Save Points
Save Points are locations where the player goes to save their progress in a GTA game. Because the player cannot save the game by simply accessing the game's menu, the use of save points is required for this purpose. The physical locations and accessibility of save points vary throughout the games. For example, in GTA III, the player walks into a building to save, but the building's interior is not visible. In GTA Vice City, GTA San Andreas, and GTA IV, the interiors become visible, and safehouses are introduced.
Safehouses are buildings where the user can save their game, and are a specialized subset of save points that offer additional amenities to the player. Whereas save points typically consist of no more than a floating save icon, a safehouse offers clothing options, and in many cases, garages for vehicle storage. In GTA Vice City, safehouses offer a change of clothing in addition to the save icon. In GTA San Andreas and GTA IV, safehouses offer a full wardrobe in which to change the protagonist's clothing. GTA IV also employs an auto-save feature after the player has passed certain missions or performed certain activities.
Save icons vary in appearance between games, and are reminiscent of the media used in time period in which the game is set. For example, in GTA Vice City Stories, the save icon appears as a 5.25" floppy disk, which was common during the 1980s. In GTA Vice City, the player walks into a floating pink tape cassette icon (indoors or outdoors) to save. In GTA San Andreas, the player walks into a floating 3.5" floppy disk icon. In GTA IV, the savepoint appears as a bed. Saving the game in all GTA III Era games and in GTA IV advances the time by 6 hours.
See Also