Poll: Back Log: How do you determine what to play?

[TehCookie]

My complex system is playing the first 20ish mins and switching until I find one I want to keep playing. Either that or asking the internet always helps.

 

[Mausthemighty]

I do it based on genre. If I had played a lot of FPS's lately I want something different. I'll go play an adventure next. After that I'll get to a puzzle game or an RTS or another genre. As long as it is not the same as the game I just finished.

 

[hermes]

Assuming I don't have a game that I eagerly want to play, and I am only interested in shortening my backlog, I base my strategy in two criteria:
1- Length of the game. Based on forum or howlongtobeat.com, I go for the shortest game first as a way to reduce my backlog faster.
2- Size of the game. Disk space being a commodity in consoles, I often go for the biggest game I have installed on my PS3 as a way to free space faster.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

I have a very simple system. I look at my backlog, pick up a game I feel like playing then I play that. Sometimes I pick games which has bad review scores just to see if it's as bad as the internet claims. If it really is a bad game then I can soon clear that off my list and move on. I have such a big backlog that I'm not hurting for games to play. I am hurting for the time to actually play them.

this. I have had a big backlog for yearsssss now (thanks to sales) so I tend to install/uninstall 2-3 games a month and keep about 15-20 games in rotation, and I play what I want to play at the time and it's served me pretty well so far.


I FINALLY have gotten into crusader kings II, that initial learning curve is a bit of a *****.

 

[Barbas]

I think about it for a really long time beforehand, to the point of obsession. I finally dive in after what sometimes turns out to be months and get my game on. Sometimes it doesn't really seem to be my choice.

 

[Jaximus Decimus]

I just play what I feel like playing at the time. I buy nearly all my games on sale, so if I'm not liking a particular game I don't feel obligated to complete it. I just uninstall and maybe come back to it later, or maybe not.

I think forcing yourself to play through a game just because you own it is the quickest way sour yourself on gaming that there is. Most of my games I've purchased for less than the cost of a movie ticket, so it's not a huge deal if it doesn't grab me and I never play it again.

 

[Orange12345]

I have a folder on my steam library titled "3 games to play" every time I find myself just sitting there staring at my screen I just scroll to the folder and pick one of the games and start playing, when I finish one I just pick another to add to it and keep going, working out so far I have cleared about 5 games in the past few weeks

 

[Exhuminator]

I have a gargantuan backlog and collection of systems that I've built up over decades of gaming, so picking a new game to play could be daunting for me. But I came up with a simple system. What I do is this:

Always the next game I play must be on a different platform than the last one I played, and it must be a different genre than the last one I played, and it must have decent reviews.

This methodology has kept gaming interesting for me, and keeps me from getting burnt out playing one platform or genre too much. I will play a PS1 JRPG than a DS adventure game than a GameCube platformer than an Xbox shooter than a PSP racer and so on. Just keep cycling platforms and genres infinitude.

Variety is the spice of gaming!

 

[Something Amyss]

My backlog is basically determined by what I feel like playing. I don't tend to accrue games I'm not interested in outside of those from Bundles I'll never play, so it's whatever I'm in the mood for. Or I'll look down the list and go "why haven't I played this yet?"

Aside from games I won't likely ever play, I don't have much of a backlog, though. It does add up during the summer and winter sales on Steam, but that's about the most. I don't normally buy games unless I want them and can reasonably expect to play them in the near future. Granted, some games do slip through the cracks, especially since steam only colour codes by what's installed, not what I've played....

For consoles and handhelds I don't buy many games except the ones I'm going to play immediately.

I honestly just stare at how big it is, think of the impossibility of the task ahead and go back to browsing the internet.

Yes, you are welcome to take that out of context.

I guess you could say....No, it takes all the fun out of it when I have permission.

 

[evenest]

I don't have a system per se. A few of the podcasts I listen to will often have some influence on me. For instance, in listening to (I think) Patrick Klepec talk about his experience with Singularity, I began my Summer of the B-game (Singularity, Dark Void, Dead Space, to name a few). I am hesitant to put Dead space there, but it felt (in spirit if nothing else) like it belonged on that list. That game led me to try the rest in the series.

