A Serious Gameplay problem that must be fixed.

[Shurikens and Lightning]

How many quicktime events have you ever played. I know our Savior yahtzee says this all the time but I really really hate them. The same goes with pressing a button multiple times to do something like move a rock.

The point of this discussion is that I was wondering: Can we make a better alternative to quicktime events and button mashing a button to do a action?

I actually cannot think of a better alternative other than you going into bullet time and you have to manually figure it out like shadow of the collosus.

 

[Crowghast]

That's honestly about it, nothing comes to mind for me. Until they make virtual reality and have to slow down things so the puny human mind can react more quickly to multiple occurrences of action. (Be it one dude there with a gun, one dude there with a chainsaw, while a plot device is running away and maggots eat your shoes while your baseball bat deteriorates)

Until then, I will not consider a different form of bullet time than the Shadow of Collosus one. Besides, VR doesn't have buttons. Or shouldn't

 

[xitel]

our Savior yahtzee

Ouch... this really hurts me...

Personally I think that with the number of buttons on current controllers, context sensitive events are the only option.

 

[GenHellspawn]

Savior yahtzee

Does not compute.

 

[Spartan Bannana]

Savior yahtzee

*Facepalm*

Honestly, I have no problem with QTE's as long as they're not impossible,*Cough*Prince of Persia*Cough*

 

[tiredinnuendo]

Wow.... I guess you really dig ZP then.

...ah well, it's not as bad as the folks tooling around various forums with DBZ names. Anyway, QTE's are fine if done properly. And "properly" means that you're doing something cool enough to be worth having to do a QTE for, and also that there's a reasonable chance of getting the QTE on your first try. If there's no way to get it because the timing is such that you have to know what to push in advance, then that's annoying.

God of War would be a really good example of "correct" QTEs.

- J

 

[Pastey Old Greg]

Really, I don't mind if games are consistent with them. In the Shenmue games, each button press usually corresponded to something you actually did in the cutscene. Pressing A would trigger a kick, pressing left+x would trigger a dodge and attack, etc. when you run into maybe two a game, and they don't really serve as part of the gameplay, then it's just asinine, ala Uncharted. But if it's in a game like God of War or Shenmue, then it's cool to be able to focus in on a cool looking attack or action scene that probably would have been boring without the cinematics if it were gameplay, and would be less frantic and "seat-edgy" if it were in a cutscene.

 

[sequio]

I don't mind quick time events on console/pc much. At the arcades however...i want to drop kick the machines.

 

[stevenrkorea]

I don't think that Yahtzee doesn't like quick time events, he just doesn't like them to be the out-of-the-blue-oops-you-missed-it-now-you're-dead kind, like in Resident Evil 4. I agree with him on that, those suck. But the ones in God of War 2 are quite good. They don't just suddenly come out of no where (you initiate them) and you don't die when you mess up on them (except for the final battle which is acceptable).

As for an alternative, no idea.

 

[Sacman]

stick waggling with the WII.

 

[twilinova07]

as long as they keep them out of my cutscenes, im happy.

 

[Nohra]

I think QTEs in the case of The Force Unleashed work pretty well. They're handled responsibly and you understand what to expect to trigger them. Gears 2's chainsaw duel is simple and fun as well, as are Dead Space's "get the f*** off of me" moments, though they can be extremely unforgiving, and some damage is ALWAYS unavoidable.

Unfortunately as Yhat's said, we come up with something like the metal submarine, then try to make one out of bread. Any mechanic's going to be misused, but hey, thankfully most of the games that do misuse them suck anyways. We're constantly jumping through hoops for the game designers anyways. It's just how much you like the various hoops that really colors your opinion. I remember "Jumping Puzzles" was everyone's hot button not long ago. Granted some were horrible, but it's the same with QTEs.

 

[letsnoobtehpwns]

most quick time events suck but when pulled of right, they are good for the game. kinda like in gears 2 when you and some 9 year old squeaker clash chainsaw bayonets and you have to smash b, may not be the best part of a game but they are kinda needed. remember in gears 1 when it would just be a roll of the dice when two people chainsawed? yeah, just remember that bullshit then you'll love chainsaw duels.

 

[Copter400]

Honestly, I have no problem with QTE's as long as they're not impossible,*Cough*Prince of Persia*Cough*

It's become a kind of hobby of mine to track down the guys who green-lighted those, strap them to chairs, press controllers into their hands and tell them if they don't press X fast enough I'll shoot them in the face.

 

[Stewie Plisken]

Co-signed. I liked them in, say, Fahrenheit, because the gameplay was largely centered around them, but when they come out of nowhere, like in RE4 or Uncharted, they just break the pace and are really, really annoying.

 

[neoman10]

Hail Yahtzee! Savior of all peoples on earth! Condemner of quick time events! Hail! Hail!

I'm sorry I really had to

only good in fighting games i say, I think ill kill my self when they put them in COD *sniffle*

 

[TxMxRonin]

God of War is the only game where they're okay.

 

[Avatar Roku]

Co-signed. I liked them in, say, Fahrenheit, because the gameplay was largely centered around them, but when they come out of nowhere, like in RE4 or Uncharted, they just break the pace and are really, really annoying.

This is what I was going to say. In Indigo Prophecy (Fahrenheit), not only are QTEs a necessary part of the gameplay, they actually bear some semblance to what you're going to do (i.e, if Lucas is going to dive to the right, you have to hit right on both control sticks). This adds to the immersion, and is an example of QTEs done right

 

[tijuanatim]

our Savior yahtzee

Ouch... this really hurts me...

Savior yahtzee

Does not compute.

Savior yahtzee

*Facepalm*

The moment I read that line, I thought to myself 'Wow, that is going to get some interesting responses from the Escapist regulars'. Low and behold I scroll down to see these gems.

As far as QTEs go, I think if they are done right, and not too often within a game that there is nothing wrong with them. I DO however feel like game developers rely too heavily on them when they aren't necassary.

 

[Spartan Bannana]

our Savior yahtzee

Ouch... this really hurts me...

Savior yahtzee

Does not compute.

Savior yahtzee

*Facepalm*

The moment I read that line, I thought to myself 'Wow, that is going to get some interesting responses from the Escapist regulars'. Low and behold I scroll down to see these gems.

Hey, at least I responded to the actual topic of the thread instead of just posting my disappointment at that comment.