We've all heard the tale of Mount Backlog, the mountain of games in our "shame" pile we have yet to get to. We want to experience all the games we bought on whatever sale made us think we were a nerd-Kardashian, prompting an ill-advised shopping spree wherein we told ourselves having $2 isn't near as satisfying as not having $2 and instead having a digital file we will never touch, but are glad we got at such a steal. Then that $2 gets multiplied about ten times or so, and about five of twenty of those digital files will be experienced, roughly three of them enjoyed on some level.
At least, that's been my experience with the advent of digital sales. Used to be I had little disposable income and would finish every game I got, or at least get close. The only Zelda title I own that remains unbeaten is Spirit Tracks and I'm now on a mission not to finish that game. I don't enjoy the ending and haven't at any point I've gone back to try wrapping things up. I don't really feel like playing through it all again, so ... why the hell should I?
The thing is, Mount Backlog is only an obligation if you believe it is. It's a false idol representation of the sunk cost fallacy that makes me enjoy gaming LESS. If I'm being honest with myself, my quality of life would probably improve by NOT trying to 100% games I've stopped enjoying trying to 100%. Maybe I could sell them, but even if I can't turn a profit, isn't continuing to grind at something I've stopped enjoying just diminishing returns? At some point, I lost interest in a game I spent money for. Why would I make the response to that actively disliking a game I bought and wasting time with it I could spend on things I actually enjoy?
I have disposable income now, so I can afford more than the once-in-a-blue-moon purchase and/or every-once-in-a-while rental. This and didgital sales have resulted in my owning more games and having much more variety at my fingertips than ever before, but there's a key thing I forget every time I bite the fish hook of a flash or seasonal sale:
I only have that disposable income in the first place because I have so much less time than I used to. Without getting into specifics, I'm happy to say that $100 purchases really don't hurt me all that much. I was annoyed by forgetting I had AAA when I locked myself out of my car the other day, and I'm certainly not about to pay a locksmith company $119 for something I could have done with the same equipment ever again, but what I experienced was frustration at wasting too much money, not an apocalyptic sense of doom losing that much on a stupid mistake could spell for other people (which is why certain life advice only works if you're middle class and above, but that's a whole other blog for a different website).
However, even with my summers "off," I'm constantly thinking of lesson plans, working a part-time job and crossing my fingers Betsy DeVos's private company CEO crony doesn't make my loan payments harder than they have to be, while making time for ... things I want to do IN THAT MOMENT.
Now, if I thought my life could be enriched by Yooka-Laylee the same way it could by reading a novel, I might make room for it. It's ok to have some games in the back of your mind you want to get to. I still really want to play BioShock, for example. But if I don't feel like playing BioShock in the next few weeks, then it isn't going to happen. This is because I simply don't have the time to grind at things I don't enjoy anymore.
And no. I am not going to make time for video games when I could fill more time with exercise, guitar, scheduling and other forms of self-improvement. That's not a knock at video games as an art or entertainment medium. I think video games are capable of doing everything other art forms can do, PLUS allow the user control. Heck, there are even clear self and system-improvements to be found in things like VR tech that could make medical training more easy or tell an interactive story that elicits empathy better than any movie could. Even without VR, being in control of a character can be a more powerful experience than simply watching or reading about them, depending how your brain is wired. But at this age and with this little time, I simply am not going to dedicate my time to anything, in any medium, I'm not enjoying unless it leads to a clear improvement in my life. Obsessing over a backlog, for me, does the opposite.
Hell, it makes the games I'm trying to beat feel more tedious and like more of a slog by default, since at that point I'm trying to finish them before I'm trying to experience them. It was cool to play the episodic content in Life is Strange every week day on the days in which it's set (Mon-Fri), but I stopped being dedicated to making sure I could finish a chapter on the same day when I realized I had work at 4 a.m. the next morning and no game is worth that lack of sleep when you need the rest and have to get up that early.
Why did I take time out of my day to write this blog? Because I wanted to. Because I need to keep my writing skills somewhat sharp. Because I felt like it.
My current plan is to play through Horizon: Zero Dawn before the DLC comes out in the fall. But if I don't feel like it? Then it isn't going to happen. I'm not about to justify a $60 purchase by stealing more time from myself. It's too valuable a resource for me right now.
Mount Backlog only exists in your head. You can conquer it now by simply not believing in it.
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