There are other games that I couldn't get to this past summer that are on my B-Game list, such as Lost Planet, but time was not on my side.

Right now, I am between moods which has actually resulted in my not playing any games for the last month and a half. The last game I played was Deus Ex: Human Revolution (another B-Game?). I enjoyed it so much that I just haven't found another game that I wanted to play for a bit. I tried to play Max Payne 3 (certainly another B-game), but the gameplay wasn't appealing to me, so I have essentially stopped.

I don't mind these lulls, but I am looking forward to getting back at my backlog soon. Who knows, as I peruse the goty lists from 2013, something might strike a spark and get me playing again.

 

[antidonkey]

I tend to alternate between games I really want to play and those I sorta want to play and genre. I usually won't the same genre back to back. Length also play a factor. Right now I'm working on Saints Row 4 2nd play though. Once I'm done with that I'm leaning towards Hard Reset since it's a FPS and fairly short. Not sure about after that....maybe Xcom:EW.

 

[GundamSentinel]

It's fairly random. Some months I play a lot of different new games, just because I feel like it. Others I'm only replaying older ones, while I know there's a gigantic back log. Like right now, playing GW2 again.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

It really depends, but I usually have a system that I am doing it.

Being on a JRPG binge now I have started playing 3-4 JRPG's and usually go by genre. Now I'm at the point where I'm playing Okami to take a break from the Shin Megami Tensei series after finishing persona 3,4& Nocturne. I've heard The Last Story is very long so I will keep that for later. Going to probably play Digital Devil Saga 1&2 after I finish Okami.

All in all, it's a bad idea to start multiple games then decide on the fly, you will never get to choose the right one and just waste time trying to figure it out (trust me I've been there).

 

[JMO Got Game]

For me, Ill buy a game (or bundle), play it (or one of them), for a couple minutes and then either get bored and not return to it, or have fun with it, stop playing, and not come back to it. It actually sucks. I have a huge backlog, and will NEVER catch up.

I feel your pain! I do the same things as you, plus sometimes I'll play too many games at once and thus abandon a game I just started and never come back to it. I'm still hoping that one day I'll play some of these games I bought months ago, but it's probably wishful thinking.

OT: I play whatever game I'm most excited about at the time out of my backlog. Every once in a while I'll play a brand new game, but not very often. I voted "Other" in the poll but I'm now realizing that may actually mean I play best to worst. I don't usually force myself to play any games I'm not into at the moment.

 

[00slash00]

This is an issue I struggle with every time I finish a game. I am so indecisive that it has taken me days just to decide what to play next. Generally, it comes down to genre and length. I try not to play the same genre back to back. I don't want to play a bunch of fast paced shooters and then play a slow paced point and click, and risk feeling bored by comparison. Also, the bigger my back log grows, the more focus I put on finishing the shorter games first. I go to howlongtobeat.com and will often play the shortest games first. However, I feel like that's a horrible way to go about deciding what to play. It makes it seem like gaming is a chore, rather than something I love

 

[Raikas]

I generally go with whatever I suspect will match my mood.

I don't have much of a backlist though, so it's usually a matter of picking between 3-4 games. And there are usually only a tiny handful of games that I feel the need to play right at launch, so I don't end up with many games that jump the queue, so it all stays pretty manageable.

 

[Crazy Zaul]

I play the shortest ones first so FPSs before RPGs.

 

[Foolery]

Pretty simple. It's a matter of time investment and enjoyment. Shorter titles always go first. I can't marathon game anymore, it just puts me to sleep. I'll play for 1-2 hours and then take a break.

 

[Fractral]

It's a complex system of qualifications. Can I be bothered to download it to my computer? Is it more fun than watching LP's while playing Pokemon? Is it more fun than playing Dark Souls? Is it more fun than playing Kerbal Space Program? And once again, can I be bothered?
I have a very, very low attention span for video games. If it doesn't grab me in the first 5 minutes (BG&E, VtM:B, SR2, FTL, etc) then it's probably going to fail that last one and I'll go back to playing something I know I'll enjoy, like pokemon or an SMT game. The last game to actually pass these tests was Crusader Kings 2, which I finally downloaded and played after seeing an LP of it 3 weeks ago.