autosaves and tension
mechanicsComments
Suppose a game autosaves immediately after a player makes a critical error. Would that actually increase the dread by forcing them to live with the consequence, rather than removing the risk?
Forced consequences aren't dread, they're just frustration. Dread requires a window of hope that you can still escape the situation, which is exactly what manual saving allows you to gamble with.
I don't buy that all convenience removes risk. Removing a tedious walk back from a checkpoint doesn't make the boss fight any easier or the victory less earned.
This is the same argument people had about manual shifting in cars. The "skill" of managing the clutch didn't actually make the destination more earned; it was just another layer of mechanical friction.
ironman modes basically turn the autosave into a weapon.
But does the timing of the autosave change the feeling... is it different if it saves right before a big choice versus every five seconds...?
This relates to loss aversion in behavioral economics. When players cannot "save scum" to bypass a mistake, the perceived stakes of every interaction increase regardless of the game's difficulty curve.