I've been noticing that everyone on the escapist seem to have a dislike for quick time events. I want to ask why, they're okay in my opinion and in some games they can be enjoyable.
Quick time events
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I don't mind them in moderation, or in a cutscene or something, but when you have to use them every 5 seconds (I'm looking at you Mercenaries 2), it becomes tiresome.
The only quicktime event I've ever encountered that I felt improved the game was in Gears of War. If you timed your reload right you got a faster reload, messed up and you reloaded slower. Or you could ignore it and reload at a normal pace.
I despise them in cutscenes.
I despise them in cutscenes.
Pretty much what Ajimbo said. I personally don't have a huge problem with them, if it's not used constantly, but it can sometimes make the gameplay little more than a cutscene. And I want to play.
In my opinion, Quick-Time-Events get a bad reputation because they are implemented poorly in most games - either having you miss out on the action by placing the button prompts far away (The Force Unleashed) or just having them unexpectedly pop-up during a cutscene and murder you (Uncharted).
Still, in my opinion, Heavy Rain pulled them off extremely well, so I can't complain, really.
Still, in my opinion, Heavy Rain pulled them off extremely well, so I can't complain, really.
I really don't mind them.
The only ones I really hate are the ones were you repeatably tap the button. RE:5 had a horrible one that lasted around two minutes, and if you failed it you had to repeat it all over again. The pain was unbearable.
The only ones I really hate are the ones were you repeatably tap the button. RE:5 had a horrible one that lasted around two minutes, and if you failed it you had to repeat it all over again. The pain was unbearable.
God of War 3 nailed it. I like how the buttons you press are placed at the side of the screen where the button is. That way you don't really need to think when you are watching a cutscene.
I don't mind Quick Time Events when they are implemented well and complement the gameplay - I reckon the God of War series is a great example of this.
On the other hand, a lot of games recently have used Quick Time Events badly, either as a replacement for regular or more complex gameplay, or simply by utilising badly designed prompts, and its then that I really don't like them. It seems like games tend to throw them in abitrarily sometimes as well, which irritates me. If a game has Quick Time Events, making them an integral part of gameplay is what I'd prefer - Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy is a great example of a game built almost entirely around Quick Time Events, and because they work well, so to do they complement the game and help turn it into the great game that it is.
On the other hand, a lot of games recently have used Quick Time Events badly, either as a replacement for regular or more complex gameplay, or simply by utilising badly designed prompts, and its then that I really don't like them. It seems like games tend to throw them in abitrarily sometimes as well, which irritates me. If a game has Quick Time Events, making them an integral part of gameplay is what I'd prefer - Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy is a great example of a game built almost entirely around Quick Time Events, and because they work well, so to do they complement the game and help turn it into the great game that it is.
QTes in cutscenes often end up with you losing.
YOu usually use cutscenes to take a breather and watch some expositi--PRESS X TO NOT DIE--
Plus.. since you failed it initially, you have to watch/play it AGAIN. You might fail at it again. And again.
YOu dont really pay attention in a cutscene when the only thing you watch out for are cues for the QTEs. Basically it break the flow by being so distracting and metagame imho. QTEs really remind you that you are playing a game (how can it be immersive with flashing buttons appearing all over the screen all the time?)
I dis.. no, i hate them because too often they are badly used and almost always end up being instant game overs and/or being superflous when a normal action in-game (such as shooting the guy in the face repeatedly) can get the same result.
YOu usually use cutscenes to take a breather and watch some expositi--PRESS X TO NOT DIE--
Plus.. since you failed it initially, you have to watch/play it AGAIN. You might fail at it again. And again.
YOu dont really pay attention in a cutscene when the only thing you watch out for are cues for the QTEs. Basically it break the flow by being so distracting and metagame imho. QTEs really remind you that you are playing a game (how can it be immersive with flashing buttons appearing all over the screen all the time?)
I dis.. no, i hate them because too often they are badly used and almost always end up being instant game overs and/or being superflous when a normal action in-game (such as shooting the guy in the face repeatedly) can get the same result.
To be honest the only game I think I'd ever played with QTEs was Shenmue, and given that I pretty much love every part of Shenmue it goes without saying that I love the chase-QTE sequences. As such, my view was that QTEs aren't bad.
Then I played Bayonetta. Yay surprise death!
Of course, to be fair saying "these QTEs aren't well done" does not at all lead to "therefore QTEs on the whole have no place."
Then I played Bayonetta. Yay surprise death!
Of course, to be fair saying "these QTEs aren't well done" does not at all lead to "therefore QTEs on the whole have no place."
They just don't seem to serve any purpose, in my opinion. Let me play the game, or show me a cutscene- don't try to do both.
They're just distracting, simple as that. And wouldn't it be better to just assign certain buttons for a type of action and make us remember them[footnote]a generic "Escape from that beast's mouth!" button, a "Rip the beast's horn off it's head" button, and a "Smash the horn into the beast's cranium" button[/footnote]? As there are currently implemented, they just distract from the action that's happening on screen and make me play a stupid Simon Says game. Designers can do better than that.
I don't have a problem with Quick Time Events. The games I feel did a good job with them are Dead Rising 1 and 2, if the button combos for the zombies count as QTEs, Lost Planet 2, and Resident Evil 4. Most Capcom games do a good job with Quick Time Events.
I loathe them.. It's what put me off games like SW:TFU, Dante's Inferno and God of War.
Why instead of taking control away from the player, they gave us MORE control?
Instead of having to press x, let the gamer chose what to press? And then made some wicked thing happen corresponding to your choice? It could really have potential for awesome
Why instead of taking control away from the player, they gave us MORE control?
Instead of having to press x, let the gamer chose what to press? And then made some wicked thing happen corresponding to your choice? It could really have potential for awesome
i love QT events that are completely unexpected and instakill you if you fail. its realistic! like in uncharted, when nate is walking through this foresty part and BAM SPIKE TRAP DODGE IT, oh you failed. maybe you should have been expecting the unexpected, huh? you are in enemy territory after all.
as for the god of war type, i can see why they use it, you dont just want to watch AMAZING acrobatics and mayhem while feeling like you yourself are doing nothing. but its not as good as the other type.
as for the god of war type, i can see why they use it, you dont just want to watch AMAZING acrobatics and mayhem while feeling like you yourself are doing nothing. but its not as good as the other type.