Fellow duders of Giant Bomb, my name is Dan Kempster, and I have a problem.

Pretty much as long as I've been on this site, I've used it to keep track of my 'Pile of Shame', the proverbial stack of unfinished video games that I've acquired and, for various reasons, never seen through to completion. Through discipline and hard graft, I managed to start whittling down that pile, taking games off it one at a time and avoiding adding to it wherever possible. At its lowest, I'd brought it down to about seventy games - a huge achievement from the initial total of around one-hundred and twenty. But, over the last couple of years, that Pile of Shame has started to rise once again. Not only is it growing, but it seems to be growing exponentially, to the point where it's larger than it's ever been before.

How have I managed to get myself into this mess? Well, I can think of a few factors:

• Increased hours at work and more time spent on other endeavours and passions (music, writing, reading, socialising) means I don't play anywhere near as much as I used to.
• I am typically a slow, methodical player who likes to spend time exploring and seeking out additional content, which means it takes me longer to finish games than the average player.
• I consider myself an enthusiast and collector when it comes to video games, which means I'm curious to discover old experiences I may have missed out on, and also reluctant to cut ties with games even if I'm unlikely to ever play or finish them.
• Being a late adopter of current-generation hardware (we're now two years into the new console generation and I still haven't decided which one I'll be opting for) means I instead opt to pick up more games on previous-generation systems for less.
• Improved digital delivery of games on home consoles, coupled with regular sales and special offers, means picking up interesting-looking games at reasonable prices is the easiest it's ever been.
• Steam. I shouldn't have to say any more than that for you to know what I mean.

All of the reasons above can essentially be condensed to form one 'super-reason' - I acquire games far more frequently than I'm able to finish them. The result is a Pile of Shame which, at the time of writing, stands at 196 titles. No, that isn't a typo - I own one-hundred and ninety-six games that I'm still yet to finish. It's so large that I've had to split it across two separate lists here on Giant Bomb (which you can find here and here, if you're interested in seeing just how shameful this pile really is). That is a lot of video games, and (through no one's fault but my own, I admit) the number just keeps rising month on month. If I don't do something about this soon, I'm going to hit the dreaded milestone of two-hundred unfinished games, a figure that even I'm prepared to concede is far too high.

That's why I've decided to turn this October into 'Backlogtober', a month in which I attempt to clear as many games as possible from my unwieldy Pile of Shame. Alongside this, I plan to post short daily blogs throughout the month (a feat I haven't successfully attempted since way back in 2012 with my 'A Month in Skyrim' blog series), briefly chronicling my thoughts on each game as I play through them.

All the particulars - the specific games, the running schedule, the degree to which I'll be pushing my luck - are still yet to be finalised. Some time next week, as we approach the event itself, I'll post a more detailed blog with all of that stuff listed. Until then, I have a list of nearly two-hundred games to peruse, categorise and whittle down in order to find the likeliest candidates. It'll be a bit like X Factor boot camp, but with dusty old video game boxes instead of vapid youngsters with delusions of grandeur. If you'd like to help me with this process, feel free to check out my Pile of Shame (linked a couple of paragraphs above this one) and throw some recommendations my way in the comments section below. Similarly, if you're keen to clear some of your own unwieldy backlog this autumn, let me know and maybe we can make this 'Backlogtober' thing into a proper initiative. Until then, thanks very much for reading. Take care, and I'll see you around.

Dan

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Currently playing - Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PS3)