While not exactly new, Quick time events are becoming neigh omnipresent in modern gaming, with more and more games featuring them as both gameplay and interactive cinema. In games they can range from following the onscreen prompts to initiate a bad ass cinematic combo finishing move on a ginormous beast, to the more annoying hit the button or suffer instant inescapable death, or the 'minigame' style causing your character, to ..dance, or catch a fish, or something completely outside the normal game.

Since they aren't going to go away anytime soon, what is y'alls take on QTE's?

Pros:
Allow your character to perform amazing feats that would normally only be doable in cutscenes, showing how much of a baddass they are. God of war does this really well.
Keeps you at a level of attention and pathos of the game by forcing you to pay attention during cinematics
can break up the tension and monotony of the game by allowing your character to go do something else for a while
Lets developers increase the amount of things that can be done in a game, without having to code completely new controls and shit.

Cons:
Can'ts see what character is doing because the huge green button covering the screen, and loses its charms after killing the 800th minatoar.
Imagine not being able to take a break during a 40 minute cinematic, cause you character.town.world could be destroyed
can break immersion into the game by forcing character to go do something other than what you want, like dancing toe arn something, when I could just steal it.
Lets devs be lazy and repetative

I don't mind them but hate the ones which just come in a stupid times like in Spider-Man 3.

It's not bad when used in a suitable context, like say in God of War when what's going on is just so crazy that there's no effective way to do those moves with the normal controls.

I like them in a game like God of War, but most games just don't use them for me to give a straight-forward answer.

I'm going to go "Nay," though I am open to their implementation in God of War.  That game, and Resident Evil 4, pioneered the modern Quick Time Event, so I'd call it fair for players to mash the Square button as quickly as possible to perform a lobotomy with dual swords.

But, otherwise, I think the mechanic is being rather abused by the gaming industry.  Ultimately, it's too jarring to be immersive, and it breaks the tone of the game more often than not. 

Yay!

I don't have a problem with QTEs, i don't understand why people are so radically opposed to em.  Spiderman 3 is the only game i've ever thrown a fit over them for.  I remember spending hours on the Sandman and Venom boss battles cause it was so complicated and i couldn't remember the whole combination of buttons.

Quick time events should be fun, not punishing by giving you and intant death for failure.  A lot of people didn't like the decryption mini-game in Mass Effect but i never had any problem with it myself, the version on the PC is actually worse than the 360 cause it takes you even further out of the game.  The PC version was too complicated where as the one on the 360 was simple, quick, didn't require a lot of skill.  Just need to focus and pay attention to which buttons light up on the screen.

They were good in Shenmue, but I think they should be used a little better. I didn't like them in RE4 and I really didn't like them in Umbrella Chronicles.
QTEs should NOT be in cinematics AT ALL. You also shouldn't die because of them. They should be more of a quick choice thing. Like take the left path or the right path without meeting your doom.

I'm going to say yeah. But if the game uses them stupidly then it can be a turnoff. I like it when they use to finish off a boss, it makes the kill alot more sweeter.

Nay. Get them the hell out of video games, already.

If used correctly they make for an awesome addition to a game however if they are just thrown in for good measure or to make the game easier then they can suck pretty bad.

Nay. I hate them.

I'm somewhat in between yay and nay, my personally believe it depends how it's used. It can be may nice simple way ot allowing the player to perform actions that would be nearly clunky and impossible to perform with controls it may also make cutscenes more interactive in a exciting way. However when it's overly used to the point where the simplist of game actions are taken over by quick time events than it becomes shallow and tedious, also a vague amount uses of the quick time events can lead to frustration where many cutscenes don't use quick time events then suddenly appear in a cutscene unexpectly can be aggrevating. Games like Indigo Dark Prophecy {or Fahrenheit as it's called in the rest of the world}, Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles, God of War, Shenmue, Die Hard arcade, and the Bourne Conspiracy do a get job at this. However many games like Mercenaries 2, Tomb Raider Legends, Star Wars The Force Unleashed, Jericho,  Uncharted, and Spider Man 3 are poor examples of using them. So I don't mind if QTE are used unless they're done well.

