2017 - 12 Month Pile Program

Bubblefuzz wrote:
brokenclavicle wrote:

In other aspects of pile management... oh, Hemidal, where art though? I may actually beat one of the games I wanted to declare and I don't see the February 2017 pile thread (my searches may be stunted by my constant attempts at removing games from my PS Store cart).

Here you go BC - The month may be short but the pile isn't

Thank you!

I only now noticed my horrible typo in writing "though" instead of "thou"...

"How are those pile plans for the year going, Clocky?"

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/f5yHTVI.gif)

At the start of December, I had a very clear idea of how I wanted the next year to go: only buy two games in the next year; significantly cut back the number of platforms I play on; choose a selection of games to focus on. I had my two games to buy picked out; I had my platforms picked out I wanted to focus on; I had my list of games. I was set.

Midway through February, I'm feeling a bit lost. I was offered a screaming good deal on an Xbox One, which I took, and also resurrected my Vita. I blew one of my two game purchases not on something I was hotly anticipating but on something that was cheap and, while fun, doesn't feel like the kind of thing I should have used one of two purchases in a year on. I got it because I wanted to get a new game for my Xbox One.

I also broke down my play habits, looked at how much time was left in the year, and realized that even my short list of games was wildly ambitious. I think I got a bit excited after I finished five games in December, but they were shorter and quicker games. Spending all of January alternating between just two games made me realize how long even a 20 hour game can be.

I'm feeling a bit demoralized now. I almost blew my whole plan for the year yesterday buying a stack of Xbox One games, but my friends in Slack talked me down. One of them suggested that I call my one game purchased so far a new console mulligan and stay on track for getting the two games coming soon that most excite me. I like that idea, but it also feels a bit like cheating.

I too really went off-road a few weeks ago when I decided to replay Pillars of Eternity for the fifth time. That is like 4 standard games worth of hours. Or 20 times Abzu-sized games. Sigh.
Oh well, finished it yesterday, onward to Final Fantasy 15, which I had about 10 hours in, before PoE interfered.
Would love to finish it before Torment hits at February 28
(he said, and then promptly started up Rocket League)

I get that feeling, Clock. It's halfway through the month and the only game I've made progress in is EarthBound, a game I've played since childhood. My brother is now doing Raids in Destiny which also occupies game time. Soon enough Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights will be largely no-progress nights, and trying to up my creative output has also eaten into would-be-weekend gaming time. I don't remember when I last powered on Gravity Rush 2, even, and I was hoping to be done that by now.

I think February always feels a bit more pressured since you have two or three fewer days, but the Nintendo Switch and impending open world of Breath of the Wild have me feeling a bit intimidated.

A weekend visit to my family didn't help, so we'll see how the next two weeks look. Last night I also had an impromptu hangout with a friend I hadn't seen in a long time. But, I don't want to feel guilty for time not spent making progress, even if it means towards creative endeavors, because that's how I get depressed and next thing you know I'm just watching reruns of Log Horizon or Food Wars.

So end message to actually be relevant: don't feel guilty because that's just gonna start an avalanche of guilty feelings. Instead, just reflect on having something to have enjoyed, because joy itself is progress towards a more content life (or at the very least a distraction from an increasingly dreadful world).

ClockworkHouse wrote:

"How are those pile plans for the year going, Clocky?"
IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/f5yHTVI.gif)

Yikes!!! Are you okay?

Honestly, best-laid plans of mice and men and all that. If you're having fun, if you're enjoying what you're playing, then who cares if you're not making the 5 games progress you made in December. December was December, with in all likelihood, some time off and more game time. It's gaming, it's supposed to be fun. Less pressure, more fun!

I was doing well this year. Nothing in January.

And then I preordered Breath of the Wild for Wii U. And then I bought the reprint of Yakuza 2 for PS2. And then I got FF III on Steam because it was on sale. All of this in one week.

I am weak.

Eleima wrote:

It's gaming, it's supposed to be fun. Less pressure, more fun! :D

What E said.

This is pile management, not punishment.

We're all here because of personality traits, ticks, triggers, that sees us buying more than we can play, and having less hours in the day than we'd ideally like to have.

And that's OK.

I've been giving my gaming time up for television at the moment. I'd love to have been playing *insert game here* instead of watching the first season of Breaking Bad (I have a TV pile too), but all that would have done is frustrate me with the titles I'd be trying to enjoy because "right now" I only have it in me to ingest passive narratives (insert FF or MGS cut scene jokes here).

