changing the description of a thing over time

I need to have the description of a thing to change as follows:

First appearance
2 minutes later, second appearance
2 minutes later, third appearance
2 minutes later, fourth and final appearance

I’ve poked though the documentation, and if how to do this correctly is there, I’m clearly looking in the wrong places. Can anyone point to the correct location in the documentation or suggest a way to implement this?

Thanx in advance.

You probably want to use the timed events arrangements – see section 9.11 “Future events” in Writing with Inform. But if by “2 minutes” you mean real-time minutes, then you’ll need to use an extension, Real Time Delays by Erik Temple.

If you just change the description, the player will likely miss it, since it will be printed only when the player actually examines the object.

Recipe Book, Chapter 2 should be very helpful: “Varying What is Written”

inform7.com/learn/man/RB_2_1.html

When exactly does the “timer” start? The start of the game, or when first examined?

In either case, you can use [if the turn count is greater than 2] or similar in your description.