Poll: Cutscenes

[syndicated44]

I have noticed that not many people here like cutscenes. True I am not a huge fan of them here and again although I dont really mind them either. Unskippable ones annoy me to no end when I am trying to replay a game or I die and then have to go through a long one just to fight the boss and die again.

One of the largest arguments I have seen is that they complain that they think the game doesnt want you to "cramp it's style" when you have a cutscene. I argue that its always fun to watch an epic fight with your character vs. something or another. It is a nice break to having to fight the things yourself especially since I have killed a good hundred of their friends

 

[DrDeath3191]

Depends on how well done the cutscene is. If it's god-awful I'm going for the skip button, so there'd better be one!

 

[MorsePacific]

I'm definitely a fan of cutscenes, as long as they bring one thing to the table. Plot development.

A cutscene that is there just for looks is useless filler and wastes my precious playing time, but a cutscene that can give further insight into the plot or further the plot as a whole is a great usage of the time spent watching it.

 

[obex]

Plot exposition and showing things which your character could not see at that point is easily done in cutscenes, so i like them as long as there not to long.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I like them ... unless there is an achievement/ trophy/ hidden something or other that requires a speedy playthrough and you can't skip them. Like Excaliber II on Final Fantasy IX though admittedly, you could skip those cutscenes

 

[Monkfish Acc.]

I play games almost entirely for story. To not like cutscenes would just be contradictory.
However, it does annoy me when you can't skip them. Especially the ones that play just after a checkpoint, so every time you die you have to fucking watch them again.
It's like the game is taunting you.

 

[Sporadic chaos]

If they are done well then they can become very enjoyable but if they aren't well done they can ruin the entire game.

 

[Casual Shinji]

If I like the characters and the world around them then, yea I like them.

 

[Hybridwolf]

Cutscenes can help explain something to you, without boring you if done well. Lets face it, if your trying to have a big plot development, and your too busy fight off hordes of mutants, you hardly going to notice two people talking about something.

But if made unskippable, then I get really annoyed, but thats stopped now. At least, I haven't played any games like that recently.

 

[syndicated44]

To me there are two different kind of cutscenes plot driving ones and the action sequences. I really like action sequences if I am excited to play the game more. It gets you pumped up for more action and excitement. It makes you see actually how talented your character is and pushes you to try new things and experiment with killing enemies. However if they kick you out and you are really limited to a good 3 moves of slashing shooting and jumping they dont do anything except slap you in the face and make you wish you could do some of the stuff they pull off. Or maybe their just saying you suck at the game.

Plot driving cutscenes for me are pretty hit and miss. They can be entertaining they can also be extremely boring and dry. Two people talking in a room is about as much fun as watching two people talk in a room. However it really depends on the game and how much you are enjoying it or how good it is. If it is a good game a plot driving cutscene can make you care that much more about fighting and winning. Whereas if the game is not as good or your just not that much into the story your still just walking back out of the room and killing a couple hundred guys. Prototype did this to me. The story was really lackluster and in the end I am still just killing the same soldiers and mutants I was going to kill anyway whether you gave me a reason or not.

 

[LockHeart]

I enjoy watching them for the most part, but if I'm on a second playthrough then having unskippable ones is really annoying...

 

[squid5580]

Yes and may I suggest combining the first and third poll option for a fouth one. I enjoy a good cutscene but when I die (not a matter of if lol) I hate watching it again and again and again.

 

[syndicated44]

One of the largest arguments I have seen is that they complain that they think the game doesnt want you to "cramp it's style" when you have a cutscene. I argue that its always fun to watch an epic fight with your character vs. something or another. It is a nice break to having to fight the things yourself especially since I have killed a good hundred of their friends

No. It's always fun to fight an epic battle WITH your character yourself.
I do NOT want to watch my character do something that I could've done myself.

Doom 3 for example had what I would consider good cutscenes. All they were was introducing the various creatures throughout the game. But once the introduction was over, the character took over and actually fought the thing.

Its really up to argument. I enjoy watching my character kick someones ass espcially since I have been doing it for a few hours. It is a nice little break to watch the game do some of the work. I hate it when they put you up to impossible odds and then your character gets this weird looking smirk and the camera cuts back to gameplay. What I usually say to this is fuck you game I wouldnt even be in this situation considering I probably would have scoped out the battlefield and planned out my fight accordingly.

True giant fights with your character right off the bat is annoying because I am excited to play around not watch the game play itself but like I said after having fought a few hundred enemies watching the game kick some ass is a nice little way to vary it up and give you some reward for fighting through those hundreds of baddies.

I enjoy watching them for the most part, but if I'm on a second playthrough then having unskippable ones is really annoying...

I agree whole heartedly especially since I just all the cutscenes and I am stoked to try different things and they pull the 20 minute dialogue talking about how awesome some guy knowing he is going to stab you in the back. Mass Effect is where this annoyed me to no end.

 

[I Stomp on Kittens]

I hate the unskippable ones I makes me angry!!! RRRAaaaAAAaaHHHHH!

 

[Trivun]

A good cutscene is to a game what happy ending is to a massage, but a poor one can be really annoying.
Still, great games have great cutscenes, so I'm pro-cutscene.

Kukul, I rarely agree with you, so can we get Max to just nip down to Hell to check that it isn't frozen? He wouldn't want a cold summer house, after all.

Seriously though, I agree with this. Good cutscenes work in good games. Personally I've always liked cutscenes, although I do admit to getting annoyed when I lose a boss fight or something and have to watch the same unskippable cutscene over and over again because I can't do one part of a game. Otherwise, I love cutscenes and I've even been rewatching cutscenes on Halo Wars just because I like them so much on that game. So yeah, I agree with Kukul. I'm definitely pro-cutscene.

 

[Troublesome Lagomorph]

Depends. Some can be epic, others are just a load of crap.

 

[ProggleRock]

Cutscenes need to die. Videogames are games, not movies. Developers need to put on their thinking caps and find ways to integrate such "story events" without leaving the protagonist's perspective or taking the controller out of the player's hands.

 

[plastic_window]

It really depends. Some can be good and some can be bad.

For example, the Futurama game's cutscenes were the only motivation for playing through it, but Bioshock does extremely well even though it has a handful of parts where you are not in control.

So long as a cutscene is entertaining and there aren't too many of them in a game, I enjoy them.

 

[WhiteTiger225]

It depends if the cutscene is quality, it's running time, and if it fits the mood.

For example, a High Octaine action game with sudden 4 minute drama cutscenes that break up the action are far from welcomed.

 

[plastic_window]

Cutscenes need to die. Videogames are games, not movies. Developers need to put on their thinking caps and find ways to integrate such "story events" without leaving the protagonist's perspective or taking the controller out of the player's hands.

That's entirely the problem, though. A lot of people might miss out on parts of the story if they aren't shown it through a cutscene - this is one of the reasons why it's so hard to make a scary game that isn't set in a series of corridors, often people don't look at the story event that's happening in real-time because they're busy somewhere else.

I agree that it's a more powerful way to put across a story, and I definetly prefer games that pull this difficult trick off, but it can be very hard to do so, what with free will and all.