# Real-time with pause

- Term: Digital term
- Date: 1998
- Canonical: https://www.lanternhall.org/lexicon/real-time-with-pause/

> A combat system in which action flows continuously but the player can pause at any moment to issue orders to each party member. It combined the tension of real-time play with the deliberation of turn-based tabletop combat.

A combat system in which action flows continuously but the player can pause at any moment to issue orders to each party member. It combined the tension of real-time play with the deliberation of turn-based tabletop combat.

**Origin:** Popularized by BioWare's Baldur's Gate (1998) and the Infinity Engine games that followed.

## Quick answers

**What does "Real-time with pause" mean?**
A combat system in which action flows continuously but the player can pause at any moment to issue orders to each party member. It combined the tension of real-time play with the deliberation of turn-based tabletop combat.

**Where does the term "Real-time with pause" come from?**
Popularized by BioWare's Baldur's Gate (1998) and the Infinity Engine games that followed.

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From The Lantern Hall (https://www.lanternhall.org/), a museum of fantasy literature and roleplaying games.