Meaning behind Save system?

[alone in the town]

Sure, but the longer letter wouldn't require nine literal pieces of paper, either. The red square feels like more of an abstract symbol of the letter, rather than a direct, physical manifestation. The letter, itself, is massively important. It is the purported catalyst of the entire adventure, it (very quietly) hints at its own true nature as it degrades over time. I can see the expanded collection of red squares at the end to hint at the unabridged version of the letter which awaits, and that brings everything to a climax.

[Droo]

Sure, but the longer letter wouldn't require nine literal pieces of paper, either. The red square feels like more of an abstract symbol of the letter, rather than a direct, physical manifestation. The letter, itself, is massively important. It is the purported catalyst of the entire adventure, it (very quietly) hints at its own true nature as it degrades over time. I can see the expanded collection of red squares at the end to hint at the unabridged version of the letter which awaits, and that brings everything to a climax.

Hey, what happened to Ryantology?

[alone in the town]

Never heard of him!

[Droo]

He smelled funny.

[The Adversary]

So I took a closer look at the letter James receives.

The first page is eight lines long. Going by an approximate words per line ratio, at eight lines per page, with stylistic choices, there would be about . . . nine pages.

However, I still disagree that the save points are representations of the letter. I'm certain that's just a coincidence, considering how it's formatted at the end of the game.

Also interesting to note is that the first page of the letter does not include the word "there"—it just reads, "You promised you'd take me again someday."