Console Game Design 101

This post is for Bungie Studios, Epic Games, Ubisoft, and any other developer of console games:

Your games are epic. No, really. You guys develop some of the most amazing games out there and you should all be proud. However please note that no matter how spectacular your game is and no matter how well you polish it, there will be parts that will leave gamers scratching their heads over various design decisions.

For this reason, please implement a proper save feature in your games.

I'm sorry, but a check point system alone doesn't cut it. If the game doesn't check point after a part that the player finds hard and then they die, they have to do it all over again and this will often lead to increased blood pressure, ulcers, and Controllers thrown through expensive television sets.

There's also the chance of the game check pointing at an in-opportune moment just before a player dies, at which point the player either needs to be very lucky to get out of that mess or they'll have to start the whole level from scratch.

The Xbox and Xbox 360 Controller have that pretty, pretty Back button that's not used in Single Player Campaigns as of yet, which would make it ideal for a real save system, a Quick Save.

It's not a difficult concept, and since most games have allowed Quick Saving since before Doom in 1993, I hardly think there's a huge technological leap preventing you from putting one in.

Please implement a Quick Save feature in your future titles, or I'll have my doctor send you a strongly worded letter.

Thank you for your cooperation.