BLML Concept
Proposal for a backlog recording standard.
This is an idea came with the realization of why I never kept a video game backlog: they’re pointless. They’re pointless because the reason for a backlog is that you are implied to have realized that you have bought to many video game titles and need to put into inventory. With this inventory you can then make a schedule, typically, to then organize time and resources to address the items of the inventory.
What are “Inventories”?
Inventories are merely lists of items of which then is used as raw data that will be categorized and divided of which then is applied for decision making processes.
As an example: in retail outlets for foodstuffs and goods, you have always the annual or bi-annual (sometimes quarterly) inventory counts where, after the tallies are made, the information is submitted and then is used for when the retailer has to make accounting decisions with their contracted vendors that provide for them the items that they need to restock their shelves along with the decisions that any regional office may decide to what items will be now regularly featured in the stores going forward. Other decisions are made also that are affected by the mere listing and counting of the items but you get the point.
What are “Backlogs”?
A “backlog” or “video game backlog” is nothing more than an inventory listing of the video games you own but have not played through. The very fact that someone has a backlog merely is making the statement that you have a) too many video games that you have bought of which you have b) have not started playing at all or c) have not finished yet.
The purpose of the backlog is to be nothing more than a reminder, either in handwritten, hard copied, or electronic form of which you use to remind yourself that you have effectively a “To Do” list to go through.
Backlogs Don’t work
The thing about backlogs is that they don’t work. They started for the best intention of being reminders but it can be said that they don’t help in getting people go through their inventories of accumulated video games, but instead they simply serve to overwhelm people and discourage them further from ever going through said list.
It can get to such a point where someone could say “oh I have backlog of 12 games or so and each are very large, have lots of replay value, and I only have so much time to spare, I may have to just use this list for excuse myself of playing video games that I’ve bought already.”
And the problem with such a statement or thought is that it begs questions: how much is “large” in terms of the average time estimate to finish the title? Does it mean “large” by number of content that’s available to play in the game? what exactly would mean for “replay value” because some games may have a “new game plus” mode while others don’t but have either multiplayer or are so good that make people replay the game all over again from scratch. And finally if excusing yourself from playing a game that you bought really be justified if you have spent more than five dollars but less than sixty dollars a few times over? It’s granularities that can result in some money lost at the expense of perceived savings in time.
Uniform backlog standard argument
If backlogs have been unhelpful as a result of the sheer volume recordings of the inventory partially thanks to seasonal, quarterly, and holiday sales by online video game retail outlets, where the rate of acquisition is higher than that of consumption (video games are completed as per intended designs), then there has to be some form of solution to make the job less daunting and that’s by having a uniform backlog standard in XML.
Uniformity and Communication
XML’s document and data centric nature allows for two things to happen: it allows for documentation of data to be possible, to be legible to humans and computers, and allows for so-called “Human-to-Human” (H2H) communication be made for making the process, in the case of BLML document usage, of decision making of what to play and what to get through first be not just a single person’s activity but a group activity as well.
A XML document meta data standard would allow for there to be some common form for documenting your video game list to share with others of which you can then communicate about anything related to shared list(s) and thus you have two things made possible: a uniform standard, and communication - between humans themselves, machines themselves, and between humans and machines.
All these things are areas that BLML has the capability of allowing to make possible.
“Finish Your Plate”
The point of BLML is to help people to effectively “finish their plate” and to help in reinforce the idea in being more discriminating when making purchases both in quantity and preferences. Because although there are people that already are very good at buying by sale prices on video game titles and have accounts that reflect the advantage taken from these sales to then, the problem still lies with time that may make the individual have to make the decision to choose to take on a finance loss in spending due to a decision made in consideration of time - BLML aims to help in preventing from people to get to that scenario.
Because though you may have a lot of video games to play, but the question remains if you have time to really go and sit through every single one? As there are times you will be stuck in a game and that will take hours upon accumulated hours to get through whereas some are easy to get through; a well organized and appropriately information rich list can help you consider your time, money and any other personal applicable factors for spending your time and money, and that’s really what BLML is concerned about.