I wish all games would just let you save whenever you want to! Why is using checkpoints and auto saves so common?

At least add a quit and save option if you want to avoid save scumming.

These days I just want to be able to squeeze in some gaming whenever I can even if it’s just quick sessions. That’s annoyingly hard in games that won’t let you save.

I wonder what the reason for this is?

  • @Shikadi
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    711 months ago

    Kill enemy, save, make certain jump, save. Takes a lot of risk out of the game. I like when games let you save anywhere but if you restart the game or load your save you start in the beginning of a room regardless of where you saved from. (Like ocarina of time)

    • ono
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      1311 months ago

      Takes a lot of risk out of the game.

      Indeed. But on the other hand, the thing at risk is the player’s time, and only the player can manage it appropriately. A game that doesn’t respect that can quickly become a chore.

      • @Shikadi
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        311 months ago

        It’s a balancing act, artistic choice and such. Also depending on the company, it might be designed to increase engagement to keep you addicted

        • ono
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          611 months ago

          it might be designed to increase engagement to keep you addicted

          Perhaps, but that can just as easily backfire. A game that disrespects my time earns my contempt, both for it and for the people who made it.

          For example, I returned Red Dead Redemption 2 and now avoid Rockstar games, in part for this reason.

    • @Seathru@beehaw.org
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      911 months ago

      I liked on Postal where if you saved too often it would announce “My grandmother could beat the game if she saved as much as you do”

    • @Piers@beehaw.org
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      411 months ago

      That can be overcome by handling save and exit and continuing from those saves differently to normal saves (is have normal saves be possible whilst continuing to play and be loadable as many times as you wish until it is overwritten, but have “save and exit” create a seperate save file that is deleted after successfully loaded.) One type of save allows you to undo in game events, the other only allows you to end your session an resume it at another time.

      Does mean more work to do to make it work properly though.

    • BudgieMania
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      211 months ago

      I have to agree with this, for certain games limiting the saves is the correct answer honestly.

      Something like the Fear and Hunger series wouldn’t work as well with unlimited saves anywhere because a large part of the appeal is to have to struggle and power through horrible conditions, that would be lost if you could reload every time one of your pals got their arm cut off in a fight and stuff like that

      • hypelightfly
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        11 months ago

        This just reads to me as an excuse for people with no self control to ruin the experience for others. I you want to limit saves, no one is making you use a quick save feature but yourself.

        • some_guy
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          411 months ago

          That’s the reason for a lot of gameplay design decisions these days.

          Players have zero self-discipline so developers need to adjust their games so that players don’t optimize the fun out of them.

        • ampersandrew
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          311 months ago

          The medium is full of design decisions that measurably saved players from ruining their own good time.

      • Noxar
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        411 months ago

        I understand limiting saves to avoid savescumming. Not allowing you to save and quit whenever you want in Funger makes no sense though. I quickly installed a mod for Termina to suspend and resume the game because it’s ridiculous to have to play 3+ hours straight before being allowed to close the game.