Knowing absolutely nothing about how video game save states work, I came up with a rudimentary theory.
Basically, with respect to save states, there are a variety of data points, such as level, score, inventory, etc. When it comes to accomplishments, though, these cannot as easily be represented as a score (or can it!?).
So that got me thinking: there are effectively three levels of accomplishments in games: linear, tiered, and free.
Representing linear accomplishments is easy. You assign a number to each accomplishment such that each successive accomplishment follows its predecessor numerically. Hence, if you record "3" as the accomplishment value, it assumes that 2 and 1 have thus been completed. Boring.
Tiered are a little like linear, except that there are more. Now, I'm not suggesting my methodology as being the best (it's more for a conveyance of ideas than anything else), but you would have a set of accomplishment series, A, B, C, etc., and then each series would have a set of linear accomplishments. Thus, B-4 assumes B-3, but does not assume A-anything. So forth.
Free, though, are a bit trickier. They are totally unrelated. 2 does not presuppose 1, and so forth. Well, in my methodology, there is no one, or it doesn't mean anything. For free, you keep an accomplishment number, and for no accomplishments, you have a value of 1. Each accomplishment has some prime number associated with it, and with each accomplishment, the accomplishment number becomes itself multiplied by the new accomplishment. Thus, to figure out the accomplishments, one merely needs to do a prime factorization. Or in instances that ask "Is accomplishment x fulfilled?" it's simply a modulus operation.
I'd be interested in other save state insight, if anybody would care to provide their own. Also, please feel free to give critique to my ideas.
