Outdated Gamer Lingo, How Saving Changed Everything

While graphics may be the most obvious change in video games over the years, some of the biggest changes have been in what we expect in games as well as what some of the oldest terms in gaming have come to mean. The advent of the home console and the transfer of games from the arcades played a part, but it was being able to save that really changed things.

Does GAME OVER really have the sting that it used to? Not when you consider how much technology has changed since the days when GAME OVER meant, “you suck, now put in more quarters you drool monkey or take a hike,” and everything you worked so hard to accomplish became wasted time.

Being able to save your game may have been a long awaited development in ancient gaming, but now it’s as standard as pressing START. Home consoles eliminated the drain of your quarter supply and the frustration of begrudgingly feeding the beast more quarters, but saving took away the finality of GAME OVER. Today, GAME OVER sometimes appears when you’ve completed a game, signifying that…well, that the game (or at least its story) is over. GAME OVER can still mean “you suck,” but you no longer have to backtrack and can improve without putting in more quarters, especially since you already paid 120-200 quarters ($30-50) for the game.

Saving has also eliminated the need for “extra lives” and the reward of the “free man.” It may have alleviated the stress and distraction of conserving your lives, but it also took away the joy and hope of earning an extra life. Now “extra life” might be how you refer to your MMO or Second Life account, and 1UPing, in a gamer vs. gamer capacity, has become an outdated term since the birth of “owning” and subsequently “pwning.”

Graphics, saving, and improved technology have lead games to be more cinematic in their storytelling and allowed gamers the freedom to pick up right where they left off. This is a direct result of the transfer into the home, as arcade games were designed to milk money out of gamers instead of a large payment up-front. Now game developers are about giving gamers more bang for their buck, and getting good reviews so people will buy their games when they’re new instead of waiting for the price to drop or buying it used—if ever.

If you’ve read this article then you know MMOs have merged the two payment concepts into one highly lucrative way to make money, and the success of WoW and the high anticipation of Wrath of the Lich King just shows how the ability to save your game has changed gaming.

Yes, being constantly asked if you want to save is annoying, but think about how lucky you are to have the option the next time you play say a Final Fantasy or Zelda game. Try playing those in one session.