Time Limited Game Instances

Games that by their design limit the time of any given game instance.

Playing a game is a commitment to participate in an activity. For those games played with other people or controlled by machines this may be a commitment on when to play and how much time will be spent on the game. To make it easier for players to make these commitments it can be good know in advance how long the game instance will be. Games can support this through being designed to have Time Limited Game Instances.

Examples

Space Alert is a weak example of a board game having Time Limited Game Instances. This since the first phase of the game has a strictly limited duration through the use of an audio track to dictate gameplay. The time needed to complete the second, evaluation, phase can differ but this is pretty much up to the players and they cannot affect the outcome by varying this.

The experimental game 4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness is won and finished by being the sole player running the game for 4 minutes and 33 seconds.

Using the pattern

Speed Runs

Time Pressure

Time Limits

Meta Games built on games with Time Limited Game Instances can quite easily support Negotiable Game Instance Duration on the meta level by simply letting players decide if they wish to play another round or not. Examples of games having these properties include Poker and Team Fortress 2.

The ability for players to perform Save-Load Cycles can destroy the presence of Time Limited Game Instances since it requires them to not make use of the saving and loading functionality (and thereby quite likely improve their results).

Consequences

Games with Never Ending Stories or those that are Unwinnable Games due to not having an end are not compatible with those having Time Limited Game Instances.

Relations

Can Instantiate

with Meta Games

Negotiable Game Instance Duration

Potentially Conflicting With

Never Ending Stories, Save-Load Cycles, Unwinnable Games

History

New pattern created in this wiki.

References

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Acknowledgments

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