Organize my pc games

[BadulakheMagiko]

I don't know if this is the right place, but I need some suggestions.

I have my platforms separated in categories (arcades, computers...), so with my modern windows games (from xp to 11) I don't know if I should have some things like steam, mugen, pygame, scratch, rpg maker or powerpoint games (yes, I have one of those) as my own platforms in computers or inside another category I have for hacks, mods or ports (like GZDOOM, SonicRetro or Libretro ports).

I know this is very specific but I want to see how others organize their games in a sensible way.

[damageinc86]

I don't divide things like that up at all really.  My platform is PC Games.  So, if it is a PC game then it goes in there.  I don't really care about publishing platforms (steam, origin, etc.)  I would probably divide it up if I ever got into win 3.1 specific stuff, or the win98 stuff.  But it's just PC Games, and MS-DOS.  That covers everything for me. 

[BadulakheMagiko]

2 hours ago, damageinc86 said:

I don't divide things like that up at all really.  My platform is PC Games.  So, if it is a PC game then it goes in there.  I don't really care about publishing platforms (steam, origin, etc.)  I would probably divide it up if I ever got into win 3.1 specific stuff, or the win98 stuff.  But it's just PC Games, and MS-DOS.  That covers everything for me. 

And what about engines/systems that can be played in different OS like scratch or pygame?

[damageinc86]

Well what architecture/system are you playing the pygame on?  Mac, or P.C. ?  I guess it would depend on a few things for me.  If I have enough games to warrant it having it's own dedicated platform, I'd just make one called pygame.  If I only have a few games, and the particular game versions I'm using, were made to be played on a P.C., then I'd throw them under that platform.

Edited December 25, 2023 by damageinc86

[BadulakheMagiko]

20 minutes ago, damageinc86 said:

Well what architecture/system are you playing the pygame on?  Mac, or P.C. ?  I guess it would depend on a few things for me.  If I have enough games to warrant it having it's own dedicated platform, I'd just make one called pygame.  If I only have a few games, and the particular game versions I'm using, were made to be played on a P.C., then I'd throw them under that platform.

Yeah, makes sense, thanks I needed to hear what others could think! ^^

[damageinc86]

Others might think differently though.  I know a lot of people split everything up very meticulously.

[Sbaby]

I have always adopted this practice, but now I find myself in a problematic situation due to the multitude of available mods, each of which has several versions. Using additional applications or managing 'versions' is impractical. Often, it is necessary to create a dedicated port platform.

As an example, I created the GZDOOM platform with 300 games inside that are actually mods. Each of them contains videos, pictures and descriptions, similar to real games. Although this solution is excellent, the Game Discovery Centre is confusing due to the overabundance of mods. Furthermore, even in BigBox, by selecting 'All games', mods are mixed in with the games, creating an unpleasant experience.

In my opinion, there should at least be an option to clearly identify that they are mods, allowing them to be displayed in BigBox and Game Discovery Center, but hiding them in the 'All Games' category. In practice, there should be an opposite option to the current one: currently, it is possible to hide platforms in BigBox, but the games are still displayed in 'All Games'. An ideal solution would be an option that allows the platform to be displayed, but allows mods to be hidden in the 'All Games' section. In other words, only GZDOOM should be visible in the 'All games' section, indicating that it is a unique game. Access to mods should take place afterwards, avoiding the confusion generated by their equal display with other games.