This article was originally published on Ko-Fi and may have been modified slightly.
Hi there! Questlog just got a bigger update. You asked for it and it’s there. Filters! Yes you’re right. What ist more important than a good search? A good search with some filters to narrow it down a bit. So I worked a few hours for you (and also a bit for me, because I was eager to find some more awesome games).
This is the first set of filters to help you find the game you’re looking for. It consists of six categories. Game types, platforms, genres, game modes, game themes and the release status. Let me break this down a bit.
Game types
This one is something that will definitely useful for you. I got much feedback that you can’t really find the game you’re looking for because it had a specific game type. This came down to a specific set of game types I defined in the background that filters things out for you. Forks, Ports and stuff like that was not visible in game listings before. This set is now only used for the search suggestion because there should only be main types in my opinion to find faster what you’re looking for.
With game type filters you can look out for specific DLCs for a game or searching for the current season of your favorite service game.
Platforms
This one is easy. You’re looking for a long running series like Final Fantasy these games were released on many platforms over the last 35 years. So you probably want to filter for the consoles you currently have (and while I write this, I’ve gotten a feature idea).
Genres
Genres are straight forward as well. You’re only looking for racing games? Go for it… or drive for it!
Game modes
This one was important for me myself. I combine this mostly with the platform filter. Show me all games that have split screen and are available on Xbox One/Series, PlayStation 4/5 or Nintendo Switch (Like this). This way I can plan a awesome gaming night with friends with ease.
Game themes
Not as important for me, but I have this data because I need it for filtering some types of game that would bring me in trouble to have them on Questlog. So I thought it was good to include this filter if you’re only interested in Drama, Fantasy or are searching for the next thrilling horror experience.
Release status
Nothing is more annoying than finding awesome games to play and realize that they aren’t released yet. So you’re able now to filter for the release status of a game. Or look what awesome new games will arrive soon.
This one will receive two updates in the future (no timeframe given). One is that you’ll be able to set a specific time frame you’re looking for. But a bit more important for me (but sadly also more difficult) ist to filter the release timing per platform. The importance of such a filter came to my mind after I bought the PS VR2 and… well most of the game are released already, but not there. So look forward to even more useful game data!
Sorting
I nearly forgot about sorting. This one was asked even more about than filtering. It’s there. The first filters are just names and release date but these were the most requested ones. I’m open for more suggestions!
Summary
So. This is an awesome time for me. Questlog now feels much more complete and I can finally pass a link to a filtered search to friends to show them some awesome games. Before that I had to create a playlist for this. I will definitely use the playlist feature in the future, but first (as mentioned on Questlogs Mastodon Account) the playlists will get a big update. Stay tuned for this. That will probably not need as long as this one.
More areas will be filterable in the future. Currently it’s just the game index, searches and every specific genre or platform page. But I see the need for some more areas.
Combined with the sorting feature the filters gave me an unexpected feature. I always planned to create a dedicated page for the two sections on the home page (Newest releases and next releases). But with filters and sorting combined I have these pages already. I love it when the creation of one features add functionality to Questlog that I not was seeing before.
As always here is the unfiltered changelog:
Changelog
- Added game list filtering and sorting for overall games index, search, genre listings and platform listings
- Added game themes to games and added filter option for themes
- Default filtering after specific game types removed from everything but the search suggestion
- Added badges to game listings so you always know if this a main game, a mod or a remake
- All Game listings now have an proper empty state
- Genres are now translated in German where it makes sense
- The game count for platforms is now counted once a day instead of being counted every time you visit the genre or platform overview
- Platforms that have less than 5 games are now removed from filters and listings to reduce clutter (They’re still accessible via direct links)
- Optimized database queries and remove caching for multiple views
- Optimized wording for several strings
- Optimized the styling for several areas of Questlog
- Linked the Newest releases and next releases to a filtered listing
- Fixed unreadable recovery codes for 2FA
- Added some missing german translations