2015 Pile thread - 12 month plan

Well I finished up Unfinished Swan last night in one sitting, its pretty interesting game, but thats pretty much the only game I'll probably finish this month, today is first day on the second job.

So, participating in Humble Bundles is definitely changing pile dynamics. End of 2014 was the first time I donated. Wow, I've really missed out on insane amounts of pile building at little cost and for great causes.

My rules for Humbles: I will only participate when a game I KNOW I want to play is included. I donate for specific game, and GIVE THE REST AWAY!

I gotta say, giving the other ones up is as enjoyable as adding to the pile (maybe more so). And, I'm feeding kids. That's always a good thing.

Zoso1701 wrote:

Xenoblade Chronicles Forever

That sounds like the perfect name for the next installment in the series.

Speaking of Xeno, if they ever announce when you can pre-order that game on Amazon, I may need to make room on my 2015 list... or sell some of my inventory to make up for it. That's a game I have to buy - it's prequel is one of my top 10 games I've played.

Vrikk wrote:

Speaking of Xeno, if they ever announce when you can pre-order that game on Amazon

Um?

Vrikk wrote:

Speaking of Xeno, if they ever announce when you can pre-order that game on Amazon, I may need to make room on my 2015 list... or sell some of my inventory to make up for it. That's a game I have to buy - it's prequel is one of my top 10 games I've played.

Sounds like we will be playing Xenoblade forever. It's so big! Anyway. Won't say more in this thread, but I am excited. Hoping for a snow day to get a few more hours in Chronicles.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
Vrikk wrote:

Speaking of Xeno, if they ever announce when you can pre-order that game on Amazon

Um?

Sorry, I meant the 3DS one, not the Wii U sequel. I already have that one pre-ordered

Also, can someone link me to the February thread? I looked for it, but couldn't find it, and the link isn't in the OP.

Sure thing, it's right over here.

I need to share what happens to me all the time, and see what you guys suggest, if anything.

Since declaring XCOM Enemy Unknown as my "to finish" game, I've gotten stuck at a certain mission because it's too hard for me. So I'm losing interest fast. Instead of trying again, like I know I should, instead I'm picking my 3DS and playing through Legend of Zelda (the first one) because a) I've had it for a while but kinda got stuck and b) I've decided that playing through whilst looking at a walkthrough / map isn't anything to be ashamed of and c) I've never completed a Zelda game, might as well start from the beginning.

Meanwhile XCOM is sitting there, and Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate looms in about a week's time.

This happens to me a lot. What should I do?

I'm probably only a third of the way through XCOM, and I've enjoyed it up till this point but now it's getting frustrating. I'm probably 1/4 through Legend of Zelda but I could probably finish it in not that many hours.

If you aren't enjoying it anymore and you can't turn down the difficulty to get past, I would walk away. You may consider checking online for guidance for the particular situation, but where an optional game is not bringing positive benefits, I would just jettison it.

It's ok to start a game and not finish it. Get your fill and move on. It's your time, your money, and your life. Don't feel bad about it.

That happens to me, and what I do is shelve the game that's giving me trouble and just come back to it later. Play something else and then take another swing at it a month or three months or a year later. What I usually find is that when I come back to it, I'm either able to handle that challenging section better or am at least in a better place to deal with it---more interested and engaged instead of just tired and ready to move on.

So I'd play Zelda, and I'd play Monster Hunter, and then give XCOM another shot down the line.

Thanks for your suggestions, I think you're right.

Bring on the Zelda dungeons!

ClockworkHouse wrote:

That happens to me, and what I do is shelve the game that's giving me trouble and just come back to it later. Play something else and then take another swing at it a month or three months or a year later. What I usually find is that when I come back to it, I'm either able to handle that challenging section better or am at least in a better place to deal with it---more interested and engaged instead of just tired and ready to move on.

I've had this same experience more times that I can remember. I think the craziest one was getting stuck on 150cc Special Cup in the original Mario Kart in high school. Put the game down for a year, picked it back up on a whim and had no trouble getting gold. It's weird how that works.

