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Will users see the timer countdown during Time Delays?

Mark Marino and Rob Wittig 9 years ago updated by Felicity Banks 9 years ago 5

Say, the preview version (in authoring mode) shows a countdown clock for Time Delays (which pulls us out of the story experience and kind of ruins short pauses in conversations that might only last a few seconds). Do player/readers see that clock or is that just for us to see while working on the stories?

In the Simulator, the Countdown Time is currently set to appear at 6-seconds. This is incorrect. It should appear only if a delay exceeds 20+ seconds. Otherwise you will see the ellipsis. This should be fixed in the Simulator by tomorrow (12/7). :-)

Okay, that's good to know.


Will there be an option eventually to turn the counter off? The reason I'm asking is that (thanking of Lifeline) it might be good for storytellers to be able to keep interactors in suspense.

I like this suggestion, since a lot of the fail conditions in my game just cause the user to wait for an extended period of time (to make them think that the victim is in danger.)

Interesting suggestion! I think our initial thoughts were to:


a) be friendly to the reader. Provide them with the fore-knowledge of when to return or expect the next piece of story.

b) keep an on-going "tether" to the reader. Not to "cut-them-loose" into an unknown time vacuum, but provide anticipation through a clear expectation.

c) build a TV series mentality, where the next episode appears with some regularity. e.g.: Look for a new episode of "Probable Cause" every Monday.


But I hear you! More options would be good. Please post this suggestion to the Suggestions forum also!

I read a thread on the IF forums that suggested a visible timer is essential in keeping the reader good-frustrated rather than bad-frustrated. I absolutely agree, since I found that even on my own simulator!