Save scumming

Save scumming is a video game term which refers to saving and reloading until you get a favorable outcome. It's a very common tactic in games where you are allowed to save your progress at any point because it allows you to manipulate random events, retry a jump, or re-fight an enemy until you win without a set-back.

In general, I find save scumming to be a design flaw rather than a feature. Although I prefer to have the option over permadeath, games usually would do better to not allow it at all. In games where save scumming is possible, players often take advantage of it, and it replaces that game's challenge with tedium. It's often difficult to refrain from save scumming when death sets you back a long way, and this decreases the enjoyment of the game overall.

As a Game Mechanic

Some games rely on save scumming for the player to progress. For example, in Space Quest I: The Sarian Encounter, the player has to use a slot machine in order to get more money, however, a common slot configuration kills the player, so it is likely the player will die several times before winning the necessary amount of money. To continue in the game, the player is expected to save before using the slot machine, reload after each negative result, and save after each payout. The process is then repeated until the player has enough money.

Saving Yourself Into a Corner

Space Quest II: Vohaul's Revenge allows you to save the game even during a death animation.

One particularly bad side-effect to save scumming is saving your game in a state when there is no chance of winning. For example, in Doom, you can inadvertently save your game when an rocket is inches from your back, so reloading only kills you again. Even worse, games that feature hunger, or similar mechanics, might allow you to save your game far away from any food source with no hope of reaching them before starvation, but you won't know it until much later in the game.

To avoid having to restart a game due to saving yourself into a corner, you can use multiple save slots across the span of a game. Many games also help prevent this from happening by not allowing you to save when in imminent danger or during a sequence that is guaranteed to end in death. For example, in most Sierra On-Line adventure games, when the player beings a death animation, the save feature is disabled.

Game Examples

This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, but rather a list of the games that are important to me.

Title	Notes
Castle of the Winds	You can save anywhere at any time, and it's beneficial for saving money when identifying items and avoiding stat loss.
Commander Keen 4-6 and Dreams	You can save anywhere at any time.
Diablo	You can save anywhere at any time, and it's beneficial for saving money when identifying items and avoiding stat loss.
Doom 1-2	You can save anywhere at any time.
Half-Life All games	You can save anywhere and the game also frequently auto-saves for you.
Space Quest I: The Sarian Encounter	Save scumming is practically necessary at the slot machine.
Wolfenstein 3-D	You can save anywhere at any time.
Ys III: Wanderers From Ys	You can save anywhere at any time.

Avoiding Save Scumming

Designated Checkpoints

A save checkpoint in Final Fantasy VI.

Probably the most common way to avoid save scumming, and the method I most prefer, is to only saving at designated checkpoints throughout the game. This retains the game's challenge because players must successfully complete entire segments, but also doesn't force players to have to complete the entire game in a single sitting. This form of saving is used in games like Final Fantasy VI and Super Metroid.

Don't Allow Saving

This is certainly the easiest way to prevent save scumming, although this is undesirable in long games. Games like Blaster Master, Super Mario Bros., and Bionic Commando are fairly long without any option for saving.

Reloading Sets You Back

Some games allow you to save at any point, but don't let you restart the game exactly where you saved. For example, in The Legend of Zelda, the player can use the second controller to enter the save menu and save the game at any time. However, doing so takes you back to the game's main menu, and, when you reload your game, you will retain any treasures you collected, but you will not be returned to where you saved, rather the game's starting room. A similar system is used in The 7th Guest.

Automatic Save Scumming

Some games make save scumming less appealing by automatically saving the game in regular intervals, and then reloading when the player dies. Games like Shadowgate and Half-Life still allow you to save whenever you want, but since dying always takes you back to the last auto-save, you're never set back very far. Because of this, save scumming isn't really necessary, although it is still beneficial to reload when you take a lot of damage or waste a lot of ammo, but don't die.

Emulation

With the advent of emulators, save scumming has become possible on pretty much all games. You are able to save the state of the entire video game platform and recall it at any time, usually with the press of a button. Some of the more advanced emulators even let you rewind time by processing the game in reverse. However, I don't think of this as true save scumming because it was never intended, or even conceived of, by the designers.

Links

• tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SaveScumming - TV Tropes.