Time Pressure

Frame · Time modes temporal

Time is scarce – not as a mechanism (that would be a timer) but as a property of the world: in this universe it is never enough.

Design question – In your game universe time is fundamentally scarce. What does that make impossible – perfection, reflection, care? And what does it make exciting?

Reference example – WarioWare: one microgame after another, each to be solved in three seconds. Ubongo: the sand timer is running and the pieces have to go into the grid.

Associations

• Typical Activities – Rushing, Prioritizing, Improvising, Sacrificing (quality for speed)

Coherence

Mechanisms: Real-Time (as an implementation), Timer (as an implementation), Simultaneous Action, Speed Priority. Activities: Rushing, Prioritizing, Improvising, Sacrificing (quality for speed). Ludic Narrational Structure: linear narration (rapid progress), iterative narration (ever faster cycles).