Five Day Dictionary Challenge - "Save"

(Part two of a five part writing challenge!)

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"You can never save enough" -Jirard "The Completionist" Khalil

A very simple word, and very meaningful for gamers, bankers and theologians alike. (I'll admit, I kind of cheated when picking this word. It was the same page, though, so I'll let it slide.)

For decades, one of the most important features of a game is the ability one's progress, be it a platformer, text adventure or "visual novel." After all, games were longer and often had in-depth stories, unlike much of the quarter-guzzling arcade machines of yesteryear.

One of my earlier experiences with saving (or not, as the case was) involved my first major experience in console gaming: the Sega Dreamcast. We purchased it later in the lifespan of the system, and one of the first games I got was Sonic Adventure.

For a few weeks, we had not yet purchased a memory card for the system. That meant that every time I played the game, I'd be playing through the first few stages again and again. Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed the stages - but it was rather nice when we got the memory card and I was able to finally make forward progress. (What made it annoying was that cutscenes weren't skippable on the original...)

Still, one mustn't forget to save a lot, as the opening quote reminds us. RPGs in particular are a minefield for running into random encounters that could potentially wipe out your party; or crossing past "points of no return" in the story. Being able to save before major boss fights is a veritable godsend to many games, RPGs among them.

There's also "save states," as seen on most emulators, allowing one to save at any particular instant in a given game. These ones are dangerous, as saving at the wrong spot could ruin an entire run. (Plus, some people would consider it "cheating," of a sort!)

I haven't had any particularly gruesome horror stories about not saving, but what about you dear reader? Anyway, I'll sign off before this becomes a mere list of different types of saving and how great it can be.

And remember, you can never save enough!