I love a good Backlog clearing event, so I was happy to see something like this pop up. I'm suspicious though: where is the money coming from? There isn't a lot of specific information on the...
I love a good Backlog clearing event, so I was happy to see something like this pop up. I'm suspicious though: where is the money coming from? There isn't a lot of specific information on the site. It mentions this:
Thanks to the generous support of these developers and publishers...
Which makes it sound like it's being backed by some gaming companies, but it also says this:
Note: This event uses the public Steam API to access your Steam library and player metrics for the purposes of this fundraiser and this fundraiser only.
That makes sense because access to our profiles is what lets the system know we're actually playing the specific backlog games, but it also makes it feel like I'm "paying with my data" and the point of the event is to harvest information on players, their profiles, and their habits, with charity being a nice cover story to pay for that information.
If anyone has any insight into this event and its specifics, let me know. While I'd love to participate, I'm going to sit out for now until I have some more clarity on how it works. Also, if there's an appetite for this sort of thing but in a more privacy-friendly capacity, I'm happy to roll another Backlog Burner event for Tildes specifically.
I spent some time with No Kid Hungry to help promote this event, and asked the same questions. The money comes from donations through Tiltify. Livestreamers or other content creators can create...
I spent some time with No Kid Hungry to help promote this event, and asked the same questions.
The money comes from donations through Tiltify. Livestreamers or other content creators can create Tiltify campaigns to encourage their audience to donate while they play through their backlogs. For the rest of us, it's just to raise awareness, and to participate to make the event more engaging. It would always be helpful to promote through other social channels though (such as you've done here, on Tildes).
The point system isn't to harvest any data, it's just the mechanic for the event. It's honestly pretty easy to game if you really wanted to, but I think it's just an excuse to have fun with some faux-competition.
It is a real charity, and they've done other focused promotions to try to reach people before. You can find them on CharityNavigator under the name Share Our Strength.
How does the Backlog Burner work? Might be interested, as I'm currently working through my Switch backlog. And "privacy-friendly" anything definitely gets an upvote!
How does the Backlog Burner work? Might be interested, as I'm currently working through my Switch backlog. And "privacy-friendly" anything definitely gets an upvote!
The last two Backlog Burners have been designated months where I posted a weekly thread where people can talk about the backlog games they tried out or played. It didn’t have any charity or...
The last two Backlog Burners have been designated months where I posted a weekly thread where people can talk about the backlog games they tried out or played. It didn’t have any charity or leaderboard components at all — everybody participated entirely on their own terms. They were super simple, and privacy-friendly in the sense that they only took place on the site here and each participant chose what to share (including sharing nothing at all).
I’m currently leaning towards running another one in August.
So, for the last Backlog Burner I ran, I made the mistake of putting it alongside a big game release (Lost Ark) and that ate into a lot of the interest in the event because people were too busy...
So, for the last Backlog Burner I ran, I made the mistake of putting it alongside a big game release (Lost Ark) and that ate into a lot of the interest in the event because people were too busy playing that to hit up backlog games. I realized when looking at August that we'd be going up against Baldur's Gate 3, while September has Starfield.
October would be a good month, but I run a different event called Timasomo over in ~creative, and I don't want to conflict with that either. I'm thinking November is now our best bet. That month has Persona 5 Tactica and the Super Mario RPG remake coming out, but those don't release until mid-month, and I also don't think they have the same appeal for the Tildes audience that BG3 or Starfield do.
So, at present, it's looking like November is a sure thing for another Backlog Burner. I didn't want to leave you (or anyone else) hanging and waiting around for it.
Sounds interesting, but I always wonder about the point of these sorts of things, like unless you're actually donating money to something, what are you actually doing to help? Is it just...
Sounds interesting, but I always wonder about the point of these sorts of things, like unless you're actually donating money to something, what are you actually doing to help? Is it just virtue-signaling and humble-bragging?
I had started up an effort to at least play through my backlog a year or two ago, going through my backlog of unplayed games chronologically (oldest games first) to at least say I had "played" all the games in my library, if only to install it, play for 5 minutes, call it done, then move on. I got sidetracked by Chrono Trigger however and hadn't gotten around to getting back into the effort yet.
