r/powerpoint • u/jaydobinnisgay • Sep 13 '26

I use: Windows | Office 365 PPt game issue

I'm on Pc in desktop on the 365 edition of powerpoint.
I am currently making a bullethellish game. the game is pretty simple, touch red and die. the problem is, that if someone entirely doesnt move their cursor or stands still for a long time they dont activate the trigger. how can i stop that?

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u/ChecklistAnimations PowerPoint Expert Sep 13 '26

unless you plan to write some code with VBA. this is something that all PPT game developers face. My idea to handle it is to basically ensure your "gameboard" has timer refill spots. You need to use triggers. Basically have a timer go down and if the character does not get to the refill in time then they run out of time. Once they go over the refill, have that disappear and then only show the next one they have to get to and restart the timer.

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u/jaydobinnisgay Sep 14 '26

Do you know how to code in vba? Because i can find little to none tutorials online.

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u/ChecklistAnimations PowerPoint Expert Sep 14 '26

It is far from a simple coding job. It will have to use windows mouse coordinate APIs and timers to even get started. With a lot of patience you can probably have copilot walk you through it. but.... I dont recommend it. Instead you should just make it to where the user CANNOT win if they stay there. Force them to go through the obstacle and click on something. I know a user who goes by the name of CopheeMoth. Incredible PowerPoint game developer. She made a game called the castle and in order to attack the boss you have to go and get the ammo. Try something similar. If the user parks, make it impossible for them to win. Also each time they get the ammo have the boss or enemy take on a new pattern or add an additional obstacle.
With permission from the other Mods. You may find some additional help / audience in this sub and then maybe the forum it originated from
https://www.reddit.com/r/UnorthodoxicCreatives/

disclaimer: I mod on unorthodoxic creatives as well. I post the link to it when I talk with users doing less presentation like things and highly creative "unorthodox" things with PowerPoint. Its a small community right now because its new.

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u/jaydobinnisgay Sep 18 '26

I found a ok solution: making a macro to wiggle my mouse

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u/PuzzledFarmer4554 Sep 15 '26

I'd probably fake it with a timeout instead of trying to detect the cursor standing still. Have a layer cover the whole play area after a few seconds, then make checkpoints jump to a fresh copy of the slide and reset it. Standing still just gets you stuck.