How can DateTime objects be effectively used to calculate and manage time durations in PHP for browser game development?

When developing a browser game in PHP, DateTime objects can be effectively used to calculate and manage time durations. By utilizing DateTime objects, you can easily calculate differences between two timestamps, add or subtract time intervals, and format durations in a human-readable way. This can be particularly useful for implementing features such as cooldowns, timers, and time-based events in your game.

// Create DateTime objects for start and end times
$start = new DateTime('2022-01-01 12:00:00');
$end = new DateTime('2022-01-01 14:30:00');

// Calculate the duration between the two timestamps
$duration = $start->diff($end);

// Output the duration in a human-readable format
echo $duration->format('%h hours, %i minutes');