I suppose there are many reasons why I ended up in this predicament.
There was once a time when I was too poor to buy too many games. I was so poor in 1996 that I couldn't afford the N64 I wanted so badly when it came out. It wasn't until 1997 that I could buy my N64. (I was heavily affected by the crash of the Mexican economy in 1994). In the two years preceding the launch of the N64, I bought my first NES and I'd go to the flea market and buy used NES games when I could save up enough money. Those were games that I would play over and over until I practically ran them into the ground. The same thing happened with my N64 games. Because I couldn't afford to buy games left and right, I would normally play games over and over, often beating them multiple times before moving on to a new game. Even when I was buying games used, it was still pricey for me.
I think things started changing when I got a Playstation. On this system I was able to mod it, and then it was much easier to get my hands on pirated games. Suddenly, I was able to buy more games than I had time to play, and I was no longer playing things multiple times around. Some games were special enough to buy an original. I bought Metal Gear Solid and I still have that game.
I couldn't tell you at what point having more cheap games turned into just having more games. In the early to mid 2000's I bought a gamecube, and I also had a PS2. My job became steadily better paid and more secure, so I could keep spending. After I got married I got a Wii, sold the gamecube, and traded the PS2 up for a PS3. It was at this point that I started buying the most new-generation games, although I was still buying some games from older generations since my PS3 and my Wii could play PS2-PSOne and Gamecube games respectively. I was still concentrating on trying to get the best deals, and I almost never paid full retail price, but the tendency was toward me finding something I liked, and me fulfilling my wishes. The days of me getting every drop of gameplay out of every game were clearly over.
Since I began this undertaking, I have bought two games: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (because I wanted the gold Wii remote), and Street Fighter 10th Anniversary (because I felt like duking it out with friends). This is in keeping with one of my rules, because I am allowed to buy a game if I've beaten an old one, and I have beaten more than two games, so that's okay.
Have I changed? Yes. Have I changed for good? Hard to tell, but possibly. Have I pulled a 180 and gone back to the days of squeezing every secret, every easter egg, every unlockable in all games? Unlikely. I'm not even doing that with these games on this quest I have now; I'm just attempting to see the credits before I move on to the next game. I don't know that I will ever go back to getting everything out of a game, but any game that I consider worthy of being in my collection has a fighting chance of me going back to it and playing it again.
This is as much as I can promise myself for now: I am way more careful about the money I spend on my entertainment.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Ups and Downs
In the course of attempting to complete this undertaking, I've run across one interesting little thing. It's not a fact, it's not even a factoid. It's just some little interesting thang.
Because I alphabetized all my games, I've had to switch from one game to another strictly from A to B to C. The games themselves may be quite different from one another. Or they may be very similar.
Like when I was playing Borderlands, and then I had to move on to Call of Duty 4 when I finished. Both are first person shooters. I was a little put off by that at first, but what the hey, I did it.
After that, I started playing Devil May Cry. This is a heavy action game. Lots of button mashing. You have to be in complete control of every action of this character. It was very taxing on the fingertips. You can't leave anything to chance. What game was next? Final Fantasy V! I went from a game where I had to personally and directly perform every piece of violent action, to an RPG where there is actually a menu that says "fight" and you choose "fight" and the character goes and fights. All by himself. It was quite the breath of fresh air. I felt an enormous sense of relief after some weeks of slicing demons myself, to having my knight go and slice demons on my behalf.
And what game was next? F-Zero GX. To go from a menu-based combat system, to a hyperkinnetic, ultra fast racing game has been quite an interesting switch as well. Now I have to be completely in control during every inch of this race or I will fall to my death. Neat!
Because I alphabetized all my games, I've had to switch from one game to another strictly from A to B to C. The games themselves may be quite different from one another. Or they may be very similar.
Like when I was playing Borderlands, and then I had to move on to Call of Duty 4 when I finished. Both are first person shooters. I was a little put off by that at first, but what the hey, I did it.
