New Year, New Me, blah blah blah and so on. But there are a few things in terms of my entertainment consumption that I do feel need some level of attention. Most of this comes down to time, between sales on sites like Steam, Comixology and the Google Play store not to mention Humble Bundles, CDKeys and Amazon my library of content is growing too stupid levels. This is on top of my site work which covers Play, Watch and Read and of course real life. This is by no means a complaint I’m lucky and happy to be in a position to purchase that which I desire the trouble is my eyes are too big for my watch so to speak. So I have drawn up a little list to address this. |
This by no means implies that I need a huge death or catastrophic incident, what I really look for is interesting characters and settings. A great example is The Wire one of the slowest building shows I have ever seen, but also has one of the most intriguing storylines and compelling casts in television. This is the reason I think 3 shows/issues is fair as by no means was I hooked by the first episode of the Wire but after spending three hours of the show I felt I had a grasp of what to expect. The same also applies to shows/comics that have lost their way. There will always be stinkers in creation of long running series but if the path is not found within three them I’m out. In a competitive marketplace I need creators to give me a reason to buy into their franchises.
2) Finish what you have started
The list here is ridiculous The Witcher 1/2 , Arkham Origins, Breaking Bad, The Shield, Saga and Hellboy are but a few of the things I have started but not yet finished. This is not going to include the games I have tried and not enjoyed as honestly those I will not bother going back until I reduce my list. At this point I have a desire to enjoy the best of the best from the past and will be commenting on whether these experiences live up to my expectations.
3) Analyze why I enjoy a franchise instead of just continuing to buy games.
I love Assassins Creed 2, Brotherhood and Revelations and this led me to purchase AC4: Black Flag. I played the game and I found it dull. The loss of the Italian Renaissance setting, the Assassin heritage and most of all Ezio changed the whole essence of the franchise. What I found out about the AC Franchise was the game is not enough I needed the entire package to make my experience worthwhile. Is a point I will now take into future purchase considerations, again it comes back to the point with so much out there I want to find new and enjoyable experiences.
4) Slow down and enjoy the experience
With limited time comes the tendency to try to get a story finished, in some games like COD this is no issue but for RPG’s the game is made harder by not completing side missions. This is just one example of why there are times where it is best to slow down and try to enjoy the experience. This in some way goes against the limited time aspect but if I do not have the time to play the game in full then I will stop trying to force it. The same goes with comic series I’ll try to experience tie ins and the like to get a fuller picture.