Not exactly. The player matters. Basically, when the player is in control, it's like we're all doing our jobs. We follow our programs - the playable character follows the controls, the bad guys attack and the non-playable characters do their lines. And once the players are gone? That's free time for ourselves. We can do what we want and even visit other games, at least 'til it's time for the arcade to re-open.
[Action?] lol it happens