Save Points

The one-sentence "definition" that should be in italics.

This pattern is a still a stub.

TV Tropes has an entry for Save Points.

Examples

Assassin's Creed series

Dead Rising

Tomb Raider series in console versions

Left 4 Dead series

Using the pattern

Can Modulate

, Collections,

A large part of designing Save Points is to choose when they exist. This may be as physical locations – in which case they either modulate or create Check Points – in Levels, or they can exist between Levels. When they do exist as physical locations they tend to exist in Safe Havens since this prevents players from creating Unwinnable Game States of the form where they will automatically die directly after loading the game state saved by a Save Point. Regardless of where they exist, players must move to get to them (by getting to a point in a Game World or by finishing a Level. By doing so, they do modulate Traverse goals and can create new Traverse goals since the Save Points function as Closure Points.

Save Points need to make use of Save Files in some sense. A general question for Save Points used in a game is it they simply save that a player has reached that point, only a part of the overall game state, or the complete game state. In the first case, the Save Files may simply only be Password Save Files but in both latter cases they need to be more fully-fledged Save Files, storing part or whole of the game state.

Permadeath,

Like in any game with Save Files, Save-Load Cycles are possible in games with Save Points but when using Save Points designers have control over where the starting points are of these, and can discourage Save-Load Cycles by making the distance between Save Points long and thereby raising the cost threshold for retrying something.

Can Be Modulated By

Goal Hierarchies

Save Points changes or makes Scores represent something different since players can go back to earlier game states and try to maximize Scores in a way not possible in games without Save Points (or Save Files). They are also difficult to combine with Multiplayer Games that do not have Cooperation since what constitutes a good Save Point can be difficult to judge.

Narration Aspects

From a narrational point of view, Save Points sets up a problem of maintaining Temporal Consistency regarding what happens in the unfolding story of a game compared to what a players knows and does if using Save Points to go back and redo parts of the game.

Consequences

Reaching Save Points can count as reaching (Traverse) closures, so the use of them can be seen as already creating Closure Points. Since the purpose of Save Points is to provide players with points from which they can restart later if need be, they also allow players to have Extra Chances.

Relations

Can Instantiate

Check Points, Closure Points, Extra Chances, Password Save Files, Save Files, Unwinnable Game States

Can Modulate

Check Points, Collections, Levels, Permadeath, Safe Havens, Save-Load Cycles, Traverse

Can Be Instantiated By

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Can Be Modulated By

Goal Hierarchies

Possible Closure Effects

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Potentially Conflicting With

Scores, Temporal Consistency

Multiplayer Games that do not have Cooperation between all players

History

An updated version of the pattern Save Points that was part of the original collection in the book Patterns in Game Design.

Acknowledgements

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