It's probably premature to say this but I feel like I'm struggling this month. I've barely made any progress in Metroid Prime 3 even though I've had some down time. It's not a bad game but I haven't felt compelled to play it. Then I picked up Earthbound/Super Smash Bros (VC) from Club Nintendo. And earlier tonight I borrowed Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag from a friend (while considering borrowing the god of war collection and tomb raider reboot as well). Not to mention Majora's Mask 3d dropping in a week's time. I feel so scattered when I should be focused

Vrikk wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:
Vrikk wrote:

Speaking of Xeno, if they ever announce when you can pre-order that game on Amazon

Um?

Sorry, I meant the 3DS one, not the Wii U sequel. I already have that one pre-ordered

Also, can someone link me to the February thread? I looked for it, but couldn't find it, and the link isn't in the OP.

My bad, sidetracked with kids back to school last week.

Eleima wrote:

Sure thing, it's right over here. :)

Thanks E!

I've started using this little web app some guy made and posted in reddit/steam: http://steamadvisor.com/
It ranks all my unplayed Steam games by most positive reviews. Sadly I'm sitting at Games: 485 | Unplayed: 305 but the list it makes is quite cool. I am so far sticking to the rule of trying a game from the top 3 on the list at any time. Right now my top 3 highest rated games that I've never played are:

The Binding of Isaac (Recommendations: 28210)
Tomb Raider (Recommendations: 27171)
Don't Starve (Recommendations: 23051)

It's a bit dorky, but I find it kind of inspiring, and I'm firing up Isaac right now

Forlorn Hope wrote:

It's probably premature to say this but I feel like I'm struggling this month. I've barely made any progress in Metroid Prime 3 even though I've had some down time. It's not a bad game but I haven't felt compelled to play it. Then I picked up Earthbound/Super Smash Bros (VC) from Club Nintendo. And earlier tonight I borrowed Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag from a friend (while considering borrowing the god of war collection and tomb raider reboot as well). Not to mention Majora's Mask 3d dropping in a week's time. I feel so scattered when I should be focused :(

Just treat it as peaks and troughs though. I was worried I wasn't "on track" with how many games I want to finish from the pile, but then I just took a step back and thought I should really try enjoy the games I'm playing right now and not worry about any sort of time. I know there's time to make things up. I've also found it's quite good for me to tackle two games at once. So at the moment it's Dragon Age Inquisition and Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, and if I'm sort of getting a slight bit burnt out with one, I can just mix it up with the other!

^ Also, above webapp is great, although I'm not sure I'll take the top recommendation of Euro Truck Simulator 2 on board, just doesn't seem like my sort of game even though it's on the Steam list

Late to the "what I did in January" party, so here goes:

Started:
None

Dropped:
None

Continued:
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Wii U)

Beaten:
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Wii U) (This is now legitimately beaten)

100%/Completed:
None

Added to the Pile:
Magic 2015 (PC)
Magic 2015: Garruk's Revenge (PC DLC)
Card City Nights (PC)

January was a bit of a mess and while we finished up Chapter 3 of Captain Toad mid-month the rest of the month was pretty much spent spinning my wheels while trying to rush my way to a level 70 seasonal character in Diablo III and working on some of the goals in Binding of Isaac Rebirth (which I've since decided I need to take a break from for a little while). Pile additions came from the Humble Card Game Bundle, which was a great deal since it had add-ons for games I already owned (and digital versions of physical games we own), but even with 3 pile additions it was a healthy reminder why these things are to be avoided.

I'm not totally sure how much progress I'll make in February, but I'm enjoying Grim Fandango (which broke my "no walkthroughs" pledge in the first 3 hours) and I'm looking forward to Majora's Mask 3D later this week. I also resumed Persona 4 (thanks P5 trailer) and I'll probably play that when the TV is available but I doubt I'll be able to put it into the beaten pile for a couple of months. I'd also like to get started on Diablo III Season 2 as soon as it starts since trying to hit level 70 at the very end of last season was a nice mild anxiety trigger I'd rather not repeat. Diablo III makes for a nice "wind-down" game so I might just put that on a slow burn and play for a little bit each night before bed. Although, I'm also finding Grim Fandango to be a bit relaxing to play (like most point n' click adventure games) so we'll see how that goes.

