Why does everyone claim they hate quick time events?

[hypothetical fact]

Everyone says they are awkward and frustrating, ruining the immersion but what about Guitar Hero?
That series of games is incredibly successful and the whole thing is just quick time events with music playing in the background and a new very expensive controller.

 

[Yog Sothoth]

interesting idea, but it's not really the same thing.... quick-time events are essentially like playing the old "simon" electronic game... guitar hero and the like are more about rhythm and dexterity...

 

[Woe Is You]

There's a difference with having a cutscene where in the middle of it you're supposed to press a button before you die, and a game that is all about pressing those buttons (and you never actually die from missing just one note in Guitar Hero, anyway, so it's a poor example).

So it's not the mechanic of pressing buttons that people are against, it's the whole idea of having a mechanic that makes you watch cutscenes over and over.

 

[white_salad]

Well, my main problem is when they are not a frequent happening. Like in resident evil 4, atleast I knew one was coming, so I didn't die because it was a cutscene and I was making a sandwich in the other room watching it from affar. I dont mind them as long as they are well implemented. Like in a war game, you choose to be a medic, and when you see an injured soldier, a quick time event comes up and you match the buttons to heal him.

 

[gamebrain89]

Breaking game flow to mash buttons? Sign me up for that!

And Guitar Hero does not have quick time events, and if you consider what it has quick time events, it can't break game flow because that makes up the entirety of the game.

this. QTE break the flow of games. If I am watching a cut scene, I want to be able to set the stinking controller down for a sec with out worrying about having to watch the freaking cut scene again if I miss a single button press.

 

[Isaac Dodgson]

Press X to not die!

Ahem...anyway, agreed with the replies, Guitar Hero, Rock Band, even DDR can't really be classified as being QTE, but instead are rhythm matching games.

 

[Rednog]

I personally have hated quicktime events since my first experience in FF:X, its like yay long cut scene, and like every normal person I put the controller down and sat back watching the scene, suddenly I need to press buttons so Tidus can learn a new blitzball technique? wtf?

Though I think the greatest act of trolling could've been in the Final MGS4 cut scene, they should've stuck in a press X or something and if you didn't its game over and you had to watch the whole thing over.

 

[Pigeon_Grenade]

ya.... normally they come Juuuust after your hands cramp and you need too rest em a sec

 

[HSIAMetalKing]

I actually don't hate quicktime events-- I played through the entirety of Indigo Prophecy, and THAT game was LITERALLY all quicktime events (Guitar Hero is a pretty poor example). I even enjoyed it up until the end where shit just started to get crazy.

Sneaky quicktime events (like that one in the first mission of CoD4-- you know the one) are somewhat annoying because they surprise you and are extremely difficult to react to and result in instant death if failed.

 

[Halo Fanboy]

They only really give you the illusion of control rather than let you use a full range of movments.

 

[Eldritch Warlord]

They're good when they're an integral part of gameplay, such as in Guitar Hero or PoP: The Two Thrones or Gears of War 2. But just thrown into cutscenes? Why?

Oh and "Press X to not die!" is that from a game?

 

[linchowlewy]

I actually don't hate quicktime events-- I played through the entirety of Indigo Prophecy, and THAT game was LITERALLY all quicktime events (Guitar Hero is a pretty poor example). I even enjoyed it up until the end where shit just started to get crazy.

Sneaky quicktime events (like that one in the first mission of CoD4-- you know the one) are somewhat annoying because they surprise you and are extremely difficult to react to and result in instant death if failed.

i don't remember a quicktime in the first level of CoD:4...

 

[Aiden Rebirth]

I like quick times their really cool and keep you on your feet, honestly the only time I got really tired of them was in gow 2 with the zeus battle, I had to play that part so many times it was a nightmare. honestly long as they are simple and cool and not in every cutscene it's fine

 

[HSIAMetalKing]

I actually don't hate quicktime events-- I played through the entirety of Indigo Prophecy, and THAT game was LITERALLY all quicktime events (Guitar Hero is a pretty poor example). I even enjoyed it up until the end where shit just started to get crazy.

