Gaming Goals for 2021

It's time for the 2021 version of Gaming Goals! What are your hopes and dreams and plans for making 2021 a happy and productive gaming year?

For reference, here are the previous years' versions of the conversations.
Gaming Goals for 2020
Gaming Goals for 2019
Gaming Goals for 2018
Gaming Goals for 2017

So...

What are your gaming goals for 2021?
Spend less money? Spend no money on games? Reduce the pile? Have more fun? Build a game? Play more games of a certain type? Finish more games? Play fewer games? Get 1,000 Steam Achievements?

Have fun!

1. Spend less money, it will be a VERY difficult year for me
2. Try to buy less and less games and focus on my current backlog!

I'm not sure about my goals for this year, but I just looked back on my 2020 goals, figuring that I wasn't even close to reaching them. But surprise surprise, I actually feel like I did pretty well on my main goals...

Have Fun, Relax, Laugh
Win. I think the next two goals helped a lot with this, but I think 2020 was the most fun year I've had gaming.

Be Social, Connect More, Listen More
Win. Between the community here, the various gaming clubs, my Twitter account, my YouTube Channel, and some Discord communities for content creators, I feel like 2020 was a solid year for reaching out and connecting more. It was especially helpful as the pandemic shut down a lot of other avenues for social interaction.

Develop YouTube Story-Telling Content
Win. This was especially fun to do, and I was able to keep doing this for about 9 months of 2020. The channel is up to 200 subscribers now, and I'm having a blast experimenting with different types of Let's Plays.

Become Skilled at Game Design with Unity
Half-Win. Although I fell apart in the last 3 months of the year, for the first 9 months of the year I was able to stay pretty focused on this. I feel like I'm halfway there, and have refocused on this now that the new year has started.

So yeah, that was kind of cool to see. Now to make 2021 goals, although I'm going to keep the big bucket goals the same as last year.

where is this youtube content of yours?

hmm, let's see what I wrote last year:

cheeze_pavilion wrote:

feel like I've finished playing old games. finally get around to the ones that caught my eye but I missed at the time or that came before I was into gaming. finally feel like I've had my fill of gaming history, so I can look forward to new stuff exclusively. No More Piles.

*exception made for Persona 3 and/or 4 remakes, in which case this offer does not apply to PlayStation exclusives available for the PS5 : D

I did not play a single new game in 2020!

how things can change in a year...I have no interest in new games and total interest in going back to the pile.

OH! and how about that--Persona 4 Golden came out on Steam. As soon as gaming makes sense again, with the P5 platinum'ed on the PS3, I think that will be first up.

Apparently I didn't make any gaming goals last year, so we'll call it a great success.

I started streaming games on Twitch in the last couple months, so I want to continue doing that as a hobby and figure out how to fit it in with my other gaming while feeling happy with both. I'm mostly viewing it as something to do for fun while using it as a form of public speaking and just getting better at articulating my feelings on things off the cuff. Whether it's narrating gameplay, reading game text aloud, or conversing with the 1 or 2 people who stumble into my chat.

Other than that, as long as I'm having fun, I'll be happy.

Darkhaund wrote:

where is this youtube content of yours?

Sure thing! The main channel is here. I've just started a Football Manager series called Walkabout where I try to combine real-world fitness and the game, and have been doing a low-key Euro Truck Simulator series, and a straight-up Let's Play of the survival game Help Will Come Tomorrow. Feedback is always appreciated!

beanman101283 wrote:

I started streaming games on Twitch in the last couple months, so I want to continue doing that as a hobby and figure out how to fit it in with my other gaming while feeling happy with both. I'm mostly viewing it as something to do for fun while using it as a form of public speaking and just getting better at articulating my feelings on things off the cuff. ...

I feel like I'm made noticeable improvements in my speaking and video presence from this sort of thing, and it's one of the main reasons why I've kept going. I make videos on occasion for work, and everything is better now in these. Twitch is hard for me to get engaged with because I usually fit gaming stuff into the nooks and crannies of family and work, but this is your channel, right? I've followed you.

Yup, that's it! I'm glad to hear something similar has been helpful for you as well, gives me hope for the future.

1) Find more time for gaming
2) Play with others from the GWJ community
2) Make it easier to find others who want to play the same (multiplayer) games

I’ve made just one goal for 2021–I’m limiting myself to one game purchase a month. That way, I can still buy some of the newness I’m looking forward to, but focus more of my attention on the pile games I want to play but have gotten buried. Side benefit would be spending less on games overall.

