Question Do you think it's important to keep records of games before deleting?

[Zuruchon]

I stumbled on this thread https://forums.pcgamer.com/threads/searching-for-a-space-oriented-game.148914/#post-414041.
The original poster was asking the community to help him search for a game he played a long time ago. I don't really know why he wants to replay the game but he is desperate to locate the game.

Since it is common practice to delete games because of space. Wouldn’t it be a good practice to keep records of games before deleting them from the system? We might need to search for these games, and a comprehensive record might help.

 

[mjs warlord]

If you use Steam , Epic or GOG you dont need to write down games you have used in the past because even if you delete them their will still be shown in the various library folder.

The only time i have had a problem with games is when i want to put some old disc based games on my latest pc. You put the disc in and see a message that wants the keycode , email address and password. Then a few minutes later you see yet another message to say the keycode and email address is already in use ... of course it is ..... by me ... on my last pc.......

Example .... i got all bioshock games on disc and not long after my pc died and when i tried to use them on my new pc the customer services refused to do anything to help me ... they would not even do a keycode exchange.

 

[Pifanjr]

Keeping records in such a way that they're useful years into the future can be hard, because you don't know what you'll still remember.

My kid asked me to find a game recently but she really only remembered going over lava and fighting a brain. I managed to figure out she was talking about Pikuniku, but that was a game she's played in the past year. If she would ask me the same question in 20 years I'd have no idea.

So I think you'd have to put a pretty significant amount of effort in creating and maintaining your records just in case you want to find one specific thing again years into the future and then hope the things you still remember are the things you recorded.

 

[Zloth]

Keeping records in such a way that they're useful years into the future can be hard, because you don't know what you'll still remember.

It can be, but you might also get a record for free.

If it's on Steam and has achievements, you can see what you played by looking at those. Steam will keep track of when you last started the application, too. Oh, and that year-in-review thing sticks around, which might also help, but it only goes back to 2022.

I played Crysis: Warhead in the summer of 2008. I know that because I've got screenshots from it. It was only 7 or 8 months after I played Crysis itself.

 

[Pifanjr]

It can be, but you might also get a record for free.

If it's on Steam and has achievements, you can see what you played by looking at those. Steam will keep track of when you last started the application, too. Oh, and that year-in-review thing sticks around, which might also help, but it only goes back to 2022.

I played Crysis: Warhead in the summer of 2008. I know that because I've got screenshots from it. It was only 7 or 8 months after I played Crysis itself.

That might work if you only play on Steam, but the more games you play the worse it'll be to find any specific one based on vague memories.

 

[JCgames]

They used to be called boxes. I have a collection of about 20 sonething

 

[Colif]

If you use Steam , Epic or GOG you dont need to write down games you have used in the past because even if you delete them their will still be shown in the various library folder.

What if you have several hundred games in your libraries and aren't sure which of them was the game? That is why asking on forums can reduce the number of things you are looking for.

What if the game was something you played 25 years ago before any of these internet services even existed? And you didn't keep everything in 20 boxes as you didn't have the ability to transport it all. I haven't moved in years but I still don't have every game I played in the last... long time.

There are people out there who have records of almost everything they have done. But that isn't most people, instead they are too busy living now to think about later. They don't know something they have now will be wanted later...

I have books I wish I could find... they are harder than games as at least with games you can normally find pictures or videos to remind you. But you can't even rely on the cover of books to remember if you read them before (I have physically had the same book twice, just with a different cover... took a while to realise).

 

[MystriVogt]

I stumbled on this thread https://forums.pcgamer.com/threads/searching-for-a-space-oriented-game.148914/#post-414041.
The original poster was asking the community to help him search for a game he played a long time ago. I don't really know why he wants to replay the game but he is desperate to locate the game.

Since it is common practice to delete games because of space. Wouldn’t it be a good practice to keep records of games before deleting them from the system? We might need to search for these games, and a comprehensive record might help.

Like a month or so ago I randomly recalled the name, Warlords III; an ancient 199X game husband/kids/and I had played many years ago (our kids now have their own kids now kind of years ago.) I searched the internets and boom there it was on Steam!! I've probably played 50 games since I found it again and I've literally been like, "Where have you been all my life?!?" heh Nostalgia

As I recall it back in early 199X a PC game called Myst came out, it was a puzzle & clue game with fantastic graphics. The puzzles were intense, my husband would come home from work, and we'd spend all night trying to figure out how to unlock the next stage. I had started keeping a notepad of drawings, clues, and codes next to my desk and I never really dropped the habit so for most of my adult life I have actually had one or two notepads next to my computer for game notes.

I threw all my old game notebooks out in 2010 and I kind of regret it...

 

[Colif]

As I recall it back in early 199X a PC game called Myst came out, it was a puzzle & clue game with fantastic graphics. The puzzles were intense, my husband would come home from work, and we'd spend all night trying to figure out how to unlock the next stage. I had started keeping a notepad of drawings, clues, and codes next to my desk and I never really dropped the habit so for most of my adult life I have actually had one or two notepads next to my computer for game notes.

You don't really need those though as there are plenty of guides to Myst online still. And video series showing the entire game... I have watched one recently. Helps they remade it in 2021

Myst on Steam

Welcome to Myst: a starkly beautiful island, eerily tinged with mystery and shrouded in intrigue. Built from the ground up to play in 2D & VR, explore Myst in a whole new dimension! Journey to the Ages, unravel puzzles, and be a part of the surrealistic adventure that will become your own.

store.steampowered.com

 

[BeardyHat]

Thankfully I just scroll my various libraries and pretty much everything is there, which is helpful for me these days, given I have a poor memory.

That said, I did recently look-up a game. I remembered it came out in the mid-90's, as I recall playing it off the PC Gamer demo disk. After some Googling, I did run across it. Still need to reinstall it and give it a go...

Quarantine

Remember Quarantine, an old video game from 1994? Download it and play again on MyAbandonware.

www.myabandonware.com

Like a month or so ago I randomly recalled the name, Warlords III; an ancient 199X game husband/kids/and I had played many years ago (our kids now have their own kids now kind of years ago.) I searched the internets and boom there it was on Steam!! I've probably played 50 games since I found it again and I've literally been like, "Where have you been all my life?!?" heh Nostalgia

I've actually been meaning to pick that one up on GoG and play it at some point. I got it as a gift one time after writing a letter to PC Gamer and having it appear in the magazine; I was deep into my Counter-Strike addiction at the time, but I decided to try it and it seemed pretty cool; always wanted to try it out again.

I have books I wish I could find... they are harder than games as at least with games you can normally find pictures or videos to remind you. But you can't even rely on the cover of books to remember if you read them before (I have physically had the same book twice, just with a different cover... took a while to realise).

Books are definitely more challenging. I've taken to logging everything on GoodReads these days, so I actually do have a record of the things I've read; I might not often remember the content off the top of my head, but usually as soon as I see the title and book cover, the content of it tends to come back to me.