Another attempt to streamline their ballooning catalog and get games people are selling in front of players. Another mixed result.
I don't really want to tell Steam each and every game I am or am not interested in. Like Greenlight, it becomes a chore to decide what I do or don't find interesting and I think it makes all offerings look less interesting as a result. I don't read my community feeds as it is, so putting more shit there doesn't help me. Despite that, I feel like there should be something between "Not interested" and "Follow". Like "Meh, maybe when it's on sale." I.e. I'm neutral. But that doesn't help either, because to this system it's just another game I haven't made up my mind on.
There needs to be a better way to say no to any game they've recommended, without going to the "Recommended for you" list, or going into your queues. Like a widget on the banner graphic. Valve craves even more predictive meta data about what we'll buy and it seems like a part-time job to furnish them that information. Without actually watching demos, reading reviews or doing Steam-independent research. And in the end, I don't really want an algorithm dictating what I see and what I don't. A POS F2P game that just came out gets recommended to me because it has like, dudes and guns and murder? HOW USEFUL.
I appreciate they're reaching breaking point with how to equitably display titles, so new games aren't getting screwed by larger, more known games releasing and crowding them out. I'm not sure this is the way to do it though. I've always just browsed the top sellers list to get a sense of what's hot on Steam. That's more useful to me than this whole thing. And games that are good and should be played, I'd like to believe, get that reputation regardless of Steam. So I guess what I really want is a "Recommended for me" with wwwwaaaaaaayyyyyy smarter filters. The ratio of the Positive/Negative votes. A post-release window to search by (since very few games are worth playing right at release, for an adult.) Something more useful than tags to match my interests, which do not discriminate and are not regulated for shit.
I'm glad Valve is trying. But whatever they do should not be a chore to manage, and that's what it feels like right now. Also saying "Not interested" leaves me afraid that I'll start not seeing some games for that reason, and I don't really want Steam making that decision for me.