After that, I started playing Devil May Cry. This is a heavy action game. Lots of button mashing. You have to be in complete control of every action of this character. It was very taxing on the fingertips. You can't leave anything to chance. What game was next? Final Fantasy V! I went from a game where I had to personally and directly perform every piece of violent action, to an RPG where there is actually a menu that says "fight" and you choose "fight" and the character goes and fights. All by himself. It was quite the breath of fresh air. I felt an enormous sense of relief after some weeks of slicing demons myself, to having my knight go and slice demons on my behalf.
And what game was next? F-Zero GX. To go from a menu-based combat system, to a hyperkinnetic, ultra fast racing game has been quite an interesting switch as well. Now I have to be completely in control during every inch of this race or I will fall to my death. Neat!
Sunday, October 21, 2012
The Very Real Question
The very real question here is "Why?"
Back in December 2011, I was having coffee with my good friend, Barbara, a little old Jewish lady from New York. She asked me what I was giving myself for Christmas and I tried to explain this whole games list fiasco. She turned to me and said, "Who cares? Who cares if sometimes you get yourself a little something? It's your money!"
I replied that, yes, it is indeed my money, but it's exactly that kind of attitude that got me in trouble in the first place. I'd think, "Hey, it's my money. I'll buy this thing here and if I never beat it, who cares, right?"
Well I'm putting a stop to that. I'm looking specifically at my money. Why do I have money? Why do any of us have money? Because we sell our time to our employers and they, in turn, pay us to do what they are unable to do themselves. So in a very real sense, my money is my life. I exchanged precious hours, irreplaceable minutes of my life to obtain this money. For what? So I could spend it on something that goes on a shelf and collects dust?
So maybe you think, "Well why don't you sell them if you want your precious money so much?!" See, that wouldn't do it either. On the used games market, these games would hardly get me the money I originally spent on them. So, if I sold them, I would neither obtain the enjoyment of playing them, nor regain the monetary investment. The way I see it, the only smart course of action is to play them to completion, decide which ones I like enough to keep, and sell off the rest.
Back in December 2011, I was having coffee with my good friend, Barbara, a little old Jewish lady from New York. She asked me what I was giving myself for Christmas and I tried to explain this whole games list fiasco. She turned to me and said, "Who cares? Who cares if sometimes you get yourself a little something? It's your money!"
I replied that, yes, it is indeed my money, but it's exactly that kind of attitude that got me in trouble in the first place. I'd think, "Hey, it's my money. I'll buy this thing here and if I never beat it, who cares, right?"
Well I'm putting a stop to that. I'm looking specifically at my money. Why do I have money? Why do any of us have money? Because we sell our time to our employers and they, in turn, pay us to do what they are unable to do themselves. So in a very real sense, my money is my life. I exchanged precious hours, irreplaceable minutes of my life to obtain this money. For what? So I could spend it on something that goes on a shelf and collects dust?
So maybe you think, "Well why don't you sell them if you want your precious money so much?!" See, that wouldn't do it either. On the used games market, these games would hardly get me the money I originally spent on them. So, if I sold them, I would neither obtain the enjoyment of playing them, nor regain the monetary investment. The way I see it, the only smart course of action is to play them to completion, decide which ones I like enough to keep, and sell off the rest.
And Now a Bit of a Disclaimer (I'm Just Full of Them, Aren't I?)
(There is a more updated list here.)
I posted the MASTER GAMES LIST.
I shall now break it down a little bit:
There are a bunch of games on the list that I have indeed played the hell out of. I have no need to replay any of these games, and I probably won't:
Gunstar Heroes
Metal Gear Solid
Ninja Gaiden
Resident Evil 4
Super Mario 64
Super Mario Bros.
