120 Games, 1 Goal - Pile of Shame: 0
I think I've finally hit a point where I need to admit it.
Hi everyone. My name is Chris, and I have a problem: I keep buying games, but never play them.
Don't get me wrong - I want to. Games are great. They can be fun, relaxing, stressful (in a good way... mostly.) I just can't seem to do it. Analysis paralysis is a real thing people.
You know how it goes. You get caught up in the hype cycle around current releases. A bunch of press/internet people fall in love with a game, you see it everywhere, you have to have it. You buy it, excited to play it. You might even install it, maybe even (gasp!) start it. But then the next week or two rolls around, and a new game grabs the world's attention. You begin the cycle anew.
Don't even get me started on E3, emails from video game companies, Gamescom, tweets, PSX, podcasts, news articles, and the worst of all, GOTY discussions. It just doesn’t stop.. you just don’t stop.
Yes, "you" is actually "me" in this scenario.
That's why I've decided it's time. Time to take a stand. To say no. Or, more appropriately... not yet. That shelf of games needs to be cleared: that Steam library needs to be culled. It's time to eliminate that pile of shame.
A bit of background: a few years back, I had similar ideas. I had a bunch of games to play and no idea where to start, so I procrastinated by teaching myself to code and created a pile of shame app. I was quite happy with what I'd created, and after entering in all the games I owned, I had 57 listed. Today, I literally hit 120. Clearly, my efforts didn't go as planned.
So my fellow game players, this is where I make my post. I've drawn the line in the sand. Here is where I say it.
No more buying any new games until I've finished the ones I already have.
No more neglecting this pile of no doubt wonderful experiences for the sake of something shiny and new.
No more sitting on the couch for an hour, mulling over what I should spend the spare hour I have playing, only to wind up going to bed.
No more eating Nutella out of the jar with a spoon.
Ok, that last one doesn't count, I'm probably gonna keep doing that.
I'm making this stand here, on my website, in front of everyone, because otherwise I probably won't stick to it. Hell, I still might not. But this is me trying.
To make things simple, I'm going to lay out the following 4 rules:
No purchasing of any new games to play while the pile still has games on it.
I can only stop playing a game before I finish it if I never, ever want to do so. Basically, I have to see each game through to the end, or I'm never playing it again.
The aim is to finish the games I'm playing, but for some on my list that's kind of a hard thing to pinpoint. It's easy for me to tell when I've finished Dishonored for example, but Civ 5? Where the bloody hell do you finish with that? That game could go on forever! I'll need to make that judgement call on a game by game basis.
No bloody buying new games to play damn it! I'm a 25 year old trying to save money. Don't do it.
Anyway, that's where I stand. I want to chronicle the journey, so I'll be writing and posting my shamelog each Sunday night here as a kind of gut check to keep true to the goal. Hopefully this kind of schedule and weekly wrap up will keep me in line. Plus, I know there's gotta be some of you out there with piles like mine - maybe you can join in and try to hit pile: 0 too.
Finally, before I get started, the list that you all have been waiting for: my pile of shame.
Steam
1 Assassins Creed: Freedom Cry
2 The Bureau: XCOM Declassified
3 Murdered: Soul Suspect
4 Watch_Dogs
5 The Magic Circle
6 The Talos Principle
7 Deus Ex: Human Revolution
8 Thief (2014)
9 Thief Gold
10 1979 Revolution: Black Friday
11 Braid
12 Metro: Last Light
13 Never Alone
14 Out There Somewhere
15 The Age of Decadence
16 Fallout 4
17 Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander
18 Pillars of Eternity - The White March
19 The Witcher: Enhanced Edition
20 Age of Wonders
21 Endless Legend
22 Civilization V
23 Stellaris
24 Thea: The Awakening
25 Ninja Pizza Girl
26 Crusader Kings 2
27 The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
28 Poncho
29 The Old City: Leviathan
30 A Wolf In Autumn
31 Miasmata
GOG
32 Eisenwald: Blood of November
33 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
34 Age of Wonders 3
PC
35 Torment: Tides of Numenera
36 Tyranny
37 Underworld Ascendant (Kickstarter backed)
38 All Walls Must Fall (Kickstarter backed)
PS4
39 Everything
40 Horizon Zero Dawn
41 Mafia 3 DLC
42 The Sexy Brutale
43 Assassins Creed IV Black Flag
44 Assassins Creed Syndicate
45 Assassins Creed Unity
46 Dishonored
47 Dishonored 2
48 Hyperlight Drifter
49 Lumo
50 Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
51 Tearaway Unfolded
52 What Remains of Edith Finch
53 The Last Guardian
54 Gravity Rush Remastered
55 Final Fantasy Type-0 HD
56 Invisible Inc.
57 The Fall
58 This War of Mine: The Little Ones
59 Deception IV The Nightmare Princess
60 Valkyria Chronicles Remastered
61 Catherine
62 Heavenly Sword
63 Dragon's Dogma
64 Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
65 Watch_Dogs 2 (Includes No Compromises DLC)
66 Final Fantasy XV
67 Disgaea 5
68 Far Cry 4
69 Until Dawn
70 Diablo 3
71 Metal Gear Solid 5: Phantom Pain
72 Wolfenstein: The New Order
73 Grand Kingdom
Vita
74 Darkest Dungeon
75 Legend of Heroes - Trails in the Sky
76 Suikoden
77 Suikoden 2
78 Vagrant Story
79 Virtues Last Reward
PS3
80 Drakengard 3
81 ICO
82 Shadow of the Colossus
83 Heavy Rain
84 Beyond Two Souls
PS2
85 Drakengard
PS1
86 Spec Ops: Airborne Commando
Switch
87 Kamiko
Wii U
88 Super Mario 3D World
89 Yoshi's Woolly World
90 Star Fox Guard
91 Pikmin 3
92 Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE
93 Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
94 Affordable Space Adventures
95 Zelda: Wind Waker
96 Metroid Prime 1
97 Metroid Prime 2
98 Metroid Prime 3
Wii
99 Super Mario Galaxy 2
100 Goldeneye 007 (Wii)
101 Metroid Other M
102 The Last Story
103 Pandora's Tower
3DS
104 Dragon Quest IX
105 Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadow of Valentia
106 Etrian Odyssey IV
107 Zelda: Majora's Mask
108 Code Name STEAM
109 Fire Emblem Fates (Birthright, Conquest & Revelations)
DS
110 Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
111 Chrono Trigger (DS)
Xbox One
112 Recore
Xbox 360
113 Red Dead Redemption
114 Fable 2
115 Assassins Creed 3
116 Far Cry 3
iPhone
117 80 Days
iPad
118 Monument Valley
119 The Room 2
120 Valiant Hearts
How Long To Beat (a bloody brilliant website) puts me at around 4000 hours to get through this. So... yeah. This is gonna take a while. Wish me luck!