Quick time events

[YesConsiderably]

I'm a fan of Quick Time Events. I remember having this awesome game on the Sega Mega-CD, called Road Avenger. It was totally made up of QTEs, but was totally amazing.

More recently, i think that Quantum of Solace utilised them well. They (along with the third person cover system) made good use out of Daniel Craigs' likeness, and... well, James Bond doesn't just shoot things. The fight with Bliss on the train was really cool and not something that could really be done with a more traditional method of play.

 

[Netrigan]

I thought the QTE in Bioshock 2 was an improvement over the mini-game system in the original. Not only quicker but forced you to do it in real time instead of pausing the game. The pipes game wasn't hard it just made hacking a giant pain.

 

[Steve B]

A lot of people here are using "quick time event" to mean different things, from cutscene interaction, to gimmicky gameplay that is used either as a superfluous addition, or a pitiful substitution to legitimate mechanics. I think it'd be best to use it all inclusively. Meaning, QTEs aren't just inside of cinematics (RE:4), they aren't just used as flair to make a kill more bad-ass (I'm looking at you, The Force Unleashed), they are these things and more. And looking at these examples and how different they are, it can be confusing to describe and understand QTEs.

I mean, take God of War. Here's a game that has multiple instances of QTEs all happening within minutes of each other, and all being very unique. One second you're slicing up a Cyclops in the middle of a battle, and a giant 'O' appears above their head that leads you into a brutal kill animation involving at least three more button presses. The next second your surrounded by two more of these baddies and you're running to a treasure chest for health (which requires you to rapidly hit a button to open).

There are definite deviations in how developers implement QTEs into games, but there is one thing that ties them all together. Specifically hitting a button, because the game is telling you to. This is the distinction between regular gameplay and QTEs. In "normal gameplay", you are pressing buttons for their standard and consistent uses. Hitting 'x' to jump, or holding "R1" to scale walls, for example. You know what I mean. The "controls" of a game. QTEs on the other hand don't involve pressing 'O' to activate invisibility. With QTEs, you are hitting buttons because the game is blatantly telling you to. The square button's only significance in a QTE is the fact that it's the square button. And now you have to hit it.

To put it fancily,

Any time the game explicitly ask you to press a button without disguising it inside of a gameplay mechanic, you've got yourself a quick time event.

Or something like that.

With this idea in mind, I think it's easier to understand what makes QTEs what they are, and what makes people hate them so much.

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As a quick aside, I'd like to mention the example freedomweasel gave:

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.

Using the definition I gave of a QTE, the quick reload in Gears wouldn't qualify. It's really damn fun, but it's not a quick time event. The reason for this is, to put it simply, because there is a reason for it. When you are hitting the right bumper in the middle of combat, you are doing it because it will give you back your ammo, quicker than usual. You aren't doing it because the game is saying "HEY. DUDE. HIT 'RB'."

As a rule of thumb, if you can ascribe the button to a gameplay feature, then it isn't a QTE. This is where we get terms like the "reload" button, the "jump" button, and the "punch your team-mate in the back of the head" button.
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At this point, I'd explain WHY people hate QTEs, since that's the entire reason I started writing this, but... I'm tired.

So, I'm sorry that this leaves off with no conclusion, and no really worth. If anyone wants me to finish my thoughts, I guess I will tomorrow.

Also, sorry it's so poorly written, but... well, I'm a bad writer.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

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.

Ah, yes. The second part of the four part final boss battle. REALLY enjoyed this when playing on Professional. Grr...

Anyway, I'm getting a little tired of Quick Time events. I want to WATCH the cutscene and enjoy it, not grip my controller and miss the cutscene because I'm too busy watching for button commands.

 

[Something Amyss]

Most of the hate for QTEs comes from the fact that they're rarely done well.

The GoW series nails it, many of their imitators do not.

 

[Glamorgan]

It really depends. For example, in Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, there were only a few QTEs in the whole game, and they weren't very well done.

But, one of my favourite games, Heavy Rain, did, in my opinion, a marvelous job at it. In the end, it's down to opinion.

 

[4173]

I liked them in Force Unleashed. I'm somewhat unsure why people couldn't see what was going on, the QTEs in the boss fights had no penalty for failure and the ones for Rancors/AT-STs happened frequently.

 

[Professor James]

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.Until that point in the game where you are a corpse that fights the internet...

Just made a slight edit there chum!

OT: "I've been noticing that everyone on the escapist seem to have a dislike for quick time events"

From what evidence? Oh, it's just a assumption after you watched some episodes of Zero Punctuation.

Just because Ben Croshaw think's so, doesn't mean everyone on the forum does.

Anyway, I like them.

even though yahtzee does hate QTEs I see the comments occasionally in his videos agreeing with his view on them and also on other forums about gaming

 

[CheckD3]

I don't mind them, I just want them used effectively. And if they don't just randomly throw it in there, that's fine, but don't put it into a way that you have to adjust yourself too much and fail to complete it.

 

[Hosker]

I hate them; they just feel so cheap. Every time one crops up I just think, "wouldn't it be cool if I was actually doing that?"

The only game I think that is justified in using them is Resident Evil 4.

 

[mrfusspot]

I don't like the way they're used in some modern games, where you've got a couple of hours of gameplay normally, some cutscenes and then a ton of random QTEs thrown about until the end of the game.
It just doesn't make sense to me to bring this new element in so late in the game, not even warn us about it, and then rely on it from then on.
But, games like Shenmue, where the QTEs are there from the onset and stay around 'til the end (or the second of three games) I have no problem with.

 

[SIXVI06-M]

http://au.ps3.ign.com/articles/113/1137171p1.html

A game made entirely of QTEs.

 

[Judgement101]

I like QTEs, I like small victories over time, and nothing is a smaller victory than a button reflex test.