How many save files do you use?

[Kuroneko_rg]

I'm in the process of remaking the save and load screens of my game, and I started to wonder how much save slots should I make.

I saw that most Visual Novels have very large amount of file slots. I however, never used a lot.
The max amount of save files I used is a full page in Fate/Stay Night (Which is 20 or 25 I think).

I was planning to make 30 to 50, but I wanted to ask:

How many save slots do you spend in a Visual Novel and in what Visual Novel did you spend the most?

[Destiny]

Depends on the game ôo
I sometimes get tired with following one path, so I often start a new game in the middle and follow the first one later.
I also tend to sometimes save just before/at at nice CG, when there is no CG Gallery or a file where the art is in, just to find it easily (something I did with Final Fantasy cutscenes too xD).

So I guess, when the game is complex, I often use up to 2-3 pages of save slots.
But (without wanting to be rude) many games here aren't that complex.
It's often more like "Three choices and all sound fine... WHICH ONE SHOULD I TAKE?!" resulting in me saving before every second choice to test out what happens.
But that often takes just one page, maybe a additional second half.

So, yeah, when I first used Ren'Py I was also almost shocked about the amount of slots xD
Considering with the additional slots from the Q.Save, there are a hell of slots there for players to rampage ^_^

[papillon]

I've known magical diary players who were happy to discover that the game would actually let them keep adding more saves long past the listed number of slots if they kept hitting 'next page'. But it is RATHER more complicated than most!

[sake-bento]

I tend to only use one, since I'm the type of person who likes to follow through with my choices (no matter how bad they are), but if the game is really frustrating (i.e. the choices don't always lead to logical endings), I might go up to six or seven slots. However, I share my computer with other people, so the total number of saves on any given game and go up to twenty or so.

[nyaatrap]

I never use the 2nd page because one more clicking before saving/loading is waste of time. To be hornet, if a game requires many save slots, I think this game design is something wrong.

[papillon]

I'm not sure how a game would actually require many save slots, unless you mean in the case of something like really old adventure games where it was possible to put the game into an unwinnable state and not find out until much later? (the old Save Early, Save Often motto)

But many people *want* to make multiple saves, especially in a longer game. Maybe they want to be able to replay their favorite part of the story, or easily go back to a key scene to check it for clues. Some people save at every single choice because they want to be able to easily jump back and make a different choice if they change their minds later. In games with character creation, at the very least many players are going to keep separate saves for each character.

I don't see a reason to stop a player from doing something that they want to do. If there are next page / previous page buttons, people can make as many saves as they feel like making. It shouldn't be necessary to work out an exact number of save slots that is 'appropriate' and limit people to that.

[nyaatrap]

I'm not sure how a game would actually require many save slots, unless you mean in the case of something like really old adventure games where it was possible to put the game into an unwinnable state and not find out until much later? (the old Save Early, Save Often motto)

One is what you're mentioned. the other case is if games lack replay functions (event playback, gallery mode e.t.c.).

[ShippoK]

Only time I ever use a whole bunch of saves spots if when they give you the choice to type in a little side-note into them. I always find it fun to type in silly things into the save slots and look back on them later for some laughs.

Other then that, I tend to just save whenever there's a choice you have to pick during the story, which tends to give up 2-3 slots in all. Sometimes even more, specially if I'm all confused and can't figure out which branch leads to the darn plot point.

If it's choice heavy with many branch points, the more save slots the better I say.

[silenteve]

I save at every choice. EVERY choice. Even the insignificant ones. So, depending on the amount of choices given during one run-through, I may run out of save slots pretty soon but it hasn't happened yet.

[Destiny]

I'm not sure how a game would actually require many save slots, unless you mean in the case of something like really old adventure games where it was possible to put the game into an unwinnable state and not find out until much later? (the old Save Early, Save Often motto)

Didn't even have to be that.
But there are just some games, that are winnable, but really hard.
As a "light" example: Do you know "My Candy Love"?
The character Castiel there is REALLY hard, since he dislikes nice as well as unfriendly answers. With lots of exceptions throughout the game.
The problem is, that there are no saves, you can only repeat the whole episode if you sucked. So for a character like this MANY people would love to be able to save before every answer.

A game where I also had problems was RE:Alistair.
Since I always feared, that on THAT one day I'm going to the mall something will happen at the computer club. So I save, go to the computer club, if nothing happens, then I can go to the mall. Add that with some strange behaviour that some people also simply dislike overwriting their save slots and - TADA

[KalaCansado]

Ummm....first I will see if the game have event review or not, if there's, I think I will save less for a large number...I will just save the part I like or the beginning and ending of different route.
But if not, I will also save at every event and every choice point, just afraid that I choose the wrong choice and get the different route.
So in conclusion for me I think I always used at least 3 page of saving slot.....which is 30-50 is enough for me ^^

[azureXtwilight]

I save at every choice. EVERY choice. Even the insignificant ones. So, depending on the amount of choices given during one run-through, I may run out of save slots pretty soon but it hasn't happened yet.

This is me. The thing that infuriates me in Cinders is the lack of save slots when there are TONS and TONS of choices coming ahead.

[DragoonHP]

Depends on how many choices a game have cause I save at every single choice :-p (And most of the time, after completing one route, I start from the beginning; I don't even know why I save at every choice so obsessively)

[Kuroneko_rg]

Thanks a lot for the info everyone. I'll stuck with 50 files by now.