History Main / InUniverseGameClock

* Fable deserves an honorary mention as time does flow by, but only for the Player character, resulting in situations where you at the age of 54 has to go save your older sister who looks suspiciously 20-something, and you can go save your mother who is now younger than you.

* Which adds FridgeLogic of why the survive for one minute mission takes all day.

* TheWorldEndsWIthYou uses the DS system clock to determine how much Shutdown PP you have. Which also means that you can modify the DS clock for truckloads of Shutdown PP.

** Earlier ''DragonQuest'' games had the same cycle, though the inn would always take you to morning. There were also spells and items that would change it from day to night or back.

* In ''TheSims'', one in-game minute takes about one real-time second. Since animations must still be carried out in a realistic speed, this means that characters take half an hour to go to the toilet, or an hour to have breakfast.

* A full day cycle in ''{{Minecraft}}'' lasts 20 minutes.

* Earth 2150.

* ''Persona3'' and ''Persona4'', mostly due to your protagonist's regular schedule of WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld. The game announces when the "clock" progresses to the next time of day (or the next day).

** Black and White expand on this by adding ''seasons''. Every real-life month, the in game season changes (January, May, and September are spring, February, June, and October are summer, March, July, and November are fall, and April, August, and December are winter). Like with the day-night system, different Pokemon appear during different seasons or appear at different rates (for example, some ice Pokemon only appear during the winter, and others appear more frequently then).

* ''{{Castlevania}} 2: Simon's Quest'': What a horrible night to have a curse. (The AngryVideoGameNerd considered the unskippable message a ScrappyMechanic.)

# Changes the types of monsters that spawn, or which NPCs [[NPCScheduling can be encountered]].

** This troper can't believe that MajorasMask hasn't been mentioned yet. Basically every single sidequest in the game (as well many parts of the main quest) all depend heavily on the game's internal clock. And, of course, if the internal clock counts down to 0, it's game over.

* In ''TheGodfather'' game, time passes faster "normally", though I'm not too sure by how much faster, though there are still TimedMissions that act as though in real-time. Plus the game gives you "two days" to strike first in ending a MobWar, but the onscreen timer shows 48 minutes. Hmph.

* ''BattleForWesnoth'' gives the day/night cycle strategic relevance by making lawful units more effective during daytime and visa versa for chaotic units.
* ''{{Castlevania}} 2: Simon's Quest'': What a terrible night to have a curse. (The AngryVideoGameNerd considered the unskippable message a ScrappyMechanic.)

*** Heart pickups are also doubled at night, but the towns are all locked up and full of zombies. The dilemma continues...

* ''NeverwinterNights'', the SpiritualSuccessor to ''Baldur's Gate'', maintained the six-second round, but also had two minutes of real time equal one hour of game time - apparently, an hour is now only 20 minutes long.

* Since ''{{Nethack}}'' is a turn-based game, time mostly doesn't matter. But when it does (gremlins, for example, are only dangerous at night), it uses real-world time.

# Changes the types of monsters that spawn, or which [[NPCs NPCs]] can be encountered.

Contrast TakeYourTime.

* The web game ''FarmVille'' runs in realtime (except that game days are 23 hours, not 24, for convenience). If you leave your farm alone for too long, all your crops will have withered. Thus, the game rewards good planning.

* ''{{Pokemon}} Gold'' and ''Silver'' started the series' tradition of built-in clocks that segregate the day into three time periods- morning, evening, and night- as well as keeping track of a seven-day week. In order to complete certain events or capture certain Pokemon, you must play the game during those time periods, which annoyed some players. Something ''else'' that annoyed players was the fact that this worked due to an internal battery in the game cartridge. After some time, the battery would fail: this ruined old saves and worse, made it impossible to make a new save. For this reason, the day-night system was lessened in importance in ''Ruby'' and ''Sapphire'' and dropped for ''Fire Red'' and ''Leaf Green'' (themselves merely being [[VideoGameRemake remakes]] of ''Red'' and ''Blue'' anyway), but made a return in ''Diamond'' and ''Pearl'', where the problem won't come up again: the DS has an internal clock run by an easily rechargeable/replaceable battery.

** The DS [[UpdatedRerelease remake]] of Gold and Silver sees the time/day function return to true importance, as all of the date and time specific events from the original versions return with gusto.

* A mild subversion of this occurs in the ''Myst'' game ''End of Ages'' - the solar system which the world of Laki'ahn belongs to is structured such that there is a solar eclipse every five minutes.

* One of the ''BreathOfFire'' games (2, I believe) had this conceit.

* In the ''WorldOfWarcraft'', the day-night cycle occurs in real time. There is, however, next to no effect on gameplay; monster spawns remain constant, visibility remains the same, and NPC shopkeepers remain open for business at all hours. The only change is in which fish can be caught in certain areas, but since most players never take up fishing, this amounts to no change for them.