I'll Finish It One Day! Maybe...

 

See that Shadowy thing up there?

For those who may not know, his name is Lord Stanley Hihat Trinidad XIV.

Other than his name sharing the same as my country of birth, I’ve got a very special connection to him.

He’s my 1%.

When I was younger and without the means to buy my own games, video games purchases were in the range of maybe 1 to 2 per year in our household.

It meant that my time spent with whatever treasures I got were just that: rare, precious commodities that I coveted, re-played and became very attached to.

I never let a game pass where I did not pour over its story from start to finish.

Then one day and I don’t even remember what drew me to it (maybe it was a $20 price tag, maybe it was the name, or maybe it was the cover art) but I picked up a copy of Okage: Shadow King. And that was when all manners of devilish hell broke loose (pun intended? yes).

My track record went from being a 100% completionist to a 99%.

There was something about it I found completely frustrating (bad controls? Enemies constantly chasing me down and kicking my ass? I don't even really remember anymore) and I could not finish Okage.

I tried to go back and do it but as time went on, I acquired other things to pique my interest - Jak, Final Fantasy X - all things that were different and far more digestible at the time.

Now that I can afford to keep up and buy the latest consoles and games, I am noticing that I have become quite drawn to the idea of collecting. 

The mindset is that something shiny comes around and there it is for the taking! But I’ve got so much else to play, do I really need this? Hells yeah, I do! MINE!

 

And so the next sparkly thing catches my eye. And the next. And all of you are playing that next sparkly thing too, so...why should I be left out of that treasure hunt?

Collecting’s fine but is it really when I’m spending less time playing so much so that some days I look at my pile and suddenly nothing’s as valuable anymore? That spark of initial excitement when I first got it is gone. “What’s all this dust collecting on you? You’re...that much less desirable. This new diamond over here though...beaoouuttiifffuulll!!” 

Mind you, I still thrive to finish what I start but it’s become that much harder these days. My 100% has slowly but surely been reduced to an 80% if I had to quantify it somehow. Suddenly I’m no longer that proud person to say, “yeah I finished that one! It was great!” but I instead find myself saying, “Hey...um, yeah. So Ididn’tfinishthatonebutwillsometimesoon but whoa! Did you see that new trailer for...?!”

In one case it took me it took 2 and a half years to get back to Persona 3 after logging almost 60 hours my first playthrough, and by that time I just restarted the bloody thing and I’m happy to say I finished it and gladly so. 

In another, it took me 10 years to go back and tackle Final Fantasy Tactics after a week long rental and shamefully dying at the first board over and over again. But I finished that too a couple of years ago when I bought it and hell if it isn’t one of the best games I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.

So, I foolishly hold on to the idea that I will finish all that I’ve started eventually.

As for Okage? It might be that 1% stain on my track record forever. After all, I found that thing ages ago. It’s probably been re-buried to be found by someone else at this point.

But who knows what the future holds for Lord Stan? Who knows indeed...

"I'll Finish it One Day! Maybe..." originally appeared on Talk Amongst Yourselves on April 16, 2013.