Next week might be different, but this week, it's where I'm at.

Chris, sounds like you're having fun living life, is that such a bad thing?

Clock, you grabbed a good deal and want to run it through its paces, also cool. You also get to recalibrate your yearly commitment because circumstances have changed. You can't take on a new console and expect needs and desires to go unaffected. Roll with it, and have fun with it.

Shadout, you spent time with an old friend also. Nothing wrong with that

Don't feel bad Clock. You got a new shiny to play with. Enjoy it!

ClockworkHouse wrote:

Spending all of January alternating between just two games made me realize how long even a 20 hour game can be.

This is largely why I stopped alternating between games and have been sticking with Final Fantasy XV as my main game right now. I'll never complete anything if I'm dividing my attention with the pace of new releases these days.

Spoiler:

And then I spent all night playing Kingdom of Loathing because new challenge path and optional content I hadn't seen before! Oops.

Glass 1/2 empty: I broke from my plan 1 1/2 months into the year.

Glass 1/2 full: I still have 10 1/2 months to try to follow my plan.

m0nk3yboy wrote:

Clock, you grabbed a good deal and want to run it through its paces, also cool. You also get to recalibrate your yearly commitment because circumstances have changed. You can't take on a new console and expect needs and desires to go unaffected. Roll with it, and have fun with it.

You're a wise, learnèd monkey. I'm going to call Assassin's Creed Unity my pack-in game and move on with my life. When I'm finished with the Xbox One games I have, I'll decide then if I feel comfortable getting another one, regardless of where I am in the year.

Otherwise, I'm sticking to my goals and plans for the year with fresh eyes.

shoptroll wrote:

This is largely why I stopped alternating between games and have been sticking with Final Fantasy XV as my main game right now. I'll never complete anything if I'm dividing my attention with the pace of new releases these days.

I have to alternate games, or I'll never get through some of these longer games. I burn out on things pretty quickly, and if I try to stick with just one thing for weeks at a time, it's very rare that I'll enjoy it and see it through to the end. Swapping games every week seems to keep me engaged with them, although after about 50 hours of Fallout 4 this month and last, I might let it rest for more than a week. I noticed last night that I'm getting a bit tired of it.

Do you have other smaller titles in your pile like in December? Perhaps alternating between a longer game and shorter games would help with the feeling of productivity. So work on a 50 hour game one week, then bat out an 8-10 hour game the next.

Of course, this then gets into the problem with "what am I feeling like?", and sometimes you're feeling like two longer games.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
m0nk3yboy wrote:

Clock, you grabbed a good deal and want to run it through its paces, also cool. You also get to recalibrate your yearly commitment because circumstances have changed. You can't take on a new console and expect needs and desires to go unaffected. Roll with it, and have fun with it.

You're a wise, learnèd monkey. I'm going to call Assassin's Creed Unity my pack-in game and move on with my life. When I'm finished with the Xbox One games I have, I'll decide then if I feel comfortable getting another one, regardless of where I am in the year.

Awwwwww, and now I'm sad you didn't call *me* a wise, learnèd monkey.
Just kidding. Mostly because he's a wise, learnèd m0nk3y.

I'll second on Ccesarano on the smaller games. That sure does wonders for my moral when I knock off a smaller game like I did with Hook last week. Feels like progress even though it's not more "progress" than playing an hour of Shadow of Mordor.

Incidentally, killing orcs is really fun. I'm so enjoying this Uruk genocide, it's sinful.

Thirded on the shorter games. I definitely like doing a shorter game after completing a long one as a palette cleanser. After I am finished with Final Fantasy XV, I'll look for a shorter game or two before getting back to longer titles. It feels nice to check a couple of those off the list.

I have some shorter games, but not many of them are ones I want to play right now. I've tried to take a page from beeporama and plan my time out. I don't have his month-by-month list, but I looked at how much I play and how much time was left in the year and figure out with the time I have what I most want to play. Not much on there is short.

I can relate to that. Not much I wanna play right now is short, either.

I miss the days when most games had 8 hour campaigns.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

I have to alternate games, or I'll never get through some of these longer games. I burn out on things pretty quickly, and if I try to stick with just one thing for weeks at a time, it's very rare that I'll enjoy it and see it through to the end.

Same. It's very rare can stick with a game for longer than 20 hours at most. The problem I have is taking a break and then returning to that longer game. Open world's especially it seems, last year it was Mad Max, enjoying but fell off after 20ish. This year, did well in Jan to get 20 hours into Fallout 4, decided to take a break about 3 weeks ago and although set myself a target of a realistic 15 hours this month I haven't been back. Instead I've been flitting between a little Doom and a bunch of adventure games... AND my pile nemesis...

..... Overwatch! I'm not even having as much fun with it as last year, it's like I can't decide what to spend my time with, so I just stick Overwatch on and just zone out... I know I'd be enjoying other things more for the 15-20 hours spent with it since gave Fallout a break but it's just easy to reach for and minimal effort to play.

What I should do is put it back in the case, put the case in a box, put that box in another box, take that box to the shed and place it under a big pile of other boxes! I don't want to get rid of it, but maybe if it's a hassle to find I can get on and enjoy some other stuff!

Bubblefuzz wrote:

What I should do is put it back in the case, put the case in a box, put that box in another box, take that box to the shed and place it under a big pile of other boxes!

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/XS5LK.gif)

My pile "problem" is that I don't want to do anything but farm until P5 comes out. I suppose I'll probably get sick of it by then.

Aaaaaaand I just pre-ordered Hollow Knight.

Guess that's my February purchase.

I'm in a huge funk, there so many great games that I want to play, but every night I just end up turning off my brain and playing Rocket League.

Since I don't think the situation is going to change much in the next 24 hours, might as well do this.

Pile In:
My Nintendo Picross: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (3DS)
Night in the Woods (PC)
River City Ransom: Underground (PC)

Pile Out:
None! Nada! Zilch!

Feeling good about this month even though the above suggests I did nothing. What I did do was sink about another 35-40 hours in Final Fantasy XV this month. This is kinda unheard of for me, but I'm really digging just focusing on one game and losing myself in it for an extended period of time. Really brings me back to the days when I was a kid and only got a new game or two at the holidays and my birthday. There's probably a reason I gravitated towards Japanese RPGs on console and Maxis games on PC. Stuff you could really suck the marrow off of

Anyways, I also noticed my attitude towards the pile has mellowed a lot this year. I really think ignoring Backloggery and micro-managing the pile has put me in a healthier spot. I'm no longer updating Backloggery with progress made on games, just using it to track what came in and what's left the pile. That's it. No achievement updates, no "hey I beat a level" type stuff. I think this is making me happier because I no longer have a near constant reminder of "you know, you could play these other games right now instead of enjoying Final Fantasy XV by doing all the side quests, and why aren't you done with this yet after 65 hours? No seriously, you could've knocked 5 indie games off the pile in that amount of time!". Plus Backloggery's UI and continued stagnation continue to just eat at my soul each time I visit it. At this rate I'll probably be rolling my own spreadsheet by next year.

Looking forward... Switch arrives on Friday. March will be Zelda and Snipperclips. I'm curious to see if Zelda holds my attention like Final Fantasy XV has.

Finished Dishonored 2 one of the first days of February.
Completed Firewatch
Took a long detour into replaying Pillars of Eternity.
Completed Final Fantasy FFXV. Was fairly disappointed by it, but OCD took over and made me platinum it regardless.

Not bad after all.

Two of my most anticipated games of 2017 Torment and Horizon are downloaded and ready to go for the next games. Pile clearing will have to take a backseat for a while.

As far as 'Pile in', I might have bought certain Humble Bundle with ~50 games in it... and another Humble Bundle with only Total War: Warhammer in it (until they update the bundle for the month I guess).
Only The Witness and Warhammer have any real chance of entering my pile list anytime soon though.

February is a time for "uh-oh".

GAMES COMPLETED:
- EarthBound

GAMES ON HOLD:
- World of Final Fantasy
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3D

GAMES IN PROGRESS:
- Hollow Knight
- Gravity Rush 2
- Phoenix Wright: Spirit of Justice

So I'm technically cheating because Paper Mario: Color Splash has been on hold for a couple months now.

I almost made it out of February without buying anything, but then someone mentioned Hollow Knight somewhere and I watched the trailer and I was like "f*ck now I gotta clean the drool off my keyboard" and now I'm actually playing a video game on my PC like it's an actual game system. Who the Hell knew?!

I don't regret the purchase, though, as this is definitely going to be a game that's going in my top 10 at the end of the year. I know it's early still, but this game is just... so deliciously clean in so much of its design. I love it.

Pre-Hollow Knight, there were several things going on. The first was busy weekends coupled with a lot of effort writing. The second was being sucked into EarthBound thanks to the JRPG Club. The third was my brother and friend being Raid ready in Destiny. The fourth was having a new podcast going. EarthBound became the game to play because 1) it was familiar and therefore a comfort, 2) due to my JRPDiary test I felt compelled to play for write-ups, and 3) ease of portability and resume from sleep/suspend.

I think there are a few lessons to glean from this, one of which being that JRPDiary is going to take too much time away from current games and other writing projects. Maybe sometime later, but I've been slow on my script for my YouTube video because I'm writing all kinds of other things first and never get around to it. Mental baggage doesn't help either, but I've done okay fighting through that this month. In addition, my blog itself is just lower priority since that's where I have least of an audience. YouTube subscribers are definitely higher than blog readers, GWJ was way too neglected by me in 2016, and I'd like to try pitching to other sites this year. So, when I sit down on Saturday and Sunday mornings to write, this means the time I devote will be to more important works, which will increase my overall satisfaction and motivation.

Sunday nights I'm going to begin doing a two hour stream to help prepare for Extra Life, which could give me a good "slow pile burn" sort of thing. We'll see how it goes.

March is...gonna be tough. No Horizon and no Mass Effect, and April is looking a bit threatening as well. I'm tempted to double-dip on I Am Setsuna, but right now I'm holding off (I cannot afford it anyway, and I may be buying Snipperclips simply due to how cheap it is compared to 1-2-Switch). Hollow Knight, Zelda, Phoenix Wright and Nier: Automata will all be fighting for my time. However, I fortunately have Friday and Monday this week off, where the only obligations are to do some cleaning around my apartment and celebrate a friend's birthday Saturday night. I'll probably hop between Hollow Knight, Zelda, and Phoenix Wright throughout the weekend, and I won't be taking Zelda to work with me until Phoenix Wright is finished. Even then, I may hold off on that until Xenoblade Chronicles 3D is completed (which could be a while). This does eliminate some of the advantages of the Switch, but next weekend I'll be taking it to NJ with me so whatever.

I just gotta remember to play what's fun, and not leave Gravity Rush 2 alone for too long or else it'll be forgotten.

Nod

I hope to God things start slowing down but I don't think they will.

Time for the February report!

Added:

  • The Dream Machine: Chapter 5 (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif) - What can I say, it was on sale, and I already have the first four chapters!
  • Torment: Tides of Numenera (PC) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif) - Kickstarted a long time ago and really looking forward to it.

Finished:

  • Hook (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif)
  • Borderlands: the Pre-Sequel (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif)
  • King's Quest - Chapter 1: A Knight to Remember (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif)
  • King's Quest - Chapter 2: Rubble Without A Cause (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif)
  • Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor GOTY (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif)
  • King's Quest - Chapter 3: Once Upon a Climb (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif)
  • King's Quest - Chapter 4: Snow Place Like Home (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif)
  • King's Quest - Chapter 5: The Good Knight (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif)
  • King's Quest - Epilogue (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif)

Dropped:

  • Solitairica (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/null.gif) - I like card games. But add in a rogue like element and have me do the same*freaking*card*game over and over? Thanks, but no thanks.

Played:

  • Solstice (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) - Played about an hour, looks great, love the art.
  • Rise of the Tomb Raider (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) - Looks like a worthy successor to the first game, even if I had a few issues with the controls at first. See my stream, I kept dying over and over and over.

Remaining games: 48 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) (46 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif))
Progress (Games): 20 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) + 2 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/null.gif) - 10 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif) = 12
Est. remaining hours: 613.5 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) (593 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif))
Progress (Est. total hours): 104 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) + 20 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/null.gif) + 2.5 played IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) - 115 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif) = 11.5

Backloggery says 30, which is pretty incredible, more than I expected. Progress will probably slow down, as I'll be tackling some big games in the weeks to come, games like Rise of the Tomb Raider and Torment: Tides of Numenera. Not to mention that Mass Effect: Andromeda will be dropping at the end of March, and I'm going to be aaaaaaaall over that. Still, a pretty good start to 2017, and that's nothing to sneeze at (even though I did deliberately play some games and games that are broken down in episodes or chapters - eff that, it's good for moral ).

February update

Annual game budget remaining at start of Feb - £238

Incoming
Doom - £15
Blackwell Legacy - £2 (rounded up)

Outgoing
Blackwell Legacy - completed
Life is Strange (Chapters 2 & 3) - completed
Steep & Destiny Collection - sold £45

Annual game budget remaining at end of Feb - £266
Happy with my budget gamification so far!

