Well, perhaps a bit OTT, but there is an issue here I think.
Not so long ago, you could play a game until you didn't want to play any more (For whatever reason) Save your current game, and later pick up where you left off.
Nowadays games seem to be more likely to work on a "Checkpoint" basis. I imagine this is down to the fact that many/most games today are oriented more towards on-line/Co-op game play where random saving by individual players would be difficult to accommodate,
The trouble with this is that if you need to stop playing, as single player (Which I prefer, have never played on-line or multiplayer) you either have to "Pause" or lose any progress since the last check point.
I find that it isn't always obvious where the last checkpoint was, if I have just got through a really tricky bit (EG Jumping puzzles) There is no way of knowing if I have reached a checkpoint or not and if I want to suspend playing without risking losing my progress, I have to pause.
The trouble is, Pausing doesn't stop the PC from still churning away with high CPU/GPU loads and using loads of electricity.
While I appreciate the difficulties associated with multiplayer, It would be nice, at least, if games devs would allow random saving in single player mode at least.
I would not be at all surprised if it isn't just me that pauses games for extended periods because of this issue, the "Global" energy consumption issues associated with this are not likely to be insignificant.
In a world where unnecessary energy consumption is meant to be frowned on, Computer games, being a heavy user of PC, and therefore electrical, power, should really be designed in a way that avoids unnecessary energy use wherever possible.
Not so long ago, you could play a game until you didn't want to play any more (For whatever reason) Save your current game, and later pick up where you left off.
Nowadays games seem to be more likely to work on a "Checkpoint" basis. I imagine this is down to the fact that many/most games today are oriented more towards on-line/Co-op game play where random saving by individual players would be difficult to accommodate,
The trouble with this is that if you need to stop playing, as single player (Which I prefer, have never played on-line or multiplayer) you either have to "Pause" or lose any progress since the last check point.
I find that it isn't always obvious where the last checkpoint was, if I have just got through a really tricky bit (EG Jumping puzzles) There is no way of knowing if I have reached a checkpoint or not and if I want to suspend playing without risking losing my progress, I have to pause.
The trouble is, Pausing doesn't stop the PC from still churning away with high CPU/GPU loads and using loads of electricity.
While I appreciate the difficulties associated with multiplayer, It would be nice, at least, if games devs would allow random saving in single player mode at least.
I would not be at all surprised if it isn't just me that pauses games for extended periods because of this issue, the "Global" energy consumption issues associated with this are not likely to be insignificant.
In a world where unnecessary energy consumption is meant to be frowned on, Computer games, being a heavy user of PC, and therefore electrical, power, should really be designed in a way that avoids unnecessary energy use wherever possible.
