you can take advantage of free moments anywhere: even when you’re not home. So incrementally and consistently making progress means that – eventually – you’ll be able to finish games. A game, at least. He also recommends assigning an external motivator of some type to your gaming: maybe you livestream, maybe you join a Discord or gaming forum to discuss a game – extra emphasis to propel you forward.
Takeaways: A short session can be useful even when it doesn’t result in a “meaningful” chunk of progress. Coming back regularly may be less about motivation and more about keeping the game mentally “warm.”
My Thoughts: You almost need to buzz to the 3:30/3:50 mark on this one because it starts as bit of a slow burn. (Initial summary is kinda like “Plot twist who knew that starting a family getting a home getting older etc etc would lead to less free time and shifting priorities!”)
I agree that handhelds absolutely help you push along progress when it comes to gaming. It takes me less than a minute to snag a Switch or the Deck from a bookshelf, turn it on, and get into a game. Far less time than going back to my office, booting up the Windows PC, making sure things are updated, booting up any little incidentals I need (launchers, Discord, whatever), and making my way in game. (These retro handheld videos, btw, are dangerous AF because they’re kiiinda making me want one.)
The bit that stuck out to me the most was this: intermittently tapping into a game, even if it’s just 10-15 minutes every other day, keeps the gameplay fresh in your mind. You remember what the fuck you were doing AND what all of these buttons are supposed to do.
That’s always the biggest negative to coming back to a game after a long break and, for me, can be one of the top reasons I say fuck it and just… abandon it forever.
(See: No Man’s Sky.)
Theory: Don’t Think, Just Play
Why: Yes, eagle eyes, this IS the same guy we opened with that told us to “lay back play one game and really relax into it”. It’s kinda funny because this one was months and months ago, the first one was a week ago (we’re now close to his wedding I think) and now it feels like we’re trekking towards him making a video like the second guy, with the “life responsibilities etc eat time” thing.
Anyway. His point is: play the game that fits your vibe. If you’re feeling lazy and cozy, play a cozy game. If you’re stressed, play something where you can shoot/stab something and work it off. Don’t overanalyze and stress, because you should enjoy your free time BUT play through your backlog to avoid wasting money. He also highlights that focusing two games works well for him, especially when they are vastly different: like maining a cozy game plus a Resident Evil title.
My Thoughts: I think this swings a smidgen too “just do whatever, man” for what I’m trying to accomplish, because just going with my vibes is what lead to the backlog in the first place.
Takeaways: Time is the only currency we can’t get back. (Ugh, feel that shit in my bones.) Ease into new genres with short, interesting variants before, IDK, thinking you’d like a city builder and buying the entire Civilization franchise. (No, not me, but a friend did this!)
Sooooooo where does this leave me.
Off the top of my head, I’d identify as… poly-gamorous with guardrails?
First, and I can’t even remember where I got this because I’ve seen it 5000 places, you may have seen this blurb before, kinda aimed at picking where your focus goes for a specific amount of time.
- Main, your primary game. The one you’re actually progressing.
- Quick – something that works when you have limited time. As in “can I save right now because a client walked in without losing my progress, being unable to pause, dying, being forced to relive a day, etc.
- Social – multiplayer/co-op/competitive.
- Chill – low-pressure, relaxing, or something you can half-pay attention to. (Netflix and Vibe game)
- Venture – the game you’re deliberately trying something different with: new, old, outside your usual genres, whatever.
- Wildcard – anything. It can duplicate another category completely
Utilizing this system may actually clear the way for me to play retro titles, because I can slot them in when I don’t want to “progress” my main roster. I suppose Wildcard and Venture are kinda sharing a lane, at least a little, but overall I think it’s a pretty handy ‘guide’ and it may be key to me feeling like I can plow through this backlog. I think one of the strongest things in my favor is that I’m not afraid to just completely fucking shelve a game and not be sad/guilty/upset/frustrated if I never pick it up again. 90 hours into a 100 hour completion and I’m having zero fun? BYE FELICIA.
I need to leave myself room to wander (aimlessly ramble in an ADD type way) but still feel like I’m making the most of the games and the money and time (and the time to make the money and time to play the game) that I’m dedicating to them.
And then for my next trick, I’ll figure out which game to assign where!
Gold star to me, though, for progress. I can’t quite explain how I viewed the backlog before, but now it feels like the old days of taking a hatchet to dating profiles on OkCupid. Just gotta roll up my fucking sleeves and get in there and delete everyone that doesn’t want to live with a dozen cats make reasonable but sometimes hard choices. I know it’s easy to say I’m building myself a digital (though not yellow-topped) organizational system to lean on, but I’ve actually been pretty fucking impressed with my gamewhacking progress , and I feel like I can make it even better.
How do you handle your own backlog? Rotation? Stick with one game until you’re done? Mood? Vibes? Magic 8-ball? I’m very much in the “fuck around and find out” stage of this experiment so I’m open to hearing about methods – or failures.