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Viewtiful Joe
Wave Race 64
Additionally, these are the games that I have beaten since I began the journey:
de Blob
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Beatles Rock Band
Bionic Commando
Borderlands
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Dead Nation
Devil May Cry
Final Fantasy V
Additionally, there's some further caveats. Let's go into the confessional:
Dark Sector, I'm sorry, man. I played you. I did. I tried. I tried so hard to like you, but it just didn't happen. I'm sure there's somebody out there for you, which is why I traded you in for credit at my used book/games/music store Bookman's.
DDRMAX2, you were a PS2 game from a PS2 era. You were created for CRT televisions, dude. It should be no surprise that you played poorly on my HDTV. Those music cues, that LED screen. They didn't mesh well. It's not your fault, it was just a different time. I had such high hopes for our time together. I even had a little side project to create my own hard dance pad. It was just not meant to be... I'll wait until I buy a proper PS3 DDR game.
Final Fantasy Anthology, what can I tell you? When I started playing you on my PS3, you started having save problems. So I downloaded one of your games, Final Fantasy V, from PSN then I sold you on eBay. I'll download your other half and play it later. I don't think I can take all that many SNES era RPGs in a row. And since I sold you, I don't even have FFVI in my possession to play. It comes off the list until such a time as I download it again. I get credit for beating FFV, right?
So in review, here is a shortened version of the games list, including JUST the games that are on the slate to be played until they're finished:
I posted the MASTER GAMES LIST.
I shall now break it down a little bit:
There are a bunch of games on the list that I have indeed played the hell out of. I have no need to replay any of these games, and I probably won't:
Double Dragon
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Mario Kart Double Dash
Mario Kart Wii
Mega Man II
Metal Gear Solid 2
Metroid Prime
Punch-Out (NES)
Super Mario 64
Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario Kart (SNES)
Viewtiful Joe
Wave Race 64
Additionally, these are the games that I have beaten since I began the journey:
de Blob
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Beatles Rock Band
Bionic Commando
Borderlands
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Dead Nation
Devil May Cry
Final Fantasy V
Additionally, there's some further caveats. Let's go into the confessional:
Dark Sector, I'm sorry, man. I played you. I did. I tried. I tried so hard to like you, but it just didn't happen. I'm sure there's somebody out there for you, which is why I traded you in for credit at my used book/games/music store Bookman's.
DDRMAX2, you were a PS2 game from a PS2 era. You were created for CRT televisions, dude. It should be no surprise that you played poorly on my HDTV. Those music cues, that LED screen. They didn't mesh well. It's not your fault, it was just a different time. I had such high hopes for our time together. I even had a little side project to create my own hard dance pad. It was just not meant to be... I'll wait until I buy a proper PS3 DDR game.
Final Fantasy Anthology, what can I tell you? When I started playing you on my PS3, you started having save problems. So I downloaded one of your games, Final Fantasy V, from PSN then I sold you on eBay. I'll download your other half and play it later. I don't think I can take all that many SNES era RPGs in a row. And since I sold you, I don't even have FFVI in my possession to play. It comes off the list until such a time as I download it again. I get credit for beating FFV, right?
So in review, here is a shortened version of the games list, including JUST the games that are on the slate to be played until they're finished:
Devil May Cry 2
Devil May Cry 3
F-Zero GX
God of War III
Katamari Damacy
The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time/Master Quest
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Link's Crossbow Training
Little Big Planet
Megaman Anniversary Collection
Megaman X Collection
Metal Gear Solid 3
Metroid Prime 2
Motor Storm
MTV Music Generator
Punch-Out (Wii)
Rock Band
Shadow of the Colossus
Sin & Punishment
Sonic Mega Collection
Spider-Man
Spider-Man 2
Street Fighter Alpha Anthology
Super Mario All Stars
Super Mario Galaxy
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Super Paper Mario
Turning Point
Warioland Shake It
Wave Race Blue Storm
Wii Fit
Wii Sports
Wipeout HD
Ok, Let's See This List
 |
| So, the drawer looks kinda like this |
Here they are.