BTW, QTE first appeard in Die Hard Arcade way before Shenmue.

"

I'm going to say yeah. But if the game uses them stupidly then it can be a turnoff. I like it when they use to finish off a boss, it makes the kill alot more sweeter.

"

I think they're just annoying. It has always been a belief of mine that controls are what make a game. The best games let the character respond to the player's input in real-time. Controlling your character should feel like an extension of your own reactions to an event. If quick-time events do anything, they reduce immersion in the game.

"I think they're just annoying. It has always been a belief of mine that controls are what make a game. The best games let the character respond to the player's input in real-time. Controlling your character should feel like an extension of your own reactions to an event. If quick-time events do anything, they reduce immersion in the game."

"Bulldog19892 said:

"I think they're just annoying. It has always been a belief of mine that controls are what make a game. The best games let the character respond to the player's input in real-time. Controlling your character should feel like an extension of your own reactions to an event. If quick-time events do anything, they reduce immersion in the game."

Played Resident Evil 4 lately?"

"jakob187 said:

"Bulldog19892 said:

"I think they're just annoying. It has always been a belief of mine that controls are what make a game. The best games let the character respond to the player's input in real-time. Controlling your character should feel like an extension of your own reactions to an event. If quick-time events do anything, they reduce immersion in the game."

Played Resident Evil 4 lately?"

Yes actually. Quick-time events take the control away from the player. It's like the character is off doing crazy maneuvers while you're off playing a mini-game. And besides, the QTEs in Resdent Evil 4 are the worst kind of QTEs. You miss a button, death. Try again. It doesn't let you appreciate the story or the scene, it just makes you watch for the next button combo to pop up."

"Bulldog19892 said:

"jakob187 said:

"Bulldog19892 said:

"I think they're just annoying. It has always been a belief of mine that controls are what make a game. The best games let the character respond to the player's input in real-time. Controlling your character should feel like an extension of your own reactions to an event. If quick-time events do anything, they reduce immersion in the game."

Played Resident Evil 4 lately?"

Yes actually. Quick-time events take the control away from the player. It's like the character is off doing crazy maneuvers while you're off playing a mini-game. And besides, the QTEs in Resdent Evil 4 are the worst kind of QTEs. You miss a button, death. Try again. It doesn't let you appreciate the story or the scene, it just makes you watch for the next button combo to pop up."

As compared to cutscenes that make you sit down the controller and make a ham sandwich.  I understand your point, now."

"Roger_Klotz said:

"

I'm going to say yeah. But if the game uses them stupidly then it can be a turnoff. I like it when they use to finish off a boss, it makes the kill alot more sweeter.

"

WHEE-OOH!  WHEE-OOH!

"

Nay.

The problem, however, is that "games" nowadays abuse the fuck out of cutscenes.  THOSE take the player away from the game.  At least through QTE, we can actually get some form of story and/or boss battle, as well as the final death throes, in some form of action rather than as a scene we sit and watch.

I agree that Resident Evil 4 did quick time events really well. The only problem with quick time events is when they are used too much, there should only be a minimal amount in a given length of time. Too many within that short time period can be really bothersome, especially if the QTE's are repeat animations. 

"The problem, however, is that "games" nowadays abuse the fuck out of cutscenes.  THOSE take the player away from the game.  At least through QTE, we can actually get some form of story and/or boss battle, as well as the final death throes, in some form of action rather than as a scene we sit and watch.

Resident Evil 4 made great use of QTEs.  The first time one kicked in on the cutscenes, I flipped out!!!  It made me realize that I was going to have to pay attention to the ride I am on.  Many segments from God of War did the same thing.  That's kind of the point of being called "quick  time" events.

Games like Force Unleashed DO abuse the fuck out of QTEs, just because God of War did it and made a million bucks easy.

As for the "condescending" part...I have an inbox.  Send a message and take a number.