A few goals off the top of my head:
1. Play War in the Pacific beyond the first turn.
2. Finish The Witcher 3 finally.
3. Finish a CRPG Club game in the allotted time.
4. Actually play a Strategy Club game in the allotted time.

tboon wrote:

3. Finish a CRPG Club game in the allotted time.
4. Actually play a Strategy Club game in the allotted time.

These two are on my list as well. In addition, I want to:

1. Explore the roguelike genre. I've played a handful of them over the years, and have generally enjoyed them, but I've yet to find one that really hooks me, so that's what I'm looking for.

2. Play some random (and some not-so-random) games from that giant itch.io bundle from last year.

For the 2020 thread I wrote:

kergguz wrote:

I didn't game much in 2019, and my main goal for this year is to get back into it and reconnect here at GWJ. I need to find a routine that works with my new lifestyle.

Then I guess it's the usual stuff... Don't overspend, don't buy stuff I'm not going to play etc etc.

Happy new year to you all.

I certainly fulfilled the main goal of getting back into gaming, I played a lot in 2020, a lot of familiar and easy stuff, and a lot of new unusual-to-me games. I also connected at GWJ to an extent... I'm not exactly a super poster or regularly in the discord, but I did play a small amount of multiplayer with other GWJers which is a big step for me.

Unfortunately I can't really say I succeeded with the last goal. I certainly overspent, especially considering I was furloughed for part of the year, and there is some stuff sitting on my pile with very little play time. I blame it on 2020.

Goals for 2021... I don't really have many other than to stay focussed. Pick one, at most two games at a time and try to stick to them. My attention is so easily dragged elsewhere and I end up bouncing from game to game and not really getting the maximum experience from any of them.

2021 is the first year in a long time where is almost nothing on the Triple-A release schedule that I'm looking forward to.

So one of my goals is to take a punt on at least four games that I wouldn't normally play. That's one per quarter, which I think is reasonable.

The other goal is a little like yours, Godzilla Blitz; I want to to design and develop a game - from scratch - in Unity. I've been taking some online courses in C# and Unity over the last few months. My final two courses have game-building at their core, but they involve following instructions; they don't require me to be creative. I'd like to create something of my very own, both for personal satisfaction, and to sit at the centre of my professional portfolio.

detroit20 wrote:

The other goal is a little like yours, Godzilla Blitz; I want to to design and develop a game - from scratch - in Unity. I've been taking some online courses in C# and Unity over the last few months. My final two courses have game-building at their core, but they involve following instructions; they don't require me to be creative. I'd like to create something of my very own, both for personal satisfaction, and to sit at the centre of my professional portfolio.

Awesome! Regarding the whole "I'd like to create something of my very own" element, I can't say enough about how rewarding that is and about how important it is for the learning process too. My default is to follow tutorials but last year I created one game entirely from scratch. I learned so much and had a blast. I really want to push the free form "just make something" type of learning more this year.

Game Jams through itch.io can be a great way to jumpstart this, by the way. At any given point in time there are a dozen or so going on and there is usually one or two that fit a timeframe (I like the longer ones, like two weeks or a month) that will work for you.

My goal would to *not* be like this (again)

IMAGE(https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/135498067_10164856966445078_6577143835720573628_n.jpg?_nc_cat=1&ccb=2&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=_HcoBLgPslMAX9A20Qz&_nc_ht=scontent-ort2-1.xx&oh=99be731796b02df7070c0d4eeb58cc39&oe=601D01AE)

But you will. Too late in life to start changing now.

My gaming goal for 2021 is to more firmly establish what I like to call "The Library" in my home. A few years ago I began purchasing games from my childhood and high school/college years that meant a lot to me personally. These games could be sentimental to me (like games I played with my family) or games that got me through rough times. I don't want to buy all my games at release anymore. I want to cultivate the memories of game experiences that brought me joy.

IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EqhyvU6XEAEGTZR?format=jpg&name=large)
IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EqhyvU6W8AEJdvV?format=jpg&name=large)

This is where it currently stands. Hoping to get a nice case for them this year, and add some titles.

My gaming goal for 2021 is more joy from gaming. I am no longer going to "hate play" or "hate finish" games. When I'm done with it and not having fun, I'm going to stop.

Frankly, I don't know how successful I'll be. I've had it ingrained in my brain since childhood that I finish what I start, and it's sometimes difficult for me to move on to another game when I have an unfinished one that I've started. But, I'm at least committed to trying this out and growing through through the process!

