Do all cut-scenes need to be interactive?

[Korten12]

It seems to be a lot in past years that people have begun to hate cut-scenes because its scripted and not allowing the player to move around. People mainly say that it breaks immersion. In my opinion, interactive cut-scenes can sometimes break immersion.

I played Half-Life 2 which was a pretty good game but I found it hard to get immersed into the world, when I would be at what would normal be a cut-scene, I could move around and do anything, if I shot my gun no one would notice and the characters would continue to talk as if I was doing nothing.

Now most likely the response to this would be "Well why didn't you just stand-still?" Well then what was the point of the interactive cut-scene? Their wouldn't be.

When I played Red Dead Redemption, it was easy for me to get immersed into the world, sure I couldn't walk around during the cut-scenes but because of how well they were made it didn't matter much and they could do more with the cut-scenes because of it being non-interactive. With interactivity you have to limit what you can do.

For me the best interactive cut-scene for me in HL2 was near the end where it was a scene were you couldn't move and so I could see how the story-played out and it made it more engaging. Now I am not talking about choices in games to effect the story, I am just talking about the ability to have control over the character in cut-scenes.

So what do you guys think?

Do you think most games cut-scenes should allow you to move around or not? What do you believe is better immersion?

 

[Tanis]

No, I hate them.
Cut-scenes should show off some kind of story or game play, not force you to press random buttons.

 

[WanderingFool]

Doesnt really bother me, but if I was to have interactive cutscenes, I geuss design them in style of Heavy Rain?

 

[Exius Xavarus]

I liked the interactivity of the Resident Evil 4 cut-scenes. Especially the Leon-Krauser knife fight. Favorite cut-scene in the game. But generally, no. I prefer cut-scenes to be just that: Scenes. I like to watch them. I'm a huge fan of RPG games not for their gameplay, but for the story they tell. I love the stories of games like Golden Sun, or the Tales of series. I'm playing Tales of Vesperia now and I am very much enjoying it. :}

 

[NeutralDrow]

...if they're interactive, they're not really cutscenes, are they? They're gameplay.

Anyway, no. I don't mind watching things for a bit.

 

[Sonic Doctor]

Did you really even read the OP?

Of course forced actions during "cutscenes" are unpleasant, but I like the fact that games like Half Life 2 let you move around a bit during the cut scene.

I really don't buy into the immersion factor either, especially in Half Life 2 where you can run around killing zombies with flying toilets.

Or when you are in the lab near the beginning of the game and you go around trashing it with your crowbar and get the achievement for destroying the mini prototype of the matter transporter.

 

[swenson]

Do all cutscenes need to be interactive?

YES, at least on some level. Even if it's nothing more than making a dialogue choice on occasion. I don't play a game so I can watch my character do cool stuff, I play a game so I can make my character do cool stuff. Having completely non-interactive cutscenes is, quite frankly, immensely boring to me. I usually barely even watch.

Valve's method of dealing with this is having no cutscenes at all, in a sense, only scripted sequences during which you retain full control over your character (...mostly). This can and often does lead to "wheee, I'm jumping on tables instead of being in character", but that's the price to pay for making the entire game... a game, instead of a game broken up by short movies. YMMV on whether or not the tradeoff is worth it. You evidently don't think it is, but I like it. Sure, you can choose to jump on tables, but you can also choose not to. And if the scene is written well enough, you won't want to!

 

[lacktheknack]

They're called "CUT-scenes" for a reason. They cut into the gameplay and halt it for exposition.

Personally, I want them to all go die, and be replaced with constant gameplay that tells stories effectively on the fly (Half Life almost had it), but I don't think developers can do that (yet).

 

[Kitteh]

No, I hate them.
Cut-scenes should show off some kind of story or game play, not force you to press random buttons.

I think he meant cutscenes where you can free look, not quick time events.

 

[Naota_391]

I liked Half-Life 2's interactive cut scenes. I'd look from person to person as conversation carried on, go up to the object they were talking about and inspect it myself, or just explore the room we were in. In my head, I imagined Gordon Freeman drifting around the room and poking around things, listening to the conversation and occasionally glancing over at them. You know, how you would act in real life if two people you knew were having a conversation and you didn't have much to add.

I liked being able to move around, and I find myself moving the way I would if I were actually there. How often do people stand PERFECTLY still when listening to a conversation? Hardly ever, and so I didn't. I'd pace back and forth a lot if we were on the run. I'd flick the camera around nervously at the windows and doors. I don't know. I just got really into it, and it became a one-to-one sort of thing.

 

[Something Amyss]

Honestly, I prefer my interactive gaming to be interactive and my cut scenes to be cut scenes.

 

[chozo_hybrid]

I hate having to watch for buttons to press during a cinematic, I want to try pay attention to what's going on...

 

[Thaius]

I think, in order to take full advantage of gaming's unique element of interactivity, games would do well to avoid taking control away from the player. Or rather, they should always look for ways to portray an even through gameplay. Cutscenes are fine, but if something would have more impact if played, use an interactive sequence. Look at the ending to Shadow of the Colossus. That was truly heartbreaking... and that game barely even had a story. All because they let you control Wander at the end there.

No, I won't tell you what happened. Play that freaking masterpiece of interactive art.

But anyway, I do think that cutscenes are perfectly okay. Though interactivity is the main thing about video games that makes it so effective compared to other artistic mediums, a great story can definitely be told through cutscenes (i.e. Metal Gear Solid). I definitely don't think that it's bad storytelling to not take advantage of all the medium's possibilities, though it does make for a much more impacting experience.

