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Temporal Agency and Timeplay in Video Games

The document introduces "temporal agency" as a player's capacity to manipulate time within video games, proposing a novel framework called "Timeplay" to categorize these interactions.

• The paper argues that player control over in-game time (through rewinds, loops, pauses, and branching narratives) is a distinct, underexamined form of ludic agency that existing frameworks such as Zagal and Mateas's four temporal frames and Hanson's account of recursion and save mechanics do not adequately explain.
• The authors propose a four-part typology of "Timeplay" (Adaptive, Strategic, Ethical, and Reflective) to describe how time manipulation reshapes a player's sense of control.
• The study analyzes twelve games in which time manipulation is foregrounded, using gameplay analysis, Let's Play videos, and critical reviews, with detailed case studies of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, SUPERHOT, The Forgotten City, Undertale, Slay the Princess, The Stanley Parable, and The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante.