📋Summary

Enhance Big Box’s save state functionality by adding a visual save state manager menu that appears in the game list view. This menu would allow users to view thumbnails, timestamps, and options for each available save state before choosing to load, delete, duplicate, or start a new game.

❗Problem

While Big Box already supports loading save states, the current system lacks a visual preview or management menu. Users can’t easily see what each save state contains without blindly loading them, making the process less intuitive. Other frontends like RetroBat and Batocera offer a more polished experience by displaying a thumbnail and metadata for each save state, helping users make faster, more informed choices.

💡Proposal

• When selecting a game, provide an option to open a Save State Manager menu

• Display:

  • Thumbnail preview of each save state (captured automatically when saving)

  • Save date and time

  • Optional custom save name

• Allow users to:

  • Load a save state

  • Delete a save state

  • Duplicate a save state for backup

  • Start a New Game (bypassing all saves

This menu could be accessed via a new “Manage Saves” or “Select Save State” button when highlighting a game in Big Box.

✅Benefits

• Provides a more polished and user-friendly save system

• Makes it much faster to resume games from the correct point

• Adds confidence by showing visual confirmation before loading a save

• Streamlines save management without needing to leave the Big Box frontend