Not so happy with... Never-ending Multiplayer Time Sink of the Month
Overwatch... I really need to step off.

Plan for March

Try and cut back or hide Overwatch.

Complete the rest of Life is Strange. This week hopefully, am well into Chapter 4.

Crack on with the Doom campaign.

Totally failed to get back to any Fallout 4 at all. Should sort this out and sticking a meagre 10 hours down as a target that I will try and hit this month, honest!

Purchase and play Blackwell Unbound on Android, a no brainer after Legacy.

Maybe pick up Sorcery! 2 from the Android pile.

Biggest temptations this month...

Anything that pops up in PSN sales that's on my wish list - I'm a sucker for a digital bargain!

Night in the Woods. I think this might be the most probable gaming temptation I fail to resist this month.

For Honor. Have said to myself I might pick this up if a supermarket physical flash sale comes along soonish, but I think my buzz for this may well have passed.

Horizon Zero Dawn. Looks lush, but do I really need another open world title right now? I'm slowly coming to the realisation my mind might not be wired right for this type of game any more, if it ever really was tbh. I have a history of hardly ever finishing them, usually getting bogged down, and eventually bored with all the filler and fluff. Maybe later in the year, when can pick up cheap and not lose much from budget if fall off fairly quickly.

Torment: Tides Of Numenera. A story driven RPG might just be what I'm after at them moment, I'm really digging narrative games at the moment and seeing this described as more of a choose-your-own adventure than an RPG means this might be the one biggie can my sink teeth into. The amount of text to read whilst playing on TV and problems noted with the PS4 version have me torn on whether to pick it up immediately or not though. So another for further down the line maybe.

Oh, and it's a VERY big temptation - but I'm going to hold out on picking up a Switch for at least six months, I will stick to this, yes I will!

That'll do... again - will undoubtedly change.

February Update

Dropped like a hot potato when I realized how much more grinding I would have to do to beat the final area: Dragon Quest II
"Finished": Stardew Valley

So that was pretty much my month. I started off playing the old-school GBC Dragon Quest II but got tired of grinding when the final area kicked my pixellated ass up and down, and fled back into the welcoming arms of Stardew Valley, where I remained the rest of the month. I got my original farm evaluated by Grandpa and started on a new one (hence "finished").

The next two months are pretty sewn up since this month starts with the Switch launch and Breath of the Wild, and next month starts with Persona 5, two games that will ruthlessly consume my time (in a good way, I can't wait).

Dammit. Went swimming. Came home with Horizon Zero Dawn.

Bubblefuzz wrote:

Dammit. Went swimming. Came home with Horizon Zero Dawn.

Where did you go swimming? I should stop by there after work.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
Bubblefuzz wrote:

Dammit. Went swimming. Came home with Horizon Zero Dawn.

Where did you go swimming? I should stop by there after work.

GG (Gym & Game). It's a new health chain over here.

What really happened...

I had to pick up some milk and bread from the supermarket on the way home post swim. Suddenly a wave of Switch retail envy hit me, I'd done so well resisting that purchase, I deserved something new and shiny right? So while nipping in to shop I took the HZD case to check out too... I then got a taste of the hunt, they'd sold out... Well I wasn't leaving it there, went to another supermarket round the corner, same story, all gone. Onto the third store, in stock and bought, retail therapy achieved.

Didn't get to play it last night though, install looked like it was going to take an age and left it overnight.

This morning a little retail regret at falling off the wagon, however think I've come to the decision to actually sell Overwatch to balance the books. It just takes up too much of my limited gaming time, it's just addictive, yet frustrating and pretty sure I'll enjoy a more varied gaming diet more.

February report~

Added:
(A crap ton of games from the Freedom Humble bundle that I don't want to think about right now..)

Beat:
Abzu (Steam)
Pokemon Sun (3DS)
Pony Island (Steam)
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (Uplay)

So February would of been a great month for pile progress if not for pulling the trigger on that Freedom Humble Bundle. It was a great deal for just Stardew Valley and The Witness alone nevermind the other games. This may be childish but I'm pretending that they don't exist for now. I don't have the time and energy for them at this moment.. Especially since I picked up The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for the Wii U yesterday and I expect that to consume me for the next 2-3 months. I might try to play Banjo Tooie for the first time before Yooka Laylee comes out but we'll see if that happens.