A while back, I asked the community what they thought about "saving game".
- Anywhere, anytime? --> I wasn't convinced, since my game has horror elements and it would take a lot of the tension out of the gameplay.
- At a specific location? --> That could work, but since it’s an open-world, non-linear game where you have to collect items and solve puzzles… I felt that players would easily get frustrated if they died and hadn’t saved in a while. They might not remember which puzzles they had to solve again or which items they needed to collect…
Finally, I think I’ve found the key.
In my game, there are 4 variables that result in GAME OVER if they reach 5: Horror, Depression, Madness, and Injuries.
I’ve placed 5 save points scattered across the map (it’s quite large), and every time the player wants to save, they add +1 to Depression (obviously, any of the 4 variables can decrease with items, events...). The save points are places or objects that remind the protagonist of their past, filled with nostalgia and melancholy, so narratively it makes perfect sense for them to increase depression. This way I avoid unnecessary saving; the player knows it will cost them something if they want to save the game, and they’re never more than 3 minutes away from a save point.
What do you think?
