About The 1000 Games Project

Part of my job, enviably, is to have as wide an understanding of games as possible. Given the other parts of my job, this is easier said than done. I have a increasing list of “things I should have played by now”, both releasing soon and from the past 25 years.

I’ve realized recently that my game library has been constantly, consistently losing ground to other obligations: the important edged out by the urgent, the dire, and the day-to-day. I’m not as current as I’d like to be. I certainly haven’t played all the classics or obscure gems that I’d like to have played. And while I always think about the games I’m playing, I don’t necessarily take the time to write those thoughts down.

This blog is no more and no less than a challenge to myself: to keep improving on my general gaming knowledge, to better keep up with the changing medium, and to keep better tabs on the games I’ve already played. And in all honesty, I’m curious: if I listed all the games I’ve ever finished, completed, or even started, what would the list look like?

The Challenge:

To play, from today onward, one thousand games, and to note each one briefly here. My initial sub-goal is to reach 100 games in one year. (Hey, games take time! Approximately two a week seems doable to me.)

As I’d like to keep a record on things I’ve previously played (or would like to replay), I consider it fair to add past games, but no more than one a week. One past and one new game a week should help me get through that “should-have” stack of mine considerably – defining new games as the ones I haven’t personally gotten to yet, not necessarily brand-new releases.

So, Is This A Review Site?

Absolutely not. I consider myself under no obligation to finish the games I’ve started – life’s too short – and I’m certainly not going to hold myself to a fair and unbiased opinion. There are a plethora of game reviewers out there, many of whom are being paid to do it (some of whom even do it well). This site is for my own academic enjoyment, nothing more.

What About Games You’ve Already Played?

Before writing about older titles, I do go back and play a few hours to jog my memory. Given that I’m fighting time as it is, I have no expectation that I’ll be replaying each and every one of those 60+ hour-long titles that I burned through back in the day.

As an older, theoretically wiser person, however, I notice more about structure and content than I used to. So it’s a bit of a balance, to play enough that I learn things about games I thought I was finished with, but not so much that it pushes newer games out of the pipeline.

So, What About Brand-New Releases?

That’s a balance, too. I like to stay as current as possible, but I rarely have the time to play something the day it hits sites and/or shelves. There are very few games that inspire me to attend a midnight release or crack-of-dawn store opening. For the most part, I’ll be looking at new games when I get to them: anywhere from two weeks to six months after they release.

Again, it’s not a review site. I’m just trying to play catch-up as fast as I can.

Who the Hell is Tim?

A great and powerful enchanter; the guy that makes doors open when they open and close when they close; certainly not a tiny bundle of Christmas cheer. Also my significant other. Most of my thoughts about games are filtered through discussions, arguments, rant sessions, knock-down drag-outs, Socratic dialogues, or deathmatches with Tim. He usually gets mentioned when he’s right about something and I’m not.

In Your Banner, That One Game X From the Right and Y Down….?

There are forty games represented in the banner, listed below. No, they’re not necessarily my top forty favorites – but yes, I have played all of them. (With the exceptions of Diablo 3, which isn’t out yet, and poor Starcraft: Nova, which stands in for the entire series even though it’s been canceled)

Row one: Bioshock, Katamari Damacy, Ninja Gaiden Black, The Legend of Zelda, Ratchet and Clank, Homeworld 2, Fallout 3, Super Mario Brothers 2, Starcraft: Nova, Darwinia. Row two: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, EVE Online, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Ico, Metroid Prime, Psychonauts, Spore, Prince of Persia (2008 re-reboot), Super Columbine Massacre RPG, God of War. Row three: Giants: Citizen Kabuto, Okami, Final Fantasy VI, Civilizaion III, Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Grim Fandango, Zork, World of Warcraft, Lumines 2. Row four: Braid, Metroid, Beyond Good and Evil, DEFCON, Shadow of the Colossus, Space Quest, Wii Sports, Diablo 3, Odin Sphere, Assassin’s Creed.