ThatGuy42 wrote:

My gaming goal for 2021 is more joy from gaming. I am no longer going to "hate play" or "hate finish" games. When I'm done with it and not having fun, I'm going to stop.

Frankly, I don't know how successful I'll be. I've had it ingrained in my brain since childhood that I finish what I start, and it's sometimes difficult for me to move on to another game when I have an unfinished one that I've started. But, I'm at least committed to trying this out and growing through through the process!

That's a good goal! The first one is the hardest. It gets easier the more you do it, just like most other things. I am so glad I figured out how to do it. There's enough real life stuff that I have to bulldog through without doing the same with my entertainment.

1. Finish two games for each one game I buy.
* (I can't commit to "no new games" but I like seeing the backlog shrink)
** (as usual, "finish" means I know I'm done with it, even if the game doesn't know that)

2. Continue making a game, to a point where I can share a janky prototype with others.

My goals are:
1. Finish 5 games. I've become a habitual non-finisher.
2. Finish a game club game. Right now I'm playing DQXI for the JRPG club.

1. Get a win in DCSS during a tournament (an evergreen goal that never goes away, but I am close right now!).
2. Win a tournament in rocket league and get to Gold rank in standard.
3. Play more fun co-op stuff with my wife. Maybe Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime, or Divinity Original Sin 2.
4. Finish the story of any one big game.

[quote="Godzilla Blitz"]

Darkhaund wrote:

where is this youtube content of yours?

Sure thing! The main channel is here. I've just started a Football Manager series called Walkabout where I try to combine real-world fitness and the game, and have been doing a low-key Euro Truck Simulator series, and a straight-up Let's Play of the survival game Help Will Come Tomorrow. Feedback is always appreciated!

Thank you

My goals are just so much more modest than y'all's. I just want to play video games. Just give me some time in which to play video games, that's literally all I'm aiming for.

Edit: oh look at that, this is me last year:

Eleima wrote:

I plan on enjoying as many games as I possibly can. And will try to manage the Pile without worrying too much about it.

tboon wrote:

2. Finish The Witcher 3 finally.
3. Finish a CRPG Club game in the allotted time.
4. Actually play a Strategy Club game in the allotted time.

That's pretty much my list, in reverse.

I beat zero games in 2020.

I've beaten one game in 2021 already.

IMAGE(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/qaju3faxhdimykt/feels+awesome+-+taylor+swift.gif)

Right on True! Hoping to finish my first one this week.

As far as my goals:

1. Hit my pile count as close as possible.
2. Join a regular raid team in WOW. I’m in a decent casualcore guild where I think this is a doable goal without giving up my life.
3. I’m going to finally finish the Mass Effect series when the remaster edition comes out in spring.
4. Stretch goals: beat Skyrim during the 10th anniversary and import my Crusader Kings 3 playthrough via a mod into EU 4 and play all the way into the 1800s.

Ok. I have a plan. No plan survives contact with new games but I’m gonna give it a damn good try.

My main aim is to pick off the big games in my backlog that I want to have played before moving onto the next console generation. I’m also aiming to delay my purchase of a PS5 until the end of the year. Fortunately, as you’ve no doubt realised, these two aims are entirely compatible. The games I’m hoping to play, aside from various co-op games I have lined up, are:

Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales (I’m already part way through. Yay, Gwent!)
Neir: Automata
Persona 5 Royal
Crusader Kings 3
Subnautica

I’d also like to play more of Dark Souls 3 and Nioh.

Thanks for creating this thread, Godzilla Blitz!

I have two goals:

1. Write more about games - I guess this is part of a broader life goal, "write more". I used to be very active blogging about games in the early 2010s. In the last 4-5 years I let that habit slip - this year I'm going to build it back.

2. Try new things - So many of my favourite games in the last few years have been the result of me trying new genres. In 2019, I loved Dragon Quest Builders 2; in 2020, I loved Slime Rancher, my first Metroidvania (Bloodstained) and Microsoft Flight Simulator; this year I've gotten into military flight sims after buying my first HOTAS post-Christmas. For the rest of the year, I'm going to keep discovering new things.

Mind Elemental wrote:

2. Try new things

I like this one, I'm pinching it! Thanks.

(This won't mean buy a bunch of new games honest! But maybe unearthing some of the more obscure and untried games on the random pile or PS +/Now subscriptions will be fun).