History Main / OverlyGenerousTimeLimit

So you don't want to put the pressure of a normal TimedMission on the player; however, on the other hand, you don't want the player to be able to [[TakeYourTime take their sweet, sweet time]] on a mission that is supposed to be urgent for story reasons, or that you otherwise don't want a player taking forever on. You could [[ContinueYourMissionDammit constantly nag the player to continue]], or you could implement an Overly Generous Time Limit - a time limit so generous that even regular conservative play will leave you with quite a bit of time to spare, and only extremely deliberate slow play will cause the player to run out of time.

In games with [[ScoringPoints scoring systems]], such a timer may be used to award the player a bonus for remaining time, [[SpeedrunReward encouraging fast play]] in a way that doesn't inflate the difficulty for players who don't play for speed and just want to complete the objective at a slower and steadier pace.

* ''VideoGame/KingsQuestIVThePerilsOfRosella'' has a time limit of one day, as in 24 hours. As the game is much shorter than that ''and'' restoring a saved game also restores the clock, players are unlikely to ever notice there ''is'' a time limit. A certain event advances time to nightfall because otherwise you'd have to idle for 10 - 11 hours to reach night.
* ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry1InTheLandOfTheLoungeLizards'' technically has a time limit, but it is ''eight hours'' and a midgame event will cancel it. Again, restoring an earlier save also restores the clock. The game doesn't even tell the player that there's a time limit, so you'd basically need to open the source code to find out.
* Happens in one crucial point in ''VideoGame/{{Iconoclasts}}'': [[spoiler:Robin and Royal must escape a decompressing base on the moon after their messy run-in with the Starworm, which unfortunately had Royal be subjected to MindRape and left him in a near-catatonic state, either unable or merely un''willing'' to do anything except lament his failures and beg for death. Robin picks him up and carries him with her anyway. After all, the doors in the base only open for him, so she wouldn't be able to escape without him... and then you get to the door, and discover that the force of all the air in the base being sucked out into the vacuum of space has ripped the scanner panel off the wall. It's still hanging on by its wires and fully functional, but is now much too far away from the door to allow Royal to go through it, since he has to be near the panel for the door to open, and it automatically closes once he's out of range. You are given three and a half minutes to escape the base, which is ''far'' more than you need, which naturally leads you to think there must be some way to save him, so you spend that extra time trying everything you can possibly think of, without success. You give up and escape on your own. After landing safely back on the planet, Robin slumps against the escape pod and breaks down crying, and you realize that the reason the time limit was so long [[PlayerPunch wasn't to be generous]]]].

* Some of the console-exclusive ''VideoGame/RidgeRacer'' games have a 10-minute time limit even though the average player is unlikely to take even 5 minutes to complete the race. ''Ridge Racers'' and ''Ridge Racers 2'' on PSP each start a 5-minute countdown once the first-place opponent crosses the finish line, which is just as generous.

* Most of the timed missions in ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' were of this variety. The limits were in real time, starting from the moment you accepted the mission, but barring one endgame-level mission that was intended to be impossible (at least to unprepared players when it first came out), they tended to be in the one-to-two hour range, more than enough time to fully explore the site and take out everything there.

* The classic ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' games required you to get through each level in every zone in 10 minutes or less, which is easily double what even the least experienced player would require, if not more (assuming that badniks or hazards don't do the job first). A few acts avert this hard, however (Carnival Night Zone Act 2 and Sandopolis Zone from ''Sonic 3 & Knuckles'' being the most infamous). In addition, the timer actually counts ''up'' from zero and gives no indication that anything will happen when you reach ten minutes, unlike the ''Mario'' games, with ''far'' less generous timers that count ''down'' to zero.
* In ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', Shadow's "Deep Jungle" level has a time limit of ten minutes. Even taking the time to explore and find all of the secrets - some of which a player only has to find once per playthrough - it's likely that a player will reach the Goal Ring with more than five minutes remaining.
* The version of ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'' released on the [=PlayStation=] 3 and Xbox 360 have an optional mission in which you are given 45 minutes to clear [[AmusementParkOfDoom Eggmanland]]. While it's [[MarathonLevel the longest stage in the game by far]], it shouldn't take nearly that long provided you do it without dying, at 15 to 20 minutes if you play extra carefully. This mission requires you clear the stage with no deaths anyway. Considering its difficulty, that may have been the ''real'' challenge behind the mission.

* In ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'', both ray surfing minigames kill you after 3 minutes have passed and you haven't completed a lap yet. Even in the first one near the beginning of the game, players can easily do it in half that time and falling off the very narrow track is the main threat. This also applies to both Boo races, but the Boo always completes the course in about a minute and you're killed for losing anyway.
** The Speedy Comets in the same game generally give far more time than even the least experienced player would need. The intense music and ominous red filter over the screen suggest urgency, but the player can often let Mario sleep for a few minutes before grabbing the Star. Unsurprisingly, [[VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2 the sequel]] would rework these particular comets to be more difficult.
** "Topman Tribe Speed Run" and "Luigi's Purple Coins" are notable cases. In the former, you're given six minutes to do a level that can be done in under three, and in the latter, you're given three minutes to complete a level where the ground vanishes under your feet (and can be done in two minutes).
* In ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'', apart from the levels with 30 or 100 units on the timer, most of the levels' time limits are absurdly long for the levels' lengths. Some of them even give you ''more'' time with green clocks.

