rewind morality

This note last modified September 1, 2024

How do you build moral systems in games if players can just rewind the consequences by loading a past save?

Undertale handles this by having saving be a diegetic part of the game that characters react to and comment on.

The Witcher handles this by having gameplay consequences be delayed. If a player wants to rewind, they’ll lose a lot of progress.

While not about morality specifically, some games like Outer Wilds or Slay the Spire handle it by having an in-game explanation of why the player character “restarts” after dying. (with Outer Wilds specifically disallowing saving and rewinding).