If you follow me elsewhere, you know I value ethical and universal design. You should want to keep playing a game because it's fun or rewarding, but not because it's addictive or trying to get something from you (like your money, data, etc). I've been replaying the Metal Gear series and was struck by the characters breaking the fourth wall, telling the player to take a break. This caused me to look into what other games out there do similarly and why.
Here is how I have grouped games with mechanics that encourage taking a break so far:
These are games fall into two categories for me:
Mechanism: A real-time clock governs daily activities. Similar to what I talked about in my Sunlight post.
Why I think it matters: Certain events only occur at specific times or days, encouraging short, daily sessions and disincentivizing binge play.
Mechanism: A 400-day countdown runs in real-time, even when you're not playing.
Why I think it matters: The game literally requires you to wait days or weeks for certain actions or changes to occur (like stalactites falling), creating a slow-burn narrative tied to idleness and patience. The gameplay also reminds me of my life.
Mechanism: Limits the number of training tasks you can do each day.
Why I think it matters: Reinforces the idea that short, daily mental workouts are better than marathon sessions. I had tried Elevate years ago as well and while it didn't have training blocks like this at the time I could see my performance decline the more I tried to do.
Mechanism: Very chill vibes paired with real-time flower growing.
Why I think it matters: Means you can only do so much before you put things down and come back later, disincentivizing binge play like Animal Crossing does.
Mechanism: "Leveling up on borrowed time."
Why I think it matters: I recently learned about the TTRPG Errant and its concept of "Leveling up on borrowed time." Errant basically reimagines downtime as a self-perpetuating adventure generator. Players invest in businesses, train skills, or craft gear during downtime turns, but a random money-wasting phase often leaves them in debt. This debt blocks XP gain until cleared, pushing parties to take riskier jobs for quick cash—a feedback loop that organically creates urgency. And that's pretty damn intriguing to me. Now I want to play Errant.
These are games that specifically suggest breaks for your well-being:
Mechanism: Periodic on-screen reminders to stop and stretch or hydrate.
Why I think it matters: I get the vibe that Nintendo just didn't want to get sued due to someone hurting themselves, but it was formed in a fun and considerate way.
Mechanism: Characters break the fourth wall and encourage the player to take breaks.
Why I think it matters: It’s a narrative twist and a kind of meta-commentary on obsession and control that adds to the overarching narrative. It's also hilarious.
Mechanism: Gentle pacing, emotionally heavy themes like death encourage the player to take a breather, and there's no pressure to progress quickly.
Why I think it matters: Encourages emotional breaks between sending spirits on their way. That's a game trying to really consider a heavy topic. Also, my BFF got me this when I had the sads.
Mechanism: Players write and receive kind messages in a calm space. You have to wait between messages.
Why I think it matters The entire game is effectively a break from traditional gaming. It's a mental pause button. Also, I got this for my BFF when he had the sads.
These games encourage waiting or resting by design in short spurts:
Mechanism: Intellectually dense. Encourages short play sessions for reflection.
Why I think it matters: It's not necessarily enforced mechanically, but from the reviews I've read players often seem to need mental space to think about things and piece together clues.
Mechanism: Bonfires create natural rest points, and the game’s difficulty encourages stepping back after death. There's a cycle of learning patterns, contemplating, and executing.
Why I think it matters: Many DS players talk about needing real-world breaks after intense boss fights. Like a voluntary pause as a strategy. This is also me trying to psyche myself up to play a Dark Souls game. I'm a scared and precious snowflake.
If you’re developing your own systems like I am, here are some of my ideas inspired by the examples above:
