Basic Trope: A video game threatens to delete the player's save data.
- Straight: After you rescue Alice, you can shoot her, causing her to call you out. If you do it enough times she'll say "Do that one more time and I'm deleting your save file".
- Exaggerated:
- Alice doesn't just delete your save data; she also deletes several important system files, rendering your computer useless (and classifying her game as malware).
- Several enemies exist that can shoot "Delete bullets", which erase your save data if they hit you.
- The game threatens to make itself completely unplayable.
- Downplayed:
- Alice causes your save file to revert to where it was an hour ago.
- Alice erases your save data, but the game is only 10 minutes long so you don't lose a lot of progress.
- Alice gives you an immediate Game Over (regardless of how many lives you had) in a game where getting a Game Over doesn't delete your save file.
- The game already has Permadeath and save points - meaning you will need to backtrack if you want to exit and retain your progress.
- Justified:
- Alice is a Fourth-Wall Observer, so altering game data is within her power.
- It is established that The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You, and all characters can attack you through the fourth wall by deleting your save data.
- Alice knows she's in a Roguelike. She just has to kill the Player Character, and the game's Permadeath system will do the rest.
- Inverted:
- The game autosaves very often, and makes changes to the system registry, so that even if you delete your save data, certain Event Flags remain active.
- You can get rewarded with returning to the last checkpoint you ever died at on that save file (even ones you lost after a Game Over).
- Subverted: Alice threatens to delete your save data, but she doesn't go through with her threat...
- Double Subverted: ...until you shoot her one more time.
- Parodied: Alice deletes the player as well.
- Zig Zagged: Alice threatens to delete your save file if you shoot her too many times. If you shoot her again, she'll admit she was bluffing, but she'll do it for real next time. If you shoot her again, a cutscene plays showing your save data getting deleted, but resetting the game causes your save file to return. However, loading said save file places you in an inescapable area, where Alice tells you you don't deserve to continue playing the game. But you can actually escape by resetting a few more times.
- Averted: Alice doesn't threaten to delete your save file, and actually admits that no matter what punishment she gives you, you could just Save Scum to escape it.
- Enforced: ???
- Lampshaded: ???
- Invoked: ???
- Exploited: ???
- Defied: When Alice makes her threat, the Interactive Narrator dares her to try it. An alarmed Alice backs off.
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: ???
Go back to Deletion as Punishment, or I'm deleting your TV Tropes account.
