File under backlog.

I started a whole other podcast, years after I began the Prof and Dev Play Games podcast , to dig into RPGs on my backlog. You can find them both here.

Like so many gamers, buying games is as much of a hobby as playing games. Each new game represents a new story; new characters to fall in love with (hi Tifa!); a new experience to hopefully, one day, look back fondly on.

But, like many gamers, I am distracted by the new shiny. I want to (or need to) to stay current for Prof and Dev Play Games podcast discussions. I hear folks talking about the newest games, and I want to be part of it.

But the backlog grows.

And grows.

My Steam backlog alone is at around 1,000 games, many picked up from bundles over the years but lots that were not. Then add Nintendo (Switch, 3DS, and WiiU), Xboxes, and Playstations–and I have a tremendous backlog.

So The RPG Backlog podcast gives me a reason, a framing device, to crack open an RPG on my shelf and dive in. Sometimes, it’s just for a night. Other times, it’s a reason to gather with friends and play through a game together over a number of weeks.

And that latter point is the other reason I began the secondary podcast: to continue to connect with friends, new and old, over older RPGs.

Travis and I tackled Final Fantasy XII and had a blast…talking (shit) about the game. Scott and I, a very new friend to me, took on Undertale and bonded over the different ways we approached that marvelous game. And Anthony, Travis, Tom, and I played through Final Fantasy Adventure and grew together while discussing this Gameboy classic.

Now, Tom, Travis, and I are onto Final Fantasy 1 and discovering the richness of the roots of this seminal RPG series.

So, digging into the backlog helps me (1) get value out of what I spent on games over the years, (2) connect with friends, (3) make new friends, and (4) increase my gaming vocabulary by playing through some of the gems of yesteryear.

Have you tackled your backlog recently? If so, what did you play and why?