For a game, how many screenshots is too much?

I recently experienced an odd event when playing Unicorn Overlord. Along with covering the review, I was scheduled to hit a couple guides. A notice box that I had never seen before appeared at one point, probably in the fourth main section of the game: I was out of time to snap pictures.

It seemed crazy that I filled up my SD card in my Switch so quickly, given its size. I went into the settings and saw that I could no longer take as many screenshots as I wanted. For those who are curious, it seems to be 10,000 screenshots.

It seems that the 10k restriction applies to cumulative screenshots rather than a single game. It makes a bit more sense since I still have a huge collection of alternate screens for other Switch games that I've covered, such Tears of the Kingdom and Mario vs. Donkey Kong. (Or at least it does to me and my brainworms.)

It did, however, increase my awareness of how often I was pressing the screenshot button. It's much more than I had imagined. The snapshot-neuron in my guides-seeking brain did fire whenever I saw a rewards screen or a detail that I could find difficult to revisit, yes. However, I was also simply taking pictures of interesting artwork, interesting conversation, and striking fighting scenarios. Returning to my PlayStation 5, I saw that the same thing was occurring in titles such as Dragon's Dogma 2 and FF7 Rebirth . I was constantly and unconsciously pressing the photo button.

I recall the days when it was commonplace to take screenshots. When I was playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare with my pals in the late aughts, it was a huge event when someone received a gameplay recorder. He would post videos of himself doing one-shots and throwing knives kills on his YouTube account, simply to make us laugh at the ridiculous things we would do on those late nights of Search and Destroy inhouse.It's ironic to consider that, in less than five years, Nintendo's Switch and Sony's and Xbox's consoles would both have capture technology built right into the hardware. Additionally, PC capture become easy. Using apps like OBS, connecting to Twitch and sharing games has never been so easy. By college, I was logging League of Legends matches and Hearthstone Arena runs really easily.

Both of those scenarios seem a long way off from the present, when anybody can broadcast games from a console box and gaming PCs are becoming more and more common. I've said it before and I'll say it again: the Share button was the greatest influence of the PS4 and Xbox One generation. Not only do such moments appear better than mobile phone photos and off-screen video, but they're also simple to shoot and share thanks to the ability to take a screenshot without the need for extra gear. (Well, it used to be simpler for them to share on a certain website.)It's been a while since built-in capture was introduced, but for concerts without phones, the gap is narrower. I grew up loving seeing live performances. And there were simply enormous pits of people for a very long period. Subsequently, as technology developed, I began to see those raised hands as carrying more than simply lighters. smartphones, iPhones, digital cameras, and even portable Nintendo 3DS systems.I'm not particularly bummed with how everything looked before and after. These days, I'm not the Old Man Horrifying a Cloud. However, technological advancements did eventually drastically alter how we interact with media. People began wanting to film such moments, share them, save them, email them to their crushes, and brag a little bit online as live video and audio recording became more convenient. Video games experienced the same fate. And my Switch now has 10,000 screenshots.I had to repair my setup of Final Fantasy XIV over the weekend, and for a little while I was afraid I had lost all of my screenshots. Hundreds of photos, documenting my Warrior(s) of Light and their long journey throughout Eorzea. What made me desire them? It like a scrapbook, really. I should open it more frequently, but when I do, a wave of pleasant recollections sweeps me away. Big plot moments, humorous one-liners, and standing in front of cleared raids all bring back pleasant memories of my time spent in this virtual world., a screenshotTaking a lot of screenshots of Final Fantasy XIV seems to be encouraged by the game's sophisticated Gpose features. But the passion of capturing the ideal moment is now accounted for by a plethora of games. There are now several games that support the "photo mode," including Tears of the Kingdom. The whole mechanism of is built on its camera capabilities.Now let's return to the original question that prompted this whole discussion: how many screenshots is too much? Is it feasible to go overboard? Perhaps, but I am aware of the response my Nintendo Switch is providing. Furthermore, I believe that the whole ordeal has only increased my awareness of why .I capture screen grabs. Am I acting out of instinct? Do I want to keep this moment forever? To be honest, do I sometimes get carried away with trying to get the ideal photo of a character or setting because I know it would make a great article picture later? (That, I realize, is a challenge unique to game writers.)The screenshot feature, in my opinion, is very beneficial to the sector. It has, in my opinion, also profoundly changed how players see games. I always pause when I come across a new sight to see whether the lighting is suitable for a fresh picture mode shot. This may be a really fulfilling way to interact with a game, but in my experience, it can also keep me from appreciating the moment as it is. I have taken many pictures during cutscenes. It does frame my current perspective of the game, but it's not quite the same as looking at a concert via the iPhone viewfinder.