Nintendo Okie

There was a time in history when games couldn’t be saved.  I remember hearing about people that would leave there NES running over night so they could come back and play later.  All that was required was a fan to keep the system from overheating.  Technology has advanced quite a bit since then.  Not only can you save your progress, the game will usually do it for you.  Some games even allow you to save no matter where you are.  This is a nice feature that allows game players to stop whenever they need to.  So why don’t all games take advantage of it? 

At this point, why can’t we save our games whenever we want?  If I want to save in the middle of a boss fight I should be able to right?  Sure games are supposed to be immersive but sometimes the phone rings or the FedEx guy shows up.  People have busy lives and the easier it is to drop in and out of games, the more likely we will play them.  Basically these are quick saves that PC players have been familiar with for a long time.  The first game I played with quick saving was Shogo: Mobile Armor Division on my dad’s old work laptop.   I was having a hard time on one level when by mistake I pushed a wrong button and the game saved.  Once I discovered this system of quick save/load, the game became much easier.  I was able to memorize where enemies came from and when they attacked.  The next game I remember playing with a quick save was Oddworld: Abe’s Exoddus for the PlayStation.  Now I wouldn’t say quick saving took the fun out of these games but it definitely lead to me exploiting some of the game’s programming.  Ultimately, I played both games to completion and I was able to avoid repeating some tedious sections due to quick saves.  Still, I can’t help but feel that I cheated those games somehow.  I feel like my completion of the quick save-less Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee is more of an accomplishment when compared to Abe’s Exoddus. 

Perhaps this restless feeling stems from my love of franchises like Metroid and Resident Evil.  Every Metroid game, with the exception of the NES version, has used save rooms.   All but the most recent RE games used save rooms and ink ribbons.  In these situations I felt more like I was earning my save.  With ink ribbons being scarce in RE, I will usually play through a section twice before I save to make sure I don’t waste ammo.  I know that by simply playing a game, I am earning the advancements I make.  Likewise, I shouldn’t feel like I need to play each section of a game twice in order to be successful.  So why am I more proud of beating Resident Evil than I am of Halo?  Saving whenever I want should always be an option right?  Maybe not.  If I was able to save anywhere in RE games, it would take away a sense of tension that makes the games so immersive.  I think it boils down to this.  The less the penalty for dying in a game, the less the satisfaction you will feel for completing it.  This was a popular complaint in the 2008 game Prince of Persia.  

Another thing to note, when these games are being developed, designers have an idea of how they want us to experience their game.  Aspects like controls, level design, etc. are painstakingly worked and reworked until they feel the proper experience will be portrayed.  Is it greedy of us to immediately demand that we shouldn’t have to run to a save room?  I don’t think so, but there is a sense of give and take between the games developers make and the games we end up playing.  If every game played exactly how you wanted, the variety of difference between them would be erased and after a while there would be no point in playing them. 

Looking back on it now, it’s hard to imagine a game without save files.  Simply because we couldn’t save our game, most players from my generation can play world 1-1 of Super Mario Bros. with their eyes closed.  I still remember my brother’s system for writing down Metroid codes (pen for upper case, pencil for lower case).  Thank goodness we don’t have to leave systems running over night anymore.  Some of these systems get super hot.  It would take more that a fan to keep it from burning down your house.