Elimination of the Safetynet

Summary: A type of vulnerability that affects the game's Save system, forcing the player to be careful with the decisions they make.

Pattern Description

This pattern targets the mechanisms intended to protect player progress. It introduces fragility into the save system, either by making the player character vulnerable during the act of saving or by putting the save file itself at risk of deletion. It requires players to heighten their caution, as failure to manage these vulnerabilities can lead to a significant loss of invested time.

Interaction Design Implications

• Vulnerability: Leaves the playable character exposed to surprise attacks, creating panic and negative effects if a defeat occurs during the save process.
• Risk of Loss: Forces the player to risk losing all time invested in the game session.
• Increased Difficulty: Significantly heightens the challenge by removing the safety net of progress recovery.
• Player Frustration: The manual requirement for saving or the deletion of files can lead to high frustration if the player is suddenly defeated.

Usage

To Be Determined

Examples

• 3 Seconds to Save: Five Nights at Freddy’s (2014); Security Breach (2021); Alien Isolation (2014)
• The Game Deletes the Save File: Banjo-Kazooie (1998); Batman: Arkham Origins (2013); Nier Replicant (2010); NieR: Automata (2017); ZeroRanger (2018)
• No Saving the Game: Amnesia: The Dark Descent - Justine (2011); Battletoads (1991); Five Nights At Freddy's Security Breach (2021); Hollow Knight (2017); ICO (2001); Ori and the Blind Forest Definitive Edition (2015); System Shock 2 (1999); Witch's House MV (2018); Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus (2017)
• No Auto-Save: No specific digital game examples were found during the investigation.

Metadata & Relations

Heuristic Violations
Sub-patterns	* 3 Seconds to Save: The game forces the player to save at specific locations and wait for a 3-second animation to finish. This can alert enemies or leave the character vulnerable to attack during the process. The Game Deletes the Save File: The game may erase the player's entire progress as a punishment for using cheats or as a requirement to reach a specific ending. No Saving the Game: The game prevents progress from being saved entirely, resulting in a "Game Over" if the character is defeated once. It may apply to the whole game, specific sections, or high-difficulty modes. No Auto-Save: The game does not contain an automatic progress saving system, forcing the player to save manually at all times.
Related Patterns	To be Determined.
Source	Correia, Vanessa Filipa da Silva. 2022. “Explorando fricção estética por dread: desenvolvimento de uma visual novel.” masterThesis. [1].
License	CC BY 4.0

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