Backloggery: A Simple Backlog Tracker

For a very long time, I struggled with purchasing games and never finishing them. This is, of course, a fine way to play arcade-style games. Shooting games/STGs/shmups/whatever they’re being called today are played for score, and 100%ing them all is a fool’s errand to most. However, playing a different game while mid-campaign in another may become frustrating quickly; there was a time when I would feel frustrated for not making progress in Halo: Combat Evolved in weeks, having become invested in Blaster Master instead.

All the frustrations of having a large, messy backlog disappeared with the recommendation of the Backloggery.

The Backloggery provides a customizable, detailed interface for tracking all the games you own but haven’t beaten yet. It gamifies gaming by adding progression (or curse!) badges to your profile depending on your activity, providing an easy catalogue tailored for large backlogs and a satisfying feeling every time a curse is removed from your profile. Thanks to the curse badges’ small motivations, I gained the strength to finally beat several games that I had meant to finish for years but always struggled with. The Backloggery is a wonderful tool for adding extrinsic motivation while not providing too much pressure.

On top of its wonderful approach to motivation, it also allows simple customization of each user’s backlog pages, to add some personal flair to what would otherwise be a very samey site. It’s a nice touch.

Since its launch in 2007 its following has steadily grown and the new website design will undoubtedly simplify usage even further. If you’re frustrated with having several campaigns unfinished, it’s worth a shot.