They don't look like that many. Bear in mind that many of them are compilations of classic games and there are a few digital downloads. I put them by system in the drawer, but I have the alphabetized list right here:
Batman Arkham Asylum
Beatles RockBand
Bionic Commando
Borderlands
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Dark Sector
DDRMAX2
Dead Nation
Devil May Cry
Devil May Cry 2
Devil May Cry 3
Double Dragon
Final Fantasy Anthology (FFV and FFVI)
F-Zero GX
God of War III
Gunstar Heroes
Katamari Damacy
Kid Icarus
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition (4 games)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time/Master Quest (2 games)
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
LEGO Harry Potter 1-4
LEGO Harry Potter 5-7
LEGO Star Wars
Link's Crossbow Training
Little Big Planet
Mario Kart Double Dash
Mario Kart Wii
Mega Man II
Megaman Anniversary Collection (8 games)
Megaman X Collection (6 games)
Metal Gear Solid
Metal Gear Solid 2
Metal Gear Solid 3
Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime 2
Motor Storm
MTV Music Generator
Ninja Gaiden
Punch-Out (NES)
Punch-Out (Wii)
Resident Evil 4
Rock Band
Samurai Shodown II
Shadow of the Colossus
Sin & Punishment
Sonic Mega Collection
Spider-Man
Spider-Man 2
Street Fighter Alpha Anthology (4 games)
Super Mario 64
Super Mario All Stars (4 games)
Super Mario Galaxy
Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Super Mario Kart (SNES)
Super Paper Mario
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Turning Point
Viewtiful Joe
Warioland Shake It
Wave Race 64
Wave Race Blue Storm
Wii Fit
Wii Sports
Wipeout HD
The racing games and the driving games and the rhythm games present a challenge. When is Beatles Rock Band "finished"?
And in the case of games like Devil May Cry and Mega Man, where I have so many to get through, I've decided to make an accommodation: I don't want to play two Devil May Cry games in a row. It's too much action. So after I finished the first one, I put the rest of them somewhere else on the list, but I'll get to them.
Ground Rules!
So I decided after finishing Twilight Princess that I was going to have a New Year's resolution. My resolution would be to do everything possible to play through all the unfinished games in my collection.
Suffice it to say there were many of them. When I got married I got rid of most of my games and systems with the exception of two, my Wii and my PS2. The rationale for it being, Wii could play Wii and Gamecube games, plus downloads; and PS2, (which I later gave away and upgraded to a 1st Gen PS3) could play PS2 and PSOne (and now PS3) games.
The very real reason why I had accumulated so many games was indiscipline, and in order to accomplish my goal I was going to have to be orderly and strict. So I took all my games and I put them in alphabetical order.
Rule number 1: I decided I would play them from A to Z. Sony or Nintendo, it didn't matter. I would go from one game to the next.
Rule number 2: I decided I could not switch to another game until I beat the one I was playing now (and even when I did, I'd have to move on to the next one in alphabetical order.)
Rule number 3: Since I this was a gigantic challenge, I decided I just wanted to see the credits. I wouldn't bother with 100% completion and absolute mastery. Some games just make that kind of thing ludicrous (like racing, fighting, and rhythm games). No, just play the game long enough that I can say, yes, I am confident in saying that I played an acceptable amount of that game.
Rule number 4: Though I have mostly stayed clear of this one, I swore if I wanted to buy a new game, I would have to beat an old one. I could buy as many new games as I beat old ones. I haven't really been spending a lot of money, to be honest. This is a good thing. By the time I'm done with this, I'll have a long wish list, but for now I'm content.
Final rule: In a certain way, all these rules are flexible. I haven't engaged in rampant rule-bending, but it's good to know.
Suffice it to say there were many of them. When I got married I got rid of most of my games and systems with the exception of two, my Wii and my PS2. The rationale for it being, Wii could play Wii and Gamecube games, plus downloads; and PS2, (which I later gave away and upgraded to a 1st Gen PS3) could play PS2 and PSOne (and now PS3) games.
The very real reason why I had accumulated so many games was indiscipline, and in order to accomplish my goal I was going to have to be orderly and strict. So I took all my games and I put them in alphabetical order.
