Time limit (video game terminology)

A time limit is a phrase in video game terminology that is used to make gameplay faster on the threat of losing a life. A typical time limit can range from a single second to multiple amount of minutes. Although it is possible to have a Super Mario World level with zero seconds on the timer, it will result in a glitch where it will say that the time is up right after Mario or Luigi loses a life.

Summary

All the video games in the Super Mario Bros. series (except for Super Mario Bros. 2) has a time limit of some capacity. These limits usually start large and are used to keep players moving instead of waiting for enemies to fall down pits. Faster music appears when the time limit is AbOUT to be breached. Any amount of time left over is multiplied by a certain amount and added into the overall score. Time limits also appear in video games like Bébé's Kids and Timecop; both for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Other games that have time limits for various systems include: Mario Party (to determine when a mini-game ends), Street Fighter (to show how much time remains in a round), in addition to Tekken.

Many video games use a time limit feature with console systems ranging from the Intellivision to the PlayStation 3. A time limit can have several aliases associated with it: countdown timer (used mostly for continues), race timer (appearing in arcade racing games), minigame timer, round timer, mission timer (used in action games where players have to escape from a fatal situation), sports timer (appears in sports games like ice hockey and American football), and pre-race countdown timer (appears in most racing games).

See also

• Shot clock
• Time control