Pause
Also said as Pause menu, Real-time menu, Active pause
Stopping the game. It seems too obvious to need a word, except that many choices are hiding here: whether menus stop the world, what happens when the phone rings, and whether the game pauses itself when you lose focus.
Real life interrupts people, and a game that can't be paused can't be played by someone with a child or a doorbell. Keeping menus running is a powerful way to add tension, but it should be a decision, not an oversight.
Say it
“Pause when the window loses focus or a controller disconnects. Inventory runs in real time, on purpose, but the options menu always stops the game.”
Where you’ve seen it
Dead Space's menus are projected from Isaac's suit and the game carries on behind them, so a monster can reach you as you look for a medkit. Dark Souls doesn't stop for its menus either, and players have complained about having no pause for as long as the series has existed.
Not to be confused with hit stop
Hit stop is a pause of a few hundredths of a second that the game makes for effect. Pause is you asking the game to wait.