* ''VideoGame/{{Lemmings}}'' has a time limit on every level, but in the "Fun" and "Tricky" ranks these are not meant to be a challenge, so every level gives far more time than you actually need. On some levels, such as "Only floaters can survive this", it's actually ''impossible'' to fail due to the time limit!

* ''VideoGame/Persona5'' has the boss fight against Okumura use a hard time limit of thirty minutes. Defeating the boss at an average level for the time won't take nearly that long; Okumura is a FlunkyBoss, and after defeating the last GiantMook that he summons, [[ZeroEffortBoss he completely stops putting up any offense]], and is so weak that a few regular hits will take him down. Even watching all of the mid-battle cutscenes, getting to Okumura himself takes about twenty minutes, meaning the only way to lose at that point is to intentionally let the timer run out.
** Averted for his battle in ''[[UpdatedRerelease Royal]]'', where it's noticeably harder in that he sends out increasingly harder waves of robots instead. If you don't wipe them out in a set number of turns, they will flee and he will summon the same wave until you do, which can shave off precious time. And if you're not sufficiently prepared, especially when [[spoiler:Cognitive Haru]] pitches in, and then [[spoiler:self-destructs to potentially wipe your team]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5NQdVRBnu8 you can end up cutting it close with just less than a minute to spare]].

* ''VideoGame/MassEffect2: Arrival'' becomes a timed mission after a certain point, with 90 minutes to complete the mission before the Reapers arrive. Unless you deliberately run out the timer to see what happens, it's not a concern. That said, parts of the mission cut to certain time intervals until you reach the finale, where you can't relax anymore.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'': The first mission Squall takes can have a time limit of up to 40 minutes but can easily be completed in 8 or less. You are advised to "Select a time limit. Choose one suited to your abilities. Challenging yet reasonable." The game never makes it obvious but the mission is considered part of an exam, and your marks are higher the less time you have remaining when you finish it, regardless of the time limit you chose. Beat the boss with under 7 seconds to spare for top marks.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'': The final boss battle will end in defeat after thirty minutes. Most players are unlikely to see that unless they deliberately drag the battle on to see the bad ending.

* ''Summer Carnival '92 VideoGame/{{Recca}}'' has a one-hour time limit for the main mode of the game, although a good player can beat the game in about 25 minutes. Justified, as the game was made for an event, and [[TimeKeepsOnTicking the timer keeps ticking even if the game is paused]]. However, averted with Hard mode, which is longer and most players take 50 minutes to complete it, meaning that it is possible for someone to take too long on the bosses, or run out of time because they paused to take too long of a break.

* All missions in the ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' series until ''VideoGame/AceCombatAssaultHorizon'' had been {{timed|Mission}}, but while time constraints did constitute a real challenge in some of them, you could complete the main objectives of most others with a ton of time to spare. For instance, in typical {{Escort Mission}}s, your time limit had normally been set to a couple minutes ''after'' whatever you escorted left the mission space (which was a scripted event).

* Chapter 20 in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' gives you a 20-turn time limit for a chapter that a reasonably-levelled party can complete in 5, and that's if they're ''not'' rushing.
* In ''VideoGame/BattleForWesnoth'', this is in effect for almost every mission - the time limits for the most part exist not to rush the player, but to prevent the player from sitting on their villages for 100,000 turns and going into the following missions with more gold than they'll need for the entire campaign.
* The SNES strategy game ''Liberty or Death'' starts in the year 1775. If neither the American nor British forces claim a final victory by the time King George III dies in 1820 (45 years after the game starts), the game automatically ends [[InstantWinCondition in victory for America]]. Justified, of course, in that England’s forces would be incapable of continuing with their king dead.

* ''Series/WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire'', under its classic rules, allowed contestants essentially unlimited time to answer questions, barring the hard limit of filming schedules. Given it was a multiple choice show where the answer is literally right in front of them, this was divisive amongst viewers who either enjoyed the fairness of the game or criticized the series's slow pacing and teasing when final answers were locked, compared to a rapid-fire, direct responses only quiz show like ''{{Series/Jeopardy}}''. After some contestants essentially abused this and spent ''over 50 minutes on one question'' in some cases, the series changed the rules to implement 15-45 second timer for a long period. This was divisive however, as many of the fans of the show who stuck with it past the early peak of its popularity with Chris Tarrant in the original UK series, or past Regis Philbin's tenure in the US adaption, did so because the series was slow, and it failed to attract audiences of more rapid-fire shows like ''Jeopardy'' or ''[[{{Series/WeakestLink}} Weakest Link]]''. The revivals with Jeremy Clarkson and Jimmy Kimmel have reverted to a superficially unlimited time allowance for giving a final answer.