Amount of games

This is a cool thread - interesting to see all the variations in style. I really like to focus on one character and one game at a time. Probably shows in my hours in games like FO4 and Skyrim (or in past games like NWN and DAO).

I do try some other genres now and then. Fallout games are not my usual but I got hooked. ELEX was a new experience for me. DOS2 was a great change of pace as was Tyranny and Torment.

I just know certain genres are a major turn off so avoid them. Even then I did try Rockstar (not sure if that was the name) and some other games although didn't care for them in the end.

Conversely not all fantasy games appeal - like W3 was a big mistake on my part while I really enjoyed MEA.

I play a decent number of games but tend to do them one at a time to keep focus and games I try but don't like or that don't pull me in I delete so I don't have them as temptation to break focus.

I do one serious game at a time - though I can always pop back and play something simple like Dead or Alive for a change of pace.

The main thing I've learned, though, is to make use of my Wish List on Steam. If I see a game show up that I want to buy, I don't buy it - I stick it on the wish list. When the seasonal Steam Sale rolls around, I just go to my list and buy what I think will last me until the next sale. If I get too many, no biggy, I just don't buy as much at the next sale. If I get too few, well, guess it's time to play another round of Civilization or Sword of the Stars or whatever.

It's also good as a reminder list. Early access games I might want later (remember that guy that came around last year pitching Legrand Legacy? still on my list) go there. So do games where I know they are going to put in a bunch of DLC that I'm likely to want - Middle-earth Shadow of War and Wolfenstein 2, for instance.

I'll make exceptions to the rules sometimes (waiting for Paradox games to get all their DLCs can be pretty futile) but that's how I generally do things now. Of course, it gets a bit rough when it comes time to vote on RPG of the year and I've only played ones that were out in the Spring… maybe…. At least the games are well patched and there's some good guides out in the world.

Originally Posted by KaosWarMonk

What I don't play now I look at as something to do in retirement… By then I'll have thousands of hours worth of stuff to play

That’s a plan!!!

Originally Posted by Zloth
I do one serious game at a time - though I can always pop back and play something simple like Dead or Alive for a change of pace.

The main thing I've learned, though, is to make use of my Wish List on Steam. If I see a game show up that I want to buy, I don't buy it - I stick it on the wish list. When the seasonal Steam Sale rolls around, I just go to my list and buy what I think will last me until the next sale. If I get too many, no biggy, I just don't buy as much at the next sale. If I get too few, well, guess it's time to play another round of Civilization or Sword of the Stars or whatever.

It's also good as a reminder list. Early access games I might want later (remember that guy that came around last year pitching Legrand Legacy? still on my list) go there. So do games where I know they are going to put in a bunch of DLC that I'm likely to want - Middle-earth Shadow of War and Wolfenstein 2, for instance.

I'll make exceptions to the rules sometimes (waiting for Paradox games to get all their DLCs can be pretty futile) but that's how I generally do things now. Of course, it gets a bit rough when it comes time to vote on RPG of the year and I've only played ones that were out in the Spring… maybe…. At least the games are well patched and there's some good guides out in the world.

That's a good approach. I haven't used the wishlist much - and I tend to buy games as soon as I'm interested. I've never been a big wait-on-sale guy.

Wishlist and waiting is one way of being smart about it.

I'm a big fan of the wishlist as well. Its great for games that might be having technical issues at release, or where I'm unsure if I'll like them. Later when I'm bored, I'll sometimes recheck out those games, looking at reviews and the forum to rethink if I'm really interested in the game or not. You can always remove a game if it no longer seems interesting.

Yeah, I'm going to try using that more

If you are still young enough to actually remember which games you want then I would recommend to NOT use the wishlist (besides, if you can not even remember which game(s) you really want, do you really even want them? ) or at least limit the use of the wishlist.

Why? Because devs/publishers use wishlists as metrics for demand. They are much less likely to discount a game substantially when they can see that 100K+ people have the game wishlisted.
We should not make it that easy for them. Let them do the guesswork instead. You know… sneak up on them from behind and then STRIKE with a non-wishlisted purchase from the bushes!

Originally Posted by Moriendor
If you are still young enough to actually remember which games you want then I would recommend to NOT use the wishlist (besides, if you can not even remember which game(s) you really want, do you really even want them? ) or at least limit the use of the wishlist.

Why? Because devs/publishers use wishlists as metrics for demand. They are much less likely to discount a game substantially when they can see that 100K+ people have the game wishlisted.
We should not make it that easy for them. Let them do the guesswork instead. You know… sneak up on them from behind and then STRIKE with a non-wishlisted purchase from the bushes!

Haha, nah, I don't really feel like manipulating the market like that. They can do whatever the hell they want - and they will, anyway.

If their game is worth my time - I don't mind communicating that to them.

I'm in no hurry - and if I'm going to be serious about this, I'll wait for a discount or not buy anything at all.

That said, I still have a pretty good memory when it comes to games and which ones I want

But the wishlist could be a part of coming up with some kind of habitual system. Habits are the source of change - if you learn to adapt

I frequently do two games; one game where I don't need to listen to the sound and can mindless click (i.e, some sort of non-story based strategy game) and another that require more serious attention. The reason is because during the mindless game I frequently double or triple task - reading the news or listening to a movie - or doing stock stuff or whatever as needed. Naturally it is hard to do these things if I am playing a game that requires some attention. I like playing games but when something important comes up they have to take an instatnt back seat and i consider just about anything (work, business, friends, family, …) more important. mindless games are good for filling in those gaps.