Author Topic: Organizing Games  (Read 2098 times)

kypherion

Organizing Games
« on: June 05, 2018, 02:57:03 pm »
Any tips on organizing your physical games on a shelf to look nice? I'd like my shelf to look a bit better. I'll post a photo of it's present look later.
"Well, As The Philosopher Jagger Once Said, 'You Can't Always Get What You Want.'"





pizzasafari

Re: Organizing Games
« Reply #1 on: June 05, 2018, 03:06:29 pm »
Personally I keep them alphabetised and separate them by region and label to keep them somewhat uniform. I'll have my black label PAL games for a console first, then my NTSC games, then platinum/best of/etc PAL games, then any JP games. Shelves look pretty nasty otherwise so it's good practice.
If you want to conserve space games with shorter boxes look okay stacked up rather than lined up too. I've got my DS games stacked up on each other in two piles in a corner of the shelf and alphabetised, then on top of the shorter pile I've got my NTSC DS games lined up, they fit on there perfectly.



Re: Organizing Games
« Reply #2 on: June 05, 2018, 03:23:51 pm »
Alphabetical organized by date of system release

Agozer

Re: Organizing Games
« Reply #3 on: June 05, 2018, 03:48:59 pm »
I categorize by system, then genre and/or developer. Steelbooks, special editions, etc. have their own spot.

Re: Organizing Games
« Reply #4 on: June 05, 2018, 05:31:04 pm »
Hang a crap ton of fishing hooks down from your ceiling. Then drill small holes in each one of your games and hang 'em up on the fishing lines. Have you're whole collection hanging down from the ceiling. Alphabetize them and organize each letter section to be at different heights.  The higher the ceiling you have the better the results.

Re: Organizing Games
« Reply #5 on: June 05, 2018, 07:05:21 pm »
Hang a crap ton of fishing hooks down from your ceiling. Then drill small holes in each one of your games and hang 'em up on the fishing lines. Have you're whole collection hanging down from the ceiling. Alphabetize them and organize each letter section to be at different heights.  The higher the ceiling you have the better the results.
What about all the short people that can't reach, or when you stand up and poke your eye out?  I don't think you thought this one through.  For shame.  For shame.

kypherion

Re: Organizing Games
« Reply #6 on: June 05, 2018, 07:45:46 pm »
https://imgur.com/Gfv8nmZ

Couldn't figure out how to post a photo, here's my shelf.
"Well, As The Philosopher Jagger Once Said, 'You Can't Always Get What You Want.'"





ffxik

Re: Organizing Games
« Reply #7 on: June 05, 2018, 08:30:49 pm »
Wow.  Yeah that's pretty cluttered.  About the only thing I can think of is perhaps using more shelving units.  Looks like one for your hardware would work.  That would allow more room for the software organization.


I have Books, DVDs, board games, and video games on their own shelves.  It also takes up quite a bit of space.  I just organize by system.  Oh, and if you want your cartridge games looking kinda nice you can buy UGC's here,

https://www.mediashelving.com/store/universal-slim-combo-game-full-sleeve-full-case-100

Get retail or custom case inserts here,

http://www.thecoverproject.net/

If space is an issue then I'm sorry.  I'm at a loss.


Re: Organizing Games
« Reply #8 on: June 06, 2018, 01:03:58 am »
Couldn't figure out how to post a photo.

Click insert image (the little Mona Lisa) and place a direct link to the image in-between the [ img ]and [ /img ] brackets. If you can't find a direct link, right-click on the image and select "copy image location". That'll copy the direct link to your clipboard.

As for the advice on organization, I agree on more shelving or putting some of the collection in storage. No sense in displaying a collection when it looks cluttered, especially if it's not seeing regular use.

tripredacus

Re: Organizing Games
« Reply #9 on: June 06, 2018, 10:07:04 am »
Change the type of shelf. The shelf in that pic is a bookshelf, and is designed to hold larger items. I do not put games on bookshelfs because it leaves a ton of extra space. I only put games onto shallow depth shelves, either generic or ones designed to hold DVDs.

For wide depth/bookshelfs I will put large items, like PC big box, boxed peripherals, books/magazine, board games and/or action figures.

Re: Organizing Games
« Reply #10 on: June 06, 2018, 11:18:53 am »
https://imgur.com/Gfv8nmZ

Couldn't figure out how to post a photo, here's my shelf.


Ok, I see some familiar problems here...

1- Stop double-stacking! I know you're just filling in the space, but having a horizontal row on top of a vertical row never looks good. Either put everything horizontal (which will make pulling games out damn hard), or leave the gap. Which runs into...

2- Get more shelves! You absolutely have room to add more shelves into that space for better optimization. It'll be tricky, becuase it looks like you're using a small closet as your shelving & those aren't really designed for add-ins. If you're not willing or able to bust out the toolbox, look into monitor risers and dish holders- stuff like this, or this, or this... there's a TON of these, in all different styles and sizes. Measure your space & shop around.

3- Sort your things! I see PC games, then PS1, then consoles, then PS3, then books, then DS, with controllers scattered throughout... these are all different sizes! It looks weird!

