# Games with no "pause" function. **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 14, 2010, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-with-no-pause-function/560649 "2010-11-14T17:44:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-with-no-pause-function/560649/1 "2010-11-14T17:44:19Z")
I’ve watched avid game players feverishly hammering away with both hands for extended lenghts of time without pause. I wonder what they do if they have a runny nose at a crucial time in their play (its not really “play” is it). Other biological urges can be put off for a while, but sniffing a runny nose is not very effective. So, do they simply let it flow? Can they have an assistant? 😉 BTW; I am serious. I cannot ignore a runny nose. I have one as I type this. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-with-no-pause-function/560649/2 "2010-11-15T01:23:33Z")
Some of these games have natural pauses between levels, or you develope the ability to blow your nose quickly with one hand =) I have a friend who cant understand MMORPGS - “You mean you can’t pause or save your game @\_@” They just don’t get the idea of finding a safe spot, or being in a situation where it is safe to stop for a few minutes, or just logging out in a safe spot. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-with-no-pause-function/560649/3 "2010-11-15T01:49:21Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Some of these games have natural pauses between levels, or you develope the ability to blow your nose quickly with one hand =) > > I have a friend who cant understand MMORPGS - “You mean you can’t pause or save your game @\_@” > > They just don’t get the idea of finding a safe spot, or being in a situation where it is safe to stop for a few minutes, or just logging out in a safe spot. You mean their understanding is _tilted_? 😉 Sorry, that was uncalled for. Please forgive me and tell me what MMORPGS means. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-with-no-pause-function/560649/4 "2010-11-15T05:20:40Z")
Massively multi-player online role-playing game. Like World of Warcraft or Everquest. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-with-no-pause-function/560649/5 "2010-11-15T11:33:24Z")
And in terms of pauses and game mechanics, it means “no ability to save because none is needed” (the game saves every little thing you do) and “if you need to blow your nose, find a safe spot” (which will be easier in “player vs game” servers and more difficult in “player versus player” ones - the toon I have in a PvP server got crisped once because the doorbell rang and I didn’t go to a really-safe spot). ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-with-no-pause-function/560649/6 "2010-11-15T11:40:02Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Massively multi-player online role-playing game. Like World of Warcraft or Everquest. Don’t try and say it out loud, either- the closest approximation I’ve heard is “Mimorpiggah”. ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-with-no-pause-function/560649/7 "2010-11-15T19:36:42Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Massively multi-player online role-playing game. Like World of Warcraft or Everquest. Ahh I always wondered what that meant. Now, why would the “P” for “player” be left out, but the “P” for “playing” not? ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-with-no-pause-function/560649/8 "2010-11-15T19:40:54Z")
Because RPG was a well established initialism, so they just slapped MMO on it. ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-with-no-pause-function/560649/9 "2010-11-17T03:45:14Z")
I was always frustrated with the way Punch-Out didn’t have a pause function…sometimes you gotta stop and breathe with that game