Committing To Gaming

I was doing my usual internet rounds this evening (checking news sites and particular blogs - forums not included because I need to play the catch up game with those) when I came across a link to this. Apparently the author of this blog is a completionist like myself and has vowed to finish the many unfinished games in his collection. As you can see from the link above, he has even written an oath detailing the way he will go about it.

Reading this oath and then a few of his blog entries made me think about the many games that I am still yet to complete. Looking at my games collection made me realise that there were more games unfinished than I realised. This got me thinking, maybe I should adopt a similar concept where I commit to finishing the games I haven't finished yet and perhaps blog about them here. In my doing so I would finally get through these games that I have always intended to finish but haven't for whatever reason and it would also give me a sense of accomplishment.

I don't mean to copy his concept (which it would look like, especially if I blogged about the experiences too) but the idea of actually finishing these titles is an enticing one. I have always had the intention, so why the hell not?

So without further ado, I am indeed going to start working on finishing these many games but in a slightly different way than what I referred to above. For example, I won't be adopting a point system where I'd add points for finishing a game or deduct them for buying a new one. Nor will I separate my collection into two piles, finished and unfinished, to aid my cause.

I know which games need finishing and why and they will be revealed as I commit to their completion. I will however be using certain guidelines in order to help me get through these games in what I feel is the best way possible, and they are:

- If a game has collectibles such as the Hidden Packages in Grand Theft Auto or the Orbs in Crackdown, then they count towards the completion. If I don't collect these, the game isn't finished.

- However, if the game is like Final Fantasy and has a lot of spells, weapons or things like that to collect then I don't have to collect those if I don't want to. I will decide on the individual game at the time I am playing it.

- If the game is an Xbox 360 game and therefore includes the Achievement system, then the achievements for the game do count towards the completion. However, if the game in question has multiplayer achievements, glitched achievements or any achievement that doesn't really relate to the game and it being finished, then it's my choice as to whether I go for these achievements or not. If I can 1000/1000 a game though, then I will.

- Committing to a game will not stop me from playing any other game. Just because I am committed to finishing a particular game, does not mean that I can't play others. So if I get a new game or want to play some multiplayer or something along those lines, I'm allowed to do so at my leisure. However if I stop playing the game I am committed to for more than a week then yes, I will stop playing these other games in favour of seeing out my commitment.

With these guidelines I think I will be able to get through the many unfinished games I have in my collection and hopefully it will mean that I have an awesome time while I play them. Some games may require a grind or boring tasks in order to finish them and if that's the case, so be it. I am prepared to do what it takes to finally get through these games and even if I hate certain games because of it in the end, at least I will have the satisfaction of knowing that I have committed myself and accomplished the goal at the end.