Current playlist and organising game time...

[MattyP]

So having recently got hold of an Xbox Series S finding the somewhat limited storage capacity is helping me focus on what games I play. In the past I just seemed to "download - play for 30 mins" move on to the next rinse repeat until I had a HDD full of games that "I might get round to playing at some point" but in reality I never would.

 

So here is the idea. I have one "main game" that is a slow burner and a longer type game that I progress though over time and a range of games that are easy to dip in and out of depending on mood and time. It seems to be working well so far and keeping me focussed. 

 

So the approach is rotate all the games around now and again (although keep the go to games in there long term). When the main game is complete head into GP and select another to drop in there. Of course streaming makes the whole process of what to play next easier - you can have a quick 30mins on a game to work out if its something you enjoy. The other idea is that I have is having a list of "to play next" when I have finished the main title. So I can try stuff if I enjoy stick it on the "to play next" list.... (so I get to tinker with the new releases)

 

I guess the problem these days is there are *so* many games the temptation is to dive in with "the latest greatest game" and leave the rest behind and to be never returned to. Guess this is where discipline and restraint kicks in!  

 

So here is my current playlist...

 

How do you sort out your gaming time? What games to play? etc... 

[thesnwmn]

I play what I fancy in that moment.

 

I happily delete shit and redownload it when I need it. But then I don't really play much that's got a big file size.

 

I never have an "on the go" long term game. If it's not finished in a week or two (sometimes even one or two evenings) then it's done. It's never getting finished. I get too bored.

[gospvg]

I have a simple process where I write all the games I own on a piece of paper, fold them and put them into my Borderlands Chest.

 

Spoiler

 

Shake them around & then pick one out.

If I don't like the choice I thrown it away and keep going until I pick one I want to play.

 

I own over 500 games, it's a long process that takes me a while.

[Qazimod]

I usually alternate between three things depending on my mood:

• One "arcade game" that I throw on if I can't think of anything to play - CvS2, Outrun 2006
• One "actual recent single-player game that I've bought and am in the middle of finishing, or not" - Yakuza, Persona, Elden Ring, Final Fantasy
• Destiny 2

Sometimes I don't have any recent single-player games to play and so I alternate between the other two until I find something (I think this is where I am at the moment.) And Destiny 2 is pretty much an MMO so I have regular bounties and things to do in that if I'm not interested in playing anything else.

[James Lyon]

7 hours ago, gospvg said:

I have a simple process where I write all the games I own on a piece of paper, fold them and put them into my Borderlands Chest.

 

Ha, I used to do the exact same thing (minus the Borderlands chest). I stopped around about the time game bundles became a thing and I couldn't commit to keeping adding in everything. Still, it helped me play a good few things I'd never get around to otherwise.

 

My other method after that was to play a short-ish game in my Steam library for each letter of the alphabet. I got to Q for Quake. Can't remember why I stopped but I should go back and finish.

 

Now, it's typically what I want to play, usually influenced by someone mentioning it here or on a podcast. Other way is playing whatever is leaving Game Pass that month before it goes.

 

I'll always try to stick with one main and finish it, although I'm not adverse to starting something new in-between for a few hoursin preparation for finishing that off next. Only trouble is when you have too many 'preparation' games on the go!

[AK Bell]

I’ve mostly written off getting new releases (unless it’d something I’m definitely going to love). Now I just get it really in my head that I want to play something if people are chatting about it or I see a video about it. That seems a bit more manageable than getting the new trendy thing. I only get the itch every few months rather than all the bloody time. Once I’m into something, that’s me until I finish or I stop enjoying it.

 

I’ve tried to stop just buying things I see on sale on the off-chance I want to play it in the future and build a daunting library. I’m more likely to happily spend more money on a thing I will play than waste money on stuff I won’t, and financially do better for it. I do still try to do my wish list trick of never buying unless it’s on sale, so by the time something is on sale I’ll either play it or I remove it from the wish list. 

 

Last year I was challenging myself to get through a game every month and give it pure focus. That was pretty good and I might go back to that if I ever have an easier life again. But I was finding that hard recently. 

 

Now I tend to have one long play going on each platform I have. If I get any time to play I just crack on with whatever is available to me. Xbox in the office (Final Fantasy 13), Switch in the living room (Ys XIII), emulator handheld next to my bed (Final Fantasy 9), smaller handheld living in my coat pocket (Chrono Trigger). 

 

It’s pretty hard work it all being big, rich, lengthy games and I’ve been playing them all year. But I’m getting near to the end of most. But if I had any shorter things to play I’d never crack on with them, and I’ve been bad in the past for just playing PES or a driving game. 

[AlexM]

I pick out a single player game and try to focus on completing it before I start any more, while having a racing game on the side (usually most of my solo gaming time) and some MP games that I play with my family.  

 

Half-Life 2: Episode One & F1 2020 at the moment, previously HL2 & F1 2018. 
 

I recently realised I have a number of games installed that I haven’t played for months or years, despite wanting to. I’ve tidied them up and created a backlog in GOG Galaxy - I might get around to them one day. 
 

No new titles purchased this year, I may not buy any next year either! 

[Jamie John]

I've become pretty disciplined at just playing one or two games at once - typically a 'TV Game' and a 'handheld Game' to accompany it, although, increasingly, I'm able to play the same game on both handheld and no!-handheld platforms thanks to streaming, save syncing and the like. I'll either complete games or abandon them, and I find that the Completed Games and Abandoned Games threads are good for keeping track.

 

As for what to play next, I'll tend to alternate between something in the backlog and something on Game Pass, or occasionally I'll replay a game I've previously enjoyed. It's rare that I'll buy anything brand new, however, and thanks to limiting myself to buying only 12 games this year (see the Abstinence thread), I don't really have too many games left on my pile of shame. I'm looking forward to the day when I don't have a backlog of owned but unplayed games at all, and I can feel free to just play whatever the hell I want without feeling obliged to play one of the many games I've bought but not yet touched.

 

In summary: gaming backlogs are the work of the devil and should be avoided at all costs.