Rule number 1: I decided I would play them from A to Z. Sony or Nintendo, it didn't matter. I would go from one game to the next.
Rule number 2: I decided I could not switch to another game until I beat the one I was playing now (and even when I did, I'd have to move on to the next one in alphabetical order.)
Rule number 3: Since I this was a gigantic challenge, I decided I just wanted to see the credits. I wouldn't bother with 100% completion and absolute mastery. Some games just make that kind of thing ludicrous (like racing, fighting, and rhythm games). No, just play the game long enough that I can say, yes, I am confident in saying that I played an acceptable amount of that game.
Rule number 4: Though I have mostly stayed clear of this one, I swore if I wanted to buy a new game, I would have to beat an old one. I could buy as many new games as I beat old ones. I haven't really been spending a lot of money, to be honest. This is a good thing. By the time I'm done with this, I'll have a long wish list, but for now I'm content.
Final rule: In a certain way, all these rules are flexible. I haven't engaged in rampant rule-bending, but it's good to know.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
A Feeble Attempt at a Timeline
Officially this is my New Years resolution. I resolved to attempt to play all my unfinished games in the year 2012. I left myself the possibility of carrying over to 2013 because, well let's face it, there were a lot of games, and past your 28th birthday life just has a way of forcing itself and pushing everything else out.
However, I would say this actually goes back to August 2011.
My wife and I had spent the summer in Chicago taking improv classes. However, I had to come back two weeks earlier than she did because I was going back to work. So I started making plans in my head of little projects that I would set myself, do my own thing, and straight away I thought of de Blob. My wife had given me something like 4 Wii games one Christmas a couple years prior and I had yet to finish any of those games. I had started de Blob, and I had enjoyed it, but I had put it off for some other game I bought, and which naturally I didn't finish either.
You see that was essentially my problem. I would get a shiny new game, start playing it, begin to love it, and then stop mid way for some other game.
I'd decided that when I got back from Chicago I would pick up de Blob and finish it. I'm starting to remember why I stopped: the levels on this game, on average, took about an hour to complete. It's a game where you paint a whole bunch of buildings and then there's stuff to collect here and there, and it was actually a bit demanding on the time investment side. So anyway, I popped it back in and finished it. It felt good.
Work, school, life wrenched control again, and things went back to normal. In November 2011, I pulled The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess off my shelf and started playing it. I finished that one right around Christmas.
It was those two games that led me to where I am now.
My wife and I had spent the summer in Chicago taking improv classes. However, I had to come back two weeks earlier than she did because I was going back to work. So I started making plans in my head of little projects that I would set myself, do my own thing, and straight away I thought of de Blob. My wife had given me something like 4 Wii games one Christmas a couple years prior and I had yet to finish any of those games. I had started de Blob, and I had enjoyed it, but I had put it off for some other game I bought, and which naturally I didn't finish either.
You see that was essentially my problem. I would get a shiny new game, start playing it, begin to love it, and then stop mid way for some other game.
I'd decided that when I got back from Chicago I would pick up de Blob and finish it. I'm starting to remember why I stopped: the levels on this game, on average, took about an hour to complete. It's a game where you paint a whole bunch of buildings and then there's stuff to collect here and there, and it was actually a bit demanding on the time investment side. So anyway, I popped it back in and finished it. It felt good.
Work, school, life wrenched control again, and things went back to normal. In November 2011, I pulled The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess off my shelf and started playing it. I finished that one right around Christmas.
It was those two games that led me to where I am now.
Well, It Seems Like I've Done It Again
I've fallen into a bad habit.
Don't we all? This one's got to do with video games. Like many gamers, I got into the habit of buying games, briefly playing them, then moving on to new games.
This, however, has been the year I decide to put a stop to it. This blog is an attempt to document my journey from prodigal to frugal.
I am a man on a mission.
Currently, I intend to play every game in my collection.
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