Like most enthusiasts who have a hobby, I tend to over do things with my enthusiasm. I over-collect Music and Video Games.
I’ve developed (link to my itunes) a system on how to organize my music and enjoy it. My iTunes practice is a form of O.C.D. trapping. The level of detail I go to is pretty absurd, but I find it scratches an itch. Its almost like a ‘controlled burn’. Allowing it to run rampant in this one contained area of my life, but learning to let things go in other areas. Anyways, enough self psychoanalysis!
The biggest difference between Music and Video Games is that Music is so much easier to ‘consume’. A typical song is about 3 minutes and the amount of brain power required to appreciate a song is about 1/100th of what an intense, intricate game requires. So I’ve come to the conclusion that Video Games will remain something that I will enjoy with much less frequency than Music. I simply do not have the time to play Video Games, while I can play Music when even at work.
There are websites (The Backloggery) that help encourage people to play their backlog of games. I’ve given up my ridiculous idea that I will play all of my games. It has helped that I am redefining how to approach Video Games and organizing them in a way so that I can enjoy, instead of creating a neurotic pressure to do so.
The first way to solve a problem is to define it or Confucius has said: “The first step to wisdom is to call things by their right name.”
Approaching the prospect of never being able to play all Video Games, I have worked through a way to relate to the overwhelming amount of content out there. I call it Field of Play.
Stage 1: Scan the Field
These are all of the Video Games that are released, emulated, and modded, essentially making the Field infinite. I acknowledge and accept that I will never be able to play everything. The Field of Play is discerned to have the following qualities for me:
* Indifferent: Everything that I have not heard about or have heard about but have no interest to play. So all 750,000+ games (estimated combination of Moby, mobile, itchio, and independently released stuff) starts off Indifferent.
* Interested: Those games that I have heard of and trigger some surface level interest. If it really appeals I would add the game to a wish list. This will be in the 10,000+ Video Games since I started learning about them in 1975.
* Collected & Queued: Video Games that I purchased but won’t plan to play for a long time. This would be the 900+ games I own.
* Front Queue: Those Video Games that I am not playing but intend to play next. This would counts about 4-5 games at one time.
* Engaged: Games that I’m playing which would be about 2-3 games at one time.
Stage 2: Play the Field
Once a Video Game become Engaged, the style of engagement depends on a the Video Game’s Meta-Style. Outside of genre and setting, Video Games have what I would qualify as a Meta-Style which determines the style of play as it relates to time commitment and accomplishment. A Meta-Style is one of three identities:
Ongoing: A game which has a long-form treatment where a story or setting can have infinite replayability as found in many MMOs, Rogue-likes, Strategy games, etc. The disposition of this Meta-Style could be one of three:
* Currently Playing
* Resigned – played until a fatigue with the Video Game has set in. It might take years for this to occur.
* Abandoned – played for a few short bouts and then no longer played.
Campaign: Typically found in single or co-op games where progress is defined by working through a campaign or story as found in many RPGs, FPSs, and adventures games. The disposition of this Meta-Style could be one of three:
* Currently Playing
* Completed – played until the Video Game’s main quest is finished, viewing the end-screen / credit scroll.
* Abandoned – played for a few short bouts and then no longer played.
Match: A game where all events take place within a time defined session with no in-game carry-over as found in PvP and other eSports. The disposition of this Meta-Style could be one of three:
* Currently Playing
* Retired – played until a fatigue with the Video Game has set in.
* Abandoned – played for a few short bouts and then no longer played.
Stage 3: Evaluate The Field
Once a Video Game is played, it becomes possible to evaluate it. Because Games are far too hard to fully review, unless hours and hours of time are dedicated, which I do not have; I can do one of two things:
I can play the game myself (difficult to do with limited time)
I can watch/read about others playing games that interests me (much easier)
So the way I will evaluate is on a P or W scale. Anything that is Played can range from Disliked to Fascinated; while anything that is Watched can range from Amused to Entertained. My thinking is that for me to watch something, requires so little effort, I will at least find it amusing and at most entertaining. The actively play means to see all of the good and bad in a Game so thus has a wider range of play.
Below is my Evaluation Range:
0 stars – An effort that is basically incomplete and amateurish. A game without a working interface or non-nonsensical narrative device. Enjoyment is replaced by aggravated frustration.
0.5 star – An effort that is barely complete and the delivery is uniformly unclear, unprofessional, and unpolished. The enjoyment experience is considered bad.
1.0 stars – An effort that is essentially complete but its delivery is not clear or professional. The enjoyment experience is considered poor.
1.5 stars – An effort that is complete, possessing essential expected features, but the execution on those features is poor or at best mediocre. The enjoyment experience is barely acceptable.
2 stars – A product that is finished but the delivery borders on mediocre and contains some major quality errors. The ability to enjoy is found by those who may see some glimmer of potential.
Amused (Played or Watched)
2.5 stars – A product that is derivative and lazy. It will borrow liberally and unashamedly from better products. The genre formula is followed without any deviation and enjoyment experience is imbued with boredom and disinterest.
3 stars – A product that competently follows a genre formula and delivers mostly what is expected. The experience could be summed up as adequate or fine but there is better stuff out there.
Entertained (Played or Watched)
3.5 stars – A product that possesses some unique identity and modestly experiments with the genre formula. Artists, Authors, Developers, and Publishers who want a small but loyal core would need to reach this level of quality. Pioneers of various mediums and genres would typically be found here.
4 stars – The product is beginning to move from something that is purchased to something that is experienced and identified with. Fanboys in small numbers will proselytize about this item.
Fascinated (Played only)
4.5 stars – Some of the best stuff of the genre. The product will define the genre and may expand it to reach to new groups. The experience is uniformly positive and enjoyable. Typically will stand the test of time for at least a generation (25 years).
5 stars – Some of the more amazing stuff the best represents the entire medium. These products may have stood the test of time for at least a generation and are universally critically acclaimed. These products typically have helped create a genre and/or defined an era/decade.
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