This is just me personally, but I've got a path like this for my games:

G:\Gog\Blood II (replace Blood II with whatever game)

And they're all installed under the Gog folder so they're in a nice neat place that's easily accessible for mods or anything else.

yes, i thinks this is a better way (like you did).

If you want to change .cfg (or something) - with default path - you still need every time "administrative rights" from windows 7.

I think i reinstall the games new WITH another path, like you wrote.

I never use the default path to install games. I have a Games folder on a separate drive and they go in there. I don't understand why the industry continues to use such shitty practices when it comes to installing and running games. It's like they haven't learned anything at all since the DOS era.

I'm pretty much the opposite, i install every single game to the deafult path.

I have installed all but one GOG to the default path (I had heard that installing Freespace 2 into Program Files will result in all kinds of unpleasantries). Modifying the files in Program Files is a pain in the ass on Win7, but I do that very rarely and I've a bad habit of cruising through installations without even paying attention to what's going on.

I think a separate folder with subfolders for games is better, though.

I have two folders, C:\Games and C:\Apps, where I install most things. The only things that get installed to the default folder are low-level stuff like Java, and Microsoft programs. I've had too many problems with the Program Files folders on Vista and 7 in the past, so I generally avoid them if I think there's a chance I may need to edit any files in the installation folder.

I do use the default folder, mostly because I don't really like the extra clicks needed to install to a different path, but I have given my user full access to the c:\Program Files (x86)\GoG.com so I don't have UAC problems.

I do not have Win7 but I've probably never installed any game in its default path. I prefer to choose \Games\ directory.

I detest vanity folders/paths by companies and always use my own games directory with just the games name eg. C:\Games\Blood

For software, I'm using the default paths... Every software I use uses either the registry or AppData, so it is all good.

Many games are poorly coded though, and still use their installation directories for storing stuff, so because of that, for games I use C:\Games\

The Program Files directories are covered by UAC in Windows 7 and Vista, so installing there is a BAD idea if you're planning on using mods. I personally go for C:\Games, but each to their own. C:\Games has the advantage that it has no spaces in the title and is less than the DOS-limited 8 characters for names, useful for older games.

I don't install any games in the Program Files folder anymore. That's where I put all the stuff that I usually don't mess with, tools and such. For games I have my own C:\games folder that I also use as the standard mounting drive for DOSBox and I have another folder GOG.com in it where I put all the GOG games, obviously. Not only does this prevent any issues with the UAC, it also gives me a clear overview over what games I currently have installed on my harddisk, all in one place.

(I hated it to have the games mixed with all kinds of others programs - some of which I didn't even know what they were for -, and in folders with the publisher's or developer's name instead of the game itself. Of course this may not matter to you much when you're not working with the Explorer as frequently as I do and if you don't care about the actual organization of your harddisk. Personally, I miss the times of Win98 when folders entitled "My Documents" actually meant they were *mine* to use and I had full control over it, instead of all kinds of programs putting their files in there, heh. [/rant])

Actually, most DOS games were perfectly happy installing pretty much wherever you tell them to, including directories that you can't delete and system directories.

It wasn't until Win 95 that developers started to get really stupid with things like that. MS deserves a great deal of credit for that by not providing an appropriate means of segregating and versioning DLLs from the start. And failing to provide appropriate user accounts.

I used to install things to a custom path, but I've given that up since so many of the software packages I've tried it with didn't like it. If I really feel the need to segregate, there's always Cameyo.
Which also means that if you get one that's infected with some sort of malware or poor coding practice that it's even easier to go from vulnerability to outright exploit.

That's what I meant. Developers had to then move onto Windows and don't seem to have figured it out properly, even after all these years and even though a lot of them are probably too young to even remember DOS.