Breaking the Backlog: The Beginning

Breaking the Backlog: The Beginning

So recently I was looking for one of my “old games” (Paper Mario: Sticker Star) and I realized something, I have a LOT of games. I know that you guys probably have a lot of games too, but there are games I have never even played let alone seen in this pile of junk. There are even games that I loved that got thrown off to the side at some point and never picked up again, I decided to do something about it. This mixed with a forum post I saw about Backlog Issues, spurred me to try and get the amount of games that I have not beaten in my backlog to zero. Even if the game sucks entirely I will not stop till I see every end screen, of every single game that I own. Now if there is no win state, I will play the game until I have a decent understanding of what the game is and if I like it or not. Before any of that is going to get done, I decided to do something that will make the entire process easier. I decided to list of the things I would need to do before even thinking about playing a game on the list.

Step 1: Making A Catalog

After this idea struck me I thought how would one even go about tracking their progress. I mean I know about this place, and others like it. But I decided that is not good enough, I needed something that I could easily sort through and look through at a moments notice. I decided on an Excel graph, (well the Google equivalent: “spreadsheet”) and then started filling things in. I am not finished with the graph as of yet, but from the looks of it the numbers are going to reach at least a hundred, and if I really wanted to count EVERYTHING then it would be more. Getting the game name was not enough for me, I recorded the console it was on, if I had beaten it, if I had completed it (I am proud of games I complete OK?), if I have even played the game, and finally other random notes off to the side if needed. On this graph I sort it by games I have not beaten first, because many of the games I have not played I can not play due to technical requirements.

Step 2: Choosing a Game

This step might seem like almost an oversight to begin with. You just choose a game and play it right? Well I thought about taking it that way but I decided to choose a game that I should have finished a long time ago. I looked at all the games where I either started it, and it somehow got thrown over to the side. Or the games that I got as close as humanly possible to beating but then did not go all the way. I thought about Skyward Sword, but realized that it would be too long of an endeavor for the first game. I then thought about Metroid Other M, I decided that the amount of bad press that the game has got was probably warranted in some way. I then thought of letting the forums decide what game I should play, but with little known about me, and nothing to prove that I would write something cool about the game, I decided on a game that I could take anywhere, and play anytime and is long overdue for a good beating. Paper Mario: Sticker Star. I got this game around when it came out, and I still only have five hours in it. This week it is going to change.

Step 4: Playing the Game

Self explanatory, I have to sit down and actually get all the way through this game.

Step 5: Formatting

While I was playing the game I thought to myself, “How am I going to make this interesting, or present this?” Then I came up with the brilliant idea. I’ll make it a weekly blog series! That is nice and dandy, but how will each week go? I thought about finishing a game a week, I have more or less shied away from this idea because I have some LONG games on this list that I have to beat. Beating Xenoblade in a week? In the summer, maybe, but for now I will just get as far as possible each week until the game is completed. I also decided that I would do a write up and check in on how the game is going every Saturday or Sunday. Once a game is completed I will do a write up on it in place of the normal “check-up”. I also can not buy any more than one game a month until I get this backlog problem fixed. This should keep me on track and hopefully save me some money.

Step 6: Execution

Now, I just have to beat these games! If people actually read this, (hopefully they will) I will have votes on what game I should play next. I will continue to do this as long as necessary/ I have time to do it. If some weeks are slow I might write a more off topic blog simply to fill time because I was too busy playing the game. Hopefully I am interesting enough in what I say about the games to keep people reading. So the question is... are you ready to Break the Backlog?

PS - This is my first attempt at any kind of blog or series thing so please be nice.

PSS- This will count as my normal Saturday/Sunday post

Sounds pretty neat. I'll definitely be checking in to see how this works out for you. Who knows, it might inspire some action within myself to tackle my own monster back log.

@damajadiz: Hopefully I do inspire some people to actually play all the games that they have bought. I think we all have backlog problems, and I think this is a good way to deal with them! :D Hope you like it!

That's a lot of pokemon! Good luck with your endevour!

No this is not the way you must join the Backlog empire. Embrace the almost never ending list of games you'll never get back to. Wuhahaha

But really this seems like a good idea to me. This should give you more of a reason to play though your backlog.

@riostarwind: That's the goal!

@jeust: The first picture is not my actual game collection, but I do have 4 pokemon games, luckily I have beaten all of them so there is no real reason to go back! Thanks for the luck, I'll need it! :D

Good luck. You'll need it. I have my own monstrous backlog I may never cull satisfyingly.

Due to a recent purchase of a new home, I'm doing the same thing (Except for getting sidetracked by Fire Emblem.). It's good feeling watching that backlog shelf get a little emptier all the time. Plus, some of the random games that you forget you even own (Looking at you Trauma Team, you big, dumb, ball of nonsense.) turn out to be pretty good.

Good luck and i will stay tuned to see your process and input. I'm working on my backlog too but spending 100+ hours in fire emblem is not doing me any favors.

I've done a catalog of my games, just so I know whats there. There are also lists that I've made here that has been quite useful. With a large amount of games, it's always beneficial to make a list.

That is a weird looking box of games, any reason for the repeats?

And good luck with the blog! I look forward to the updates!

@mwng: *see image caption* Other than that I really do not know, it is not my image, though I do have about that many Pokemon repeats.

@pollysmps: It was my first Phantasy Star game and I bought it far enough after release that no one was playing it. I have not beat it which means I will be going back to it at some point during this series. Maybe I was totally wrong! I spent a lot of time in it and to me it got kind of Grindy, and boring with a lot of the same environments, though it has been a while.

I don't know how many times I've promised this to myself, and then something new and exciting comes along or life gets in the way. Good luck to you!