"

"I agree that Resident Evil 4 did quick time events really well. The only problem with quick time events is when they are used too much, there should only be a minimal amount in a given length of time. Too many within that short time period can be really bothersome, especially if the QTE's are repeat animations. "

like any game mechanic, whether its good or not is all down to the implementation. some games are better for them and others could do without. as a premise they can be a fun
mechanic so i vote
YAY

Prince of Persia did it well by making it boss-only(or optional). And even then, it wasn't too annoying, and looked suitably epic.

Done well, QTE's can be fine. It's when they're done badly that problems arise. I have played games where button presses arn't recognised early/late enough, so I do over and over until I hit it perfectly. That's NOT fun.

I would probably like them more if every single little press didn't carry the punishment of failure/death. What if you could miss one, just because, and it caused something slightly different to happen, rather than taking you to a loading screen and then making you do it all over again.

I think somebody already said it before, but QTE's nowadays just equal poor game design ( looks at Force Unleashed ).

"I agree that Resident Evil 4 did quick time events really well. The only problem with quick time events is when they are used too much, there should only be a minimal amount in a given length of time. Too many within that short time period can be really bothersome, especially if the QTE's are repeat animations. "

Nay.
It's been done before, move along. Unless you bring something innovative to the table.. don't try to half ass it.

I'm looking at you, TFU.

"jakob187 said:

"The problem, however, is that "games" nowadays abuse the fuck out of cutscenes.  THOSE take the player away from the game.  At least through QTE, we can actually get some form of story and/or boss battle, as well as the final death throes, in some form of action rather than as a scene we sit and watch.

Resident Evil 4 made great use of QTEs.  The first time one kicked in on the cutscenes, I flipped out!!!  It made me realize that I was going to have to pay attention to the ride I am on.  Many segments from God of War did the same thing.  That's kind of the point of being called "quick  time" events.

Games like Force Unleashed DO abuse the fuck out of QTEs, just because God of War did it and made a million bucks easy.

As for the "condescending" part...I have an inbox.  Send a message and take a number.

"

I agree that cut-scenes are getting dated, but there has to be a better way of integrating them with gameplay. The cut-scene takes you away from the game, and the QTEs take you away from the cut-scene. If there's going to be a cut-scene, I would rather watch it and get the gist of what's going on than watch the bottom of the screen for the next button combo to show up. By the end you're not entirely clear on what just happened, but you know that something did.

But either way, we're arguing in circles now. This could go on forever, and I don't have that much time."

Nay. They draw from the atmosphere of the cutscenes.

Lazy design.

QTE = Quite Truly Excrement.

Nay.

Dear Developers,

STOP PUTTING QTE'S IN YOUR VIDEO GAMES FOR FUCK'S SAKE! HOLY SHIT, THEY SUCK!

Sincerely,

BiggerBomb.

P.S. srsly gttfo (get them the fuck out)

I'm leaning toward the nay side. With God Of War i enjoyed them, but even now, replaying those games, QTEs just get on my tits.

Mainly because it's really just a cutscene that you can't afford to watch becuase you're spending too much time watching the bottom of the screen.

And yeh i kinda liked how they were used in resi 4, only my problem with those kinda QTEs is that you're often not expecting them, and whilst it may add to some kind of shock, or scare that the game was trying to acheive, they often just end up frustrating.

To be honest i wouldn't be sad in the slightest if QTEs were never used again.

nay - excpt if the lazy programers find a way not to have a big button icon in my face... just make it use on button (A on the xbox, X on the ps3) and get a more subtil way of telling the player to push it like a slight flash on screen or vibrations...

QTE is bawwwls. Bawwwls on my face.

For me it all depends on how well they are implemented. I do not like the ones that make no sense whatsover, such as pressing A to dodge some random attack. On the opposite side of that if the command would of been to say press left/right to dodge the attack where it would match something you would normally do ingame on the controller anyway I actually find those quite fun.

They're garbage.

Meh. I think they work well in some games like Resident Evil 4 and God of War but used in a context like Heavy Rain is just plain stupid.

"Meh. I think they work well in some games like Resident Evil 4 and God of War but used in a context like Heavy Rain is just plain stupid."