I also put forward the plot twist in Bioshock, and how they messed with player interaction in that game. Holy crap. Amazing.

 

[ShakesZX]

Interactive cut-scenes are okay, if done properly. There are plenty of games out there, such as The old Medal of Honor and Call of Duty series and the recent Halo: Reach, that combine "regular" non-interactive cut-scenes with "newer" interactive cut-scenes.

There are definitely examples of both types, both good and bad. As an example, remember in all those WWII games, during the mission about the breach of Normandy on D-Day, where there would be an opening cinematic, followed by that boat ride where you could look around while the CO was barking orders? That was an interactive cut-scene, and it was done well. People might say that was part of the gameplay, but in reality, it was a cut scene that gave you limited control with which to interact with your environment. These are example of, what I feel, make for good interactive cut-scenes.

I feel that the QTEs of Resident Evil 4 fame and such, represent "bad" interactive cut-scenes. Personally, I feel that the necessity to shift from following the story to reverting to gameplay, back to story a second later, hampers the cut-scene. This is not so much interactivity with the cut-scene as it is another piece of gameplay, albeit gameplay that is made to resemble a cut-scene.

 

[RandomWords]

What kind of interactive cut-scene are we talking about, because most interactive ones I can think of are quick time events, and they destroy immersion for me. Or maybe the ones where you can look around, those are okay.

 

[Valiance]

I agree with the OP completely. In HL2 and Unreal 2 I just walked around the room jumping on tables and crouching on top of characters during the cut-scenes. Most of the time the heads of the character talking would follow me, so I would try to get behind them and make them spin in circles while talking about a mission briefing or something. It's pretty stupid when you can shoot people as they're talking to you, but it's pretty funny at the same time.

Personally, I think MGS4 did it well with you having a couple things to do during cut-scenes like moving a little robot around or changing the camera angle, but nothing that severely breaks it.

That said, cut-scenes have their place in gaming. I'd hate to be a dumbass, but they worked really well in Wing Commander, in Starcraft, in Command and Conquer, in FFX, and I really think that there is still plenty of room for a "traditional" instead of "interactive" cut-scene in a game. People who think otherwise are looking for a different kind of experience.

And for the record, yes, I did sit and watch the entire sequence in the trophy room every time in UT when I completed a ladder.

 

[RandomWords]

What kind of interactive cut-scene are we talking about, because most interactive ones I can think of are quick time events, and they destroy immersion for me. Or maybe the ones where you can look around, those are okay.

Wow - are people really having that hard of a time reading the original post - I mean even the second and third posts following clarifies what the OP is talking about. It's simply about games that allow you to free-look or have some kind of interaction. Metal Gear Solid 4 was kind of the low level when it came to that with its "hit this button to get a different view" but the Half Life games are king where you can basically move around in what would normally be a standstill or cinematic environment.

He said what do you guys think. I said I what I thought. Why must I say something completely different if I have similar opinions?

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

I really don't care for interactive cutscenes because you usually can just walk around and stuff, it's not like even playing a game anyways. In Bioshock, whenever there would be dialog or audio diary, I would just stop and pay attention to the dialogue anyways. And, in the games that let you walk around and move the camera while people talk, I try to position myself and the camera in a way that it looks like it's framed like a movie so give me a quality cutscene instead. I do hate QTEs in cutscenes because most of the time I put my controller down when I'm watching it so if a QTE pops up, I'm late. Then, if it's a game I know has QTEs, I'm focusing on not missing the QTE instead of focusing on the dialogue. There's only so many things even a character like say Bayonetta can do in gameplay that cutscenes can show some awesome stuff that you just can't add to the gameplay.

I love good old fashion and well directed cutscenes. I just don't want to be doing stuff while important plot and character development stuff is going down, plus that stuff looks better in well directed scenes anyways. I don't mind doing the dialogue choosing stuff in RPGs, I think that can really add to a game. One of my favorite game series is Metal Gear Solid as you probably could guess.

 

[Tanis]

No, I hate them.
Cut-scenes should show off some kind of story or game play, not force you to press random buttons.

I think he meant cutscenes where you can free look, not quick time events.

Right, but now some of them are now getting QTE, like RE4.

It's just retarded.

 

[RandomWords]

What kind of interactive cut-scene are we talking about, because most interactive ones I can think of are quick time events, and they destroy immersion for me. Or maybe the ones where you can look around, those are okay.

Wow - are people really having that hard of a time reading the original post - I mean even the second and third posts following clarifies what the OP is talking about. It's simply about games that allow you to free-look or have some kind of interaction. Metal Gear Solid 4 was kind of the low level when it came to that with its "hit this button to get a different view" but the Half Life games are king where you can basically move around in what would normally be a standstill or cinematic environment.

He said what do you guys think. I said I what I thought. Why must I say something completely different if I have similar opinions?

-facepalm-

It's not the.. oh why even bother. If you can't bother to try and understand the OP, why should I think that you'd try to understand what I was trying to tell you.

.....nevermind we obviously are on different pages I said 'What type of interactive cut-scenes are we talking about?' not as a direct answer to the title but more of a question to see what other kind of interactive cut-scenes are there? But apparently you thought I just went straight to the answer without reading, i read things before I type. but then again i keep drifting off subject where it keeps getting later and later in the night, so I may be a little confused right now. Whatever, I need some sleep and then i will get back to you.