4- Boxes! You've got a lot of loose controllers and cart-only games hanging out, and those all piled up tend to always look cluttered. Get a nice decorative box (or boxes) to put them in. It'll keep things handy & hide the mess.

If I could magically transport to your space & set that up my way... I'd put books on the top shelf (Since those are always different sizes, and the top shelf is the hardest to modify). I'd consider upgrading your manga to omnibus editions (to save space) and getting rid of vol. 1s for series you don't intend to collect more of.I'd get a box to hold your miscellaneous media (like the diskettes and the VHS) so it's not stacked up. I'd bring up the handheld stuff to the next shelf & add a shelf or riser into it so the DS cases could all sit vertically. I'd get a small box for the loose games & keep the handhelds up there too. The next shelves would be ALL games, starting with PC & getting a CD wallet for those loose discs so you can get rid of that mostly empty giant disc spindle. Then set up console stuff moving oldest to newest. I might put the PS1 games in a CD storage box to keep them in a front-to-back row instead of a side-to-side one. Saves space. Then, at the bottom, I'd put all the consoles, and a box or two holding all the cables & controllers. I'd add shelving wherever made the most sense.

Alternatively, I'd put drops on all the shelves under the books/handhelds to hold the consoles, then put the games underneath. I'd still probably put the controllers & cables into a box at the bottom, unless there was room on the drop shelves.


It'll take some planning, but that'll tidy up fairly well with a little effort.
« Last Edit: June 06, 2018, 11:22:53 am by hoshichiri »

kypherion

Re: Organizing Games
« Reply #11 on: June 06, 2018, 12:00:45 pm »
https://imgur.com/Gfv8nmZ

Couldn't figure out how to post a photo, here's my shelf.


Ok, I see some familiar problems here...

1- Stop double-stacking! I know you're just filling in the space, but having a horizontal row on top of a vertical row never looks good. Either put everything horizontal (which will make pulling games out damn hard), or leave the gap. Which runs into...

2- Get more shelves! You absolutely have room to add more shelves into that space for better optimization. It'll be tricky, becuase it looks like you're using a small closet as your shelving & those aren't really designed for add-ins. If you're not willing or able to bust out the toolbox, look into monitor risers and dish holders- stuff like this, or this, or this... there's a TON of these, in all different styles and sizes. Measure your space & shop around.

3- Sort your things! I see PC games, then PS1, then consoles, then PS3, then books, then DS, with controllers scattered throughout... these are all different sizes! It looks weird!

4- Boxes! You've got a lot of loose controllers and cart-only games hanging out, and those all piled up tend to always look cluttered. Get a nice decorative box (or boxes) to put them in. It'll keep things handy & hide the mess.

If I could magically transport to your space & set that up my way... I'd put books on the top shelf (Since those are always different sizes, and the top shelf is the hardest to modify). I'd consider upgrading your manga to omnibus editions (to save space) and getting rid of vol. 1s for series you don't intend to collect more of.I'd get a box to hold your miscellaneous media (like the diskettes and the VHS) so it's not stacked up. I'd bring up the handheld stuff to the next shelf & add a shelf or riser into it so the DS cases could all sit vertically. I'd get a small box for the loose games & keep the handhelds up there too. The next shelves would be ALL games, starting with PC & getting a CD wallet for those loose discs so you can get rid of that mostly empty giant disc spindle. Then set up console stuff moving oldest to newest. I might put the PS1 games in a CD storage box to keep them in a front-to-back row instead of a side-to-side one. Saves space. Then, at the bottom, I'd put all the consoles, and a box or two holding all the cables & controllers. I'd add shelving wherever made the most sense.

Alternatively, I'd put drops on all the shelves under the books/handhelds to hold the consoles, then put the games underneath. I'd still probably put the controllers & cables into a box at the bottom, unless there was room on the drop shelves.


It'll take some planning, but that'll tidy up fairly well with a little effort.



Good Idea! I'll try that when I have some free time later today.
"Well, As The Philosopher Jagger Once Said, 'You Can't Always Get What You Want.'"





tripredacus

Re: Organizing Games
« Reply #12 on: June 07, 2018, 09:50:02 am »
Hypherion's shelf seems pretty sturdy, but for any free-standing shelves, I put books on the bottom for weight.

kypherion

Re: Organizing Games
« Reply #13 on: June 07, 2018, 12:39:29 pm »


Here's what I got done with my free time. I'll get those small shelves later.
« Last Edit: June 07, 2018, 12:45:05 pm by kypherion »
"Well, As The Philosopher Jagger Once Said, 'You Can't Always Get What You Want.'"





Re: Organizing Games
« Reply #14 on: June 08, 2018, 10:56:26 am »
Much better! Now all that's really left is to get a box for the pile on the bottom. (Don't forget to go through it, make sure you need everything down there, & that there isn't a better place to put it.)

It doesn't look like adding shelves will let you get a space for 2 rows of DVD sized casing... you might consider just getting a small block of wood or foam to act as a riser for the PC games, so they sit slightly higher & it's easier to see what they are. (A low riser for spices would work too, but I imagine it would cost more.)