52n365 - 2021 Edition

Now for the eighth year (!!!) running , my own way of tracking the games I beat.

The original goal of this list is to make backlog blasting fun while still allowing myself to play more current things. Encourage positive thinking in myself and to discourage game hopping (I always like to finish things that I like), overspending and "paralysis by analysis".

Inspired by Resetera's- 52 games/1 year annual thread https://www.resetera.com/threads/52-games-1-year-2018.13773/

Discussion on 2020's results-

Another solid year, tho I fell fairly short of 52 again. But! 3rd highest number of credit rolls (42), 3rd highest point totals (108.22) and 2nd most S-ranks (18). Critically I think I accomplished my ultimate goal of playing some of the best longer stuff off my backlog while balancing it out with interesting new things and still getting S-ranks and still playing mp games (PUBG, division2 etc).

and oh yeah did this all while a pandemic was going on too.

Highlight accomplishments, clearing the Super Mario U games and Shadow of Mordor (which had been on my backlog for 5+ years)

I think I've also come to the conclusion that the real goal here isn't the 52 clears, it's the 100 points in my system and I got that. I think the point system better reflects what I really want out of this because I could smash through 10+ short games a month but that would require giving up some of my favorite genres and IPs. So the system is working, and for once I don't think I'll tweak anything. Maybe some of the specific bonus values could be moved up or down, but the structure finally feels done.

So what to change for this year. Spending got a little out of control last year for me, I need to really start saving up for next gen hardware, so I'm going to try to restrain myself . I did manage to really cut it down in the second half of the year, just took a while to really find my sea legs with how to fit Game Pass into my gaming life. I think the answer basically is, that is where I'll likely play new indie games.

I ended up playing a tremendous amount of Game Pass games last year and I'm hopeful that I can use that to satisfy a meaningful portion of my hunger for new releases in a year that might be light on them (pandemic+ traditional post console launch drought).

2021 Scoring System (italics indicates changes)

Game Length	Points
-Credit Roll (00-20 hrs)	+1
-Credit Roll (20-40 hrs)	+2
-Credit Roll (40-80 hrs)	+3
-Credit Roll (80+ hrs)	+4
-DLC Under 5 Hours	+0.25
-Single Episode of uncompleted Season of Episodic Game	+0.25
Bonus Points
-Backlog Bonus, Game owned longer than 1 year	+1
-Backlog Bonus, Old System. Game owned longer than 1 year + non-current system	+2
-Load my Last Save Bonus, Finishing any game that I've not played for more than 2 weeks	+3
-Achievement Bonus, 100% single player achievements completion or 100% collectibles	+0.5
-ZeitGeist Bonus, Any current release eligible for GotY	+0.07
-ZeitGeist Catchup, any GotY contender from last 3 years	+0.1
-Bucket List Bonus - Beating a game off the HiMR list or Determinizer 100	+1
-Key Franchise, any game from my favorite franchise list	+0.2
Platform Bonuses
-PC	+0.05
-WiiU	+0.25
-PS4	+0.1
-3DS/DS	+0.2
-PSTV	+0.5
*Genre Bonuses*
-Platformers	+0.1
-Adventure	+0.2
-Action Adventure	+0.1
-Open World	+0.2
-FPS	+0.2
-Fighting	+0.2
-RPG	+0.2
-SRPG	+0.5
-Other	+0.01
Game Type Bonuses
-AAA	+0.07
-Retro (Games from before 2000)	+0.2
-Indie	+0.07

Expansions are treated as separate Game title (i.e. Brood War is a unique game from StarCraft)
If an entire season of an Episodic game is completed, score according to time played using previously stated rules.
Old games that are "new to me" Such as GoG.com DOSbox games, Virtual Console do not qualify for Backlog bonus points.
Current Systems for 2020 are considered to be PC, PS4, 3DS/DS, WiiU, PSTV. Anything that is currently hooked up is considered personally current whether it truly is in gaming society or isn't.

Some things non point scored goals I'd like to achieve this year

Clear two Final Fantasy games
Finish my existing WiiU backlog
Ten games off my Steam Backlog
Halve my PS4 backlog
Clear 5 DS/3DS games
Cut game spending by 1/2 to 2/3
Save enough on game purchases to acquire new hardware if desired

Previous Years Results - as of 01/18/2021

Year	Credit Rolls	Points	S-Ranks
2012	11	38.65	3
2013	26	71.10	7
2014	63	108.25	16
2015	40	74.60	12
2016	31	88.78	5
2017	40	83.88	15
2018	26	75.67	16
2019	52	143.25	20
2020	42	108.22	18
2021	20	68.20	6
Totals through 2020	331	792.44	112
Averages through 2020	36.78	88.05	12.44