A player hiding in a locker looks like they walked away: count playing time right

Horror games ask players to hold still, hide and wait, and a simple check for no input then marks the tensest moments as people being away. This entry shows how to count real playing time without punishing the moments the game itself asks for stillness.

Why this works

Doing nothing means different things in different situations: waiting while hiding is play, waiting while walking is a break. Giving each situation its own longest wait that still counts as play keeps both honest.

When not to use it

Not needed when no part of your game has a legitimate wait: one simple limit does the job. Also useless if you cannot tell which situation the player was in. Then keep one limit and say it is rough.

In the full entry

• What to build, step by step
• Starting values and the reason for each
• 3 common mistakes and the fix
• 24 lines of example code with 3 checks that pass
• How your AI shows you that it works

Say this to your AI

Use the Spielerando entry "A player hiding in a locker looks like they walked away: count playing time right" (read_entry horror-hiding-not-idle) in my game. Build it step by step, and show me how you checked that it works.

Or skip this and connect the MCP: your AI then finds all of this by itself.Connect the MCP