Sneaky quicktime events (like that one in the first mission of CoD4-- you know the one) are somewhat annoying because they surprise you and are extremely difficult to react to and result in instant death if failed.

i don't remember a quicktime in the first level of CoD:4...

Really? You don't remember the "Press A to Board the Helicopter!" thing?

I missed that one and the Game Over screen said something like, "Don't worry-- nobody gets it on the first try."

 

[Drakstern]

Because random quicktime events suck.

Properly done quicktime events are fine.

 

[Raven28256]

I don't hate QTEs...I hate games with that "ME TOO!!" attitude that throw in like one or two QTEs just so they can include some trendy new fad for no reason at all. Games that have like two QTEs at completely random times are annoying. Take Uncharted, for example. Great game, but there are like two QTEs that are just randomly thrown in for no reason at all. They feel very forced and pointless, like some publisher overlord demanded they include them for...some reason or another.

That is what I think most people hate: Games that only throw in one or two QTEs and otherwise completely ignore the mechanic. If you are going to include QTEs, make them a common and integral part of the game so gamers are expecting them...Don't just throw one or two random QTEs that result in a cheap, unavoidable death just so you can say "SEE!! WE ARE COOL AND TRENDY WITH NEW FADS IN GAMING TOO!!!!"

 

[n01d34]

I don't claim to hate quicktime events I do hate quicktime events. Well hate is a strong word dislike would be better.

The reason is that when you're playing a game and there are a bunch of mechanics for moving, fighting, jumping ect they tend to deep, balanced and with me in control. Quicktime events on the other hand are just shallow.

Having a cutscene to break up the action is one thing but for the game to play a shallower version of Simon Says with me while it plays a cutscene in the background is just stupid. Breaking the immersion by flashing a red button when I need to press red, thus reminding me I'm playing a game, is stupider.

By the way, going up to a soldier and pressing A to heal them, because there is an A above their head, is not a quicktime event. That would just be a context sensitive use of the action button. You don't have to do it to continue playing. A quicktime event is something thrown into a cinematic to try and keep the illusion that the player is still in control of the action when they are not.

 

[Dys]

The reason I dislike them is because badly placed qte get very repeditive. For example if there's is one before a difficult boss fight, when I die against the boss I don't want to have to repeat the same button mash each time, after the first time you have seen it the effect is lost.

 

[Shadow Tyrant]

You want to know why people hate QTE's? Play The Force Unleashed. Hell don't waste your money. Just play through the demo. You fight the ...walker thing whatever it is fuck I don't know, and then right before you get the satisfaction of finally killing it off, by yourself, of your own accord, with your actions, BAM, QTE steals your thunder. And if you don't know it's coming or mess up, you have to wail on it again because somehow it magically regains health every time you don't kill it. Which is usually only once because if you fail to kill it twice you'll likely die.

 

[Flour]

I actually don't hate quicktime events-- I played through the entirety of Indigo Prophecy, and THAT game was LITERALLY all quicktime events (Guitar Hero is a pretty poor example). I even enjoyed it up until the end where shit just started to get crazy.

Sneaky quicktime events (like that one in the first mission of CoD4-- you know the one) are somewhat annoying because they surprise you and are extremely difficult to react to and result in instant death if failed.

i don't remember a quicktime in the first level of CoD:4...

Really? You don't remember the "Press A to Board the Helicopter!" thing?

I missed that one and the Game Over screen said something like, "Don't worry-- nobody gets it on the first try."

That was a normal context sensitive "jump" command, technically not a QTE.
A form of QTE would be the dogs, and having to time your melee attack to survive.

Kung Fu Panda(got the game when I bought my 360) has possibly the worst quick time events ever.
The symbols which say what buttons to press jump all over the screen and you have very little time to react. Fortunately they start with a little cinematic(e.g. enemy picking up a pillar), and while you can die, death is not punished and actually makes you start the fight with full health and chi even if you started the fight with almost no health/chi left.(losing a QTE removes a bit of health, it is not an instant kill)

People hate QTE's because they are annoying, and the punishments for failing them are too severe. As I posted in another thread about this, failing QTE's should force you to take an alternate path. That path should have more enemies, be a bit longer or it should give you less treasure.(depends on the game)

#edit: changed a few minor things to explain a bit better