in-between games

I'm in the doldrums between games, a place that is increasingly familiar. I've got some great games in the queue, but I'm still some stuck to the notion that I must hold some great review of all gaming before continuing. Something to do with all the significant games of days past, that I've played or missed, and I have to put them in some order, and say something about each one. This blog was supposed to be about making sure I didn't miss anything great, not get stuck thinking about it.

So let's go to the attic...

My marching orders, arranged bottom to top, somewhat chronologically.

But first, there is a bit of unpleasantness to take care of. I walked away from Diablo 2, about 75% of the way towards my stated goal of completing the game on Hell difficulty. It was getting pointless and painful near the end, and I had to stop. And having stopped, I really don't want to go back to the stressful step-by-step grinding towards the summit. I've got everything I'm going to get out of that game. But before I can move on, there's a dog that needs putting down. More about that later below...

I'm searching the net, looking for some help deciding what to keep or toss, and why. I'm a hoarder with some restraint, and an attic, but it's still too much. I want to be more free of material things, and to value the intangible rewards more than the material they came in (Only knowledge will I save, Take only pictures, etc.). I can't imagine throwing away my Wasteland box, or most of my Infocom stuff, or my early Apple II games, and some of the C64 and Atari stuff that has survived.

I used to have a ton of Atari, Intellivision, and Colecovision equipment and carts, and I lost them. I tried to replace some of it in the 90s, but it didn't work. I'm still somewhat torn about it - and I'm even more annoyed that it bothers me so. I don't want to do that to myself again, yet maybe I'm better off without things I can't use anymore.

I look into sale price as a factor - maybe if my stuff is appreciating in value I can justify keeping it as in investment. A little searching quickly reveals that sealed and mint is where the value is, and I'm just not that level of collector. I use what I buy (well, eventually).

There's something cold and impersonal about having a library of games online, like in Steam, or in disc images on a hard drive, but that's the present, and the foreseeable future. A digital hoard is acceptable, considering its small physical intrusion into this world.

I will save some, maybe even a designated box into which all must fit. But for now, I can let this one game go. It has no connection to childhood, and maybe that's where the dividing line will fall.

I'll start a disc album to keep the discs. The paper will go in a Ziploc. I'll photograph the boxes up close to get the CD keys. Disc cases, and the paper boxes go in the trash.

I can do this.