Most importantly, I'm hoping I'll manage to balance all these games out and not spend most of the month flailing about and angsting over how "stuck" I felt with my games.

Figured I needed to post here first before I post (if at all) in the February thread. I never got my sh*t together when the new year rolled over.

For starters, I think Epic Battle Fantasy 4 will be going into the ICU. It's a standard JRPG, which is a neutral, and it has awesome music, which is a plus, but the humor is so juvenile that it's starting to annoy me.

Now, I think I need to declare some A-list and B-list games, or I won't be going anywhere fast. So, the A-list:

Book of Unwritten Tales - Started it, declared it last month, might as well finish it
Card City Nights - Just bought it, it has its hooks in me
World of Goo - Heard too much good stuff about it to leave it alone
Guacamelee - Another one I should freaking play already
Bioshock Infinite - The whale of the pile, my rare AAA game, one that needs to move along already. Just not sure if I should play it or be honorable and play Bioshock 2 first. Stupid Steam trading cards...

B-list:

Gunpoint (Hibernation) - Fun, just bad timing on when I tried to play it
Half Minute Hero (Hibernation) - Fun, I think I got blindsided by a non-standard game over and it rattled my confidence
Aquaria - Old, could use clearing off
Contraption Maker - Steam Trading Cards, need to make up my mind one way or the other
Nox (GOG) - Why the hell not, I wanted to play it over the holiday break and that didn't happen. Might as well put it on this list so it's noticeable. Also reminds me that I have several GOG games which do count for pileage

Time and energy continue to be in short supply. I need to make them matter when they're available. Maybe ditching a game which was sucking away my time without giving me much in return will be helpful. One thing at a time...

I never played more than a few hours of the first bioshock and still enjoyed Infinite a bunch. Don't play an earlier game in the series first unless that it excites you.

Also, good on the declarations - I've got something put together (maybe even posted it...) but I have 0 memory of it. Time to remind myself.

That's... actually kind of good news, Trueheart. I appreciate the Bioshock universe, I love the concept, I love the idea, the art, the principle of it. But when I played the first game two or three years ago (actually, it may have been more than that... four?), I just wasn't hooked and dropped it (I was at the Fontaine Fisheries, so not that far in). I've been sitting on Bioshock 2 and Bioshock: Infinite, thinking that someday, I'll go back to it and try to dive back in. Maybe I need to just skip to the next one.

Bubs14 wrote:

Bioshock Infinite - The whale of the pile, my rare AAA game, one that needs to move along already. Just not sure if I should play it or be honorable and play Bioshock 2 first. Stupid Steam trading cards...

Irrational ignored BS2's existence when they worked on Infinite, so there's no need to play BioShock 2 before Infinite. From what I've heard BS2 stands up well on its own, so you might want to eventually play it. And the Minerva's Den DLC is supposed to be really good too.

World of Goo is a lot of fun and doesn't overstay its welcome. Don't be afraid to hit a walkthrough for some of the levels. I'm sad to see you put Gunpoint on the B-list, but there's no sense in trying to plow through a game if you're not in the right headspace for it.

Eleima wrote:

I appreciate the Bioshock universe, I love the concept, I love the idea, the art, the principle of it. But when I played the first game two or three years ago (actually, it may have been more than that... four?), I just wasn't hooked and dropped it (I was at the Fontaine Fisheries, so not that far in).

BioShock is a weird title. It was one of the earlier titles in that generation of FPS games so it looks really sharp but a lot of the mechanics are stuck in the 90's school of design. I liked it a fair bit because it felt like a streamlined Deus Ex, but it also felt like a transitional design since it was a bit more hand-holdy than DX was. Infinite on the other hand went full-tilt modern FPS design which I really don't like as much.

