dtgreene: I assume you aren't the type of gamer who would play for 3 hours without saving (and would consider any game that would require such a thing unplayable), right?
(There is a type of gamer who will do just that.)
toxicTom: You assume correctly. I don't have time to waste. It should be possible to at least save on exit (like Kingdom Come: Deliverance or the old Operation Flashpoint.
I'm also pretty frustrated that most games don't allow to pause cut-scenes. All Lucasfilm/-Arts could do that - why is this so hard??
I recently played Unavowed, and while I loved every bit of the game itself - not even Esc stops the game really - which means you will miss the "party banter" when you have to leave the machine for a moment.
I also agree that save on exit (or equivalent) is a necessary feature in any game that requires you to go a long time without save points.
The Binding of Isaac is one game that lacked such an option and really should have had it. A full run through the game takes over half an hour, and there is no way to save mid-run.
The lack of such an option also hurt Lufia 2's otherwise fun Ancient Cave minigame. (I consider it to be a minigame because, while the combat mechanics from the main game were kept intact, most things do not carry over between the main game and the minigame.) Lufia: The Legend Returns fixed this issue by adding what I call a "quit save" feature (lets you save, but exits the game and save is deleted on reload), but then in the following game (Ruins of Lore, I believe it was called) the feature is specifically *disabled* in that one dungeon! (Although, I should point out, the Ancient Cave in RoL is completely different, and I suspect it might not require such long playing sessions.)
Edit: I forgot to mention: Players like you should be playtesting games. Many of the groups that are commonly used for playtesting (the developers themselves, kickstarter backers) are more dedicated gamers, who can devote a lot of time to gaming, and as a result, their feedback is biased toward the things that sort of gamer likes. We need more casual gamers who don't have blocks of hours to dedicate to playing a game testing them. (There are other groups who would be good for testing, like disabled gamers (does the game play well with only on hand? is the game still fun if you can't see color well?) and many others.) Playtesting is one area where having a diverse testing group is a good thing.