I think it's an event mostly meant for streamers, and groups of friends/family, designed to drive donations to the cause. Think of it similar to a charity marathon where someone you know...
I think it's an event mostly meant for streamers, and groups of friends/family, designed to drive donations to the cause. Think of it similar to a charity marathon where someone you know participates in the run, and you pledge to donate because of their efforts.
I love a good Backlog clearing event, so I was happy to see something like this pop up. I'm suspicious though: where is the money coming from? There isn't a lot of specific information on the site. It mentions this:
Which makes it sound like it's being backed by some gaming companies, but it also says this:
That makes sense because access to our profiles is what lets the system know we're actually playing the specific backlog games, but it also makes it feel like I'm "paying with my data" and the point of the event is to harvest information on players, their profiles, and their habits, with charity being a nice cover story to pay for that information.
If anyone has any insight into this event and its specifics, let me know. While I'd love to participate, I'm going to sit out for now until I have some more clarity on how it works. Also, if there's an appetite for this sort of thing but in a more privacy-friendly capacity, I'm happy to roll another Backlog Burner event for Tildes specifically.
I spent some time with No Kid Hungry to help promote this event, and asked the same questions.
The money comes from donations through Tiltify. Livestreamers or other content creators can create Tiltify campaigns to encourage their audience to donate while they play through their backlogs. For the rest of us, it's just to raise awareness, and to participate to make the event more engaging. It would always be helpful to promote through other social channels though (such as you've done here, on Tildes).
The point system isn't to harvest any data, it's just the mechanic for the event. It's honestly pretty easy to game if you really wanted to, but I think it's just an excuse to have fun with some faux-competition.
It is a real charity, and they've done other focused promotions to try to reach people before. You can find them on CharityNavigator under the name Share Our Strength.
That’s very helpful. Thank you Wes!
I misunderstood the setup and thought that the point system auto-generated donations. This makes a lot more sense.
How does the Backlog Burner work? Might be interested, as I'm currently working through my Switch backlog. And "privacy-friendly" anything definitely gets an upvote!
The last two Backlog Burners have been designated months where I posted a weekly thread where people can talk about the backlog games they tried out or played. It didn’t have any charity or leaderboard components at all — everybody participated entirely on their own terms. They were super simple, and privacy-friendly in the sense that they only took place on the site here and each participant chose what to share (including sharing nothing at all).
I’m currently leaning towards running another one in August.
Alright, I'll keep an eye out in August then. (Or if there's anything I can help with, I'd be happy to lend a hand.)
So, for the last Backlog Burner I ran, I made the mistake of putting it alongside a big game release (Lost Ark) and that ate into a lot of the interest in the event because people were too busy playing that to hit up backlog games. I realized when looking at August that we'd be going up against Baldur's Gate 3, while September has Starfield.
October would be a good month, but I run a different event called Timasomo over in ~creative, and I don't want to conflict with that either. I'm thinking November is now our best bet. That month has Persona 5 Tactica and the Super Mario RPG remake coming out, but those don't release until mid-month, and I also don't think they have the same appeal for the Tildes audience that BG3 or Starfield do.
So, at present, it's looking like November is a sure thing for another Backlog Burner. I didn't want to leave you (or anyone else) hanging and waiting around for it.
Makes sense. Thanks for letting me/us know!
Streamers sign up as creators with them to drive donations, and I assume sponsors contribute based on points earned is what I gleaned from the page.
Sounds interesting, but I always wonder about the point of these sorts of things, like unless you're actually donating money to something, what are you actually doing to help? Is it just virtue-signaling and humble-bragging?
I had started up an effort to at least play through my backlog a year or two ago, going through my backlog of unplayed games chronologically (oldest games first) to at least say I had "played" all the games in my library, if only to install it, play for 5 minutes, call it done, then move on. I got sidetracked by Chrono Trigger however and hadn't gotten around to getting back into the effort yet.
I think it's an event mostly meant for streamers, and groups of friends/family, designed to drive donations to the cause. Think of it similar to a charity marathon where someone you know participates in the run, and you pledge to donate because of their efforts.