Thanks for the info, Shoptroll, and for nudging me in the right direction. And I'm right with you on Gunpoint, I really loved that game. But there's no point in forcing something if it just isn't meant to be, Bubs.

Whoops. Waylaid by a Bundle! I also got a gift game a few weeks ago. I'm now going the wrong way...

Year-to-Date Backlog Change: +3

Playing
-

Total In (9)
Darklands
The Few
Detective Grimoire
Broken Sword 1
Broken Sword 2
The Detail Episode 1
A Golden Wake
Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller GOTY
Broken Sword 5

________

Total Out (6)

Out - Completed (2)
Tomb Raider
Nightmares from the Deep: The Cursed Heart

Out - the Nevermore pile (4)
Cloudbilt
7 Grand Steps, Step 1
Skulls of the Shogun
Eador: Masters of the Broken World

Out - replaced with newer version (0)
-

Notes
I've been so immersed in Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup that I hardly play anything else at the moment.

Bah, I was doing quite well with FF: Theatrhythm, but now I'm struggling I've came to the Ultimate stages.

I've just got my new 3DS as well with Majora's Mask, and I'm tempted to get started on that. Lagging behind here! Not sure if to just give up on Theatrhythm or try and grind it out and play the Ultimate stages to death until I get that fast.

Anyway, I might play a shorter game like Gone Home this Sunday to keep my pile check list ticking over, maybe playing that in one sitting will make me feel better about it!

I finished a high chaos playthrough of Dishonored on Saturday, and started Tales of Xillia. Then Sunday I started Dishonored again for a Ghost/Clean Hands playthrough. Before that, I put 40 hours into Batman Arkham Origins. Turns out if you stop treating the pile as a source of stress, then doing more than just the main campaign is fun rather than something to feel kinda bad about.

Let's not talk about February. You know how diet counselors will talk about eating your feelings? I've bought my feelings this month.

Finished my replay of Tomb Raider, originally played on 360. Just wrapped up my Definitive Edition playthrough Saturday night / Sunday morning.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

Let's not talk about February. You know how diet counselors will talk about eating your feelings? I've bought my feelings this month.

February? What February. This is First March. Or January II if you prefer.

With March just around the corner, and complete lack of game time until Sunday evening, here's my February update. Progress was hampered by my GW2 relapse.

Spoiler:

2013
2014
January

Added:
None!!! Achievement unlocked!

Finished:

  • Life Is Strange: Episode One (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif)
  • Syberia 2 (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif)

Dropped:

  • Insurgency (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/null.gif) - Let's face it, I was never really interested in this game, I only added it because I got it for free on Humble Bundle. So I idled it for the cards, and got rid of it.
  • Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna) (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/null.gif) - This suffers from the same problem I had with Child of Light. Please don't pretend you're a single player game if you're going to force me to switch me back and forth between characters. Got about halfway through before I tossed my controllers in disgust. Which is a shame, because it's pretty, and super interesting.
  • Jazzpunk (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/null.gif) - I do not get this game. At all. The humor is puerile and the logic escapes me. Dropped it after 1 or 2 hours.

Also played:

  • Guild Wars 2 (PC) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif)IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) - I'm getting sucked back in and I'm now chasing a Legendary. Send help.
  • A New Beginning (Steam) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) - I'm almost done with it, should finish on Sunday or Monday.
  • Assassin's Creed: Unity (Uplay) IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) - Played a few hours, but it's bringing my system to its knees, and I don't think I can justify getting a GTX970 at this juncture.

Remaining games: 78 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) (76 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif))
Progress (Games): 8 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) + 3 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/null.gif) - 17 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif) = -6
Est. remaining hours: 655 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) (630 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unplayed.gif))
Progress (Est. total hours): 77 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/beaten.gif) + 6 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/null.gif) + 9 played IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/unfinished.gif) - 46 IMAGE(http://backloggery.com/images/new.gif) = 46

Backloggery is at 9, which is pretty good. It would've been better if I wasn't playing GW2 so much though.