Quick-time events.

[Gabe]

I should start by admitting that I have never liked QTEs in any game I've played, at best I find them annoying and immersion-breakers, at worst they are lazy, ill-thought out and cheap.

I do think they can serve a purpose, but I've yet to see a really-good implementation of them. My main problems with them currently are:

1. They completely bring me out of the game by showing me things that I can't do when I'm in control.

2. If they are a set pattern, then at least you can memorise the sequence, and getting through them is just a case of memory and timing. However random button-presses can infuriate and prolong the frustration. Why do this? Who would ever want to go back and replay a QTE?!

3. Their purpose is to allow cinematic-scenes to be shown, allowing for situations that can't be replicated through player-control. *But* (and this is my main gripe), I find I can never allow myself to watch these wonderful moments because I'm *always* looking-out for the next button-press is (and so not being able to focus on the action), never knowing when it could crop-up. Add random-presses to this and it just aggrivates even more. So I normally miss out and the scenes that I'm meant to be able to enjoy.

4. They are often used to far-too often for no good reason, often used for mundane events (God of War 2 was one of the first games where I encountered them in any great number, and it hurt my enjoyment of that game quite a bit).

Interestingly enough, there are two demos on the marketplace that have shown examples of some of these, but one handles them better.

The two demos are Legends of Wrestlemania and Ninja Blade.

Legends of Wrestlemania suffers from points 1, 2 and 3; it seems bizarre that in a wrestling game - which should be all about the players controlling everything - that things like Hulk Hogan's leg drop is performed via a (random-button) QTE. What the fell is that all about? In this case it is a deal-breaker for me; I was pretty-much going to buy it on release prior to playing the demo (having not heard of the QTE elements before), and it also hurts the experience. It's a bit like having a QTE to shoot in FIFA as far as I'm concerned.

Ninja Blade, whilst suffering from 1, 2, 3, and (kind-of) 4 does something right; whilst there are far-too many QTEs, it gives you a little heads-up (the sound-effect and the circle appearing in the middle of the screen) before you are required to perform the button-press. Also, they aren't random buttons. This does 2 things - firstly, it means I *can* watch the cinematic-scene without being so-much on edge in anticipation, and secondly, I'm not at the mercy of having to press random-buttons each time I have to attempt it. As a result, I'm now interested in the game (albeit when it's sub-£20, or as a rental).

So, what examples of QTEs have people found to enhance the experience? What else can be done with them? Have other people found them to put them off a game completely? Are they the best way to produce cinematic/stylish moments?

I'd be interested in what people think here.

[Kayin Amoh]

RE4 did them right. They had awesome cutscenes for failure or success, and were sprinkled around the game in a way that made you pay more attention to cutscenes because at any moment glass could be sprayed towards Leon's face and ONLY YOU CAN SAVE HIM.

Any game that has a QTE section where you get the same sequence multiple times during a boss fight, panning out the same way each time and doing the same amount of damage... not so much.

[Venice Cull]

Who is to blame though? Dragon's Layer or Shenmue?

[sir stiff_one]

Dragon's Layer?

[Qazimod]

The best implementation of QTEs has always been God Hand for me. It's hard to explain; but it does it in such a way that it doesn't take you out of the game as much as some other examples. I can see why QTEs are put into certain games, as it saves having to crowd the joypad with a number of over-elaborate moves, but on the other hand, I can't help wondering why we've been able to manage alright without them pre-Shenmue but suddenly need to have them in everything we play today. I can understand that it's not worth coding extra button commands for one-off actions, but it still feels like interaction for the sake of it; developers should be confident enough to let the cut-scenes take care of certain actions.

[Fry Crayola]

Dragon's Layer?

It's an anagram of Dragon Slayer. Unckie Clive must be outing himself as a massive nerd.

Er...

[Roboplegic Wrongcock]

Yeah Ninja Blade handles them very well. I still remember the QTE fight on the rooftop in Shenmue 2 that was epic.

[fatoy.japa]

Yeah Ninja Blade handles them very well.

I was coming in here to say the exact opposite. Admittedly I've only played the demo but all they are there is branching paths in a that-Mega-CD-game-that-I-can't-remember-the-name-of (Road Rage?) fashion: you press a button in time and the game continues, or you don't and you go back and do it again.

I can't say that I much enjoy that.

[Gabe]

I was coming in here to say the exact opposite. Admittedly I've only played the demo but all they are there is branching paths in a that-Mega-CD-game-that-I-can't-remember-the-name-of (Road Rage?) fashion: you press a button in time and the game continues, or you don't and you go back and do it again.

I can't say that I much enjoy that.

How is that different from any other game with QTEs though? Surely the only difference is the amount of game you have to re-play if you fail though (and whilst not having played RE4 - often held as an example of how to do them 'right' - isn't it the same there, i.e. fail and die)?

Whilst Ninja Blade has far too many of them, I appreciated the fact that I was given advance warning one was coming, so that I could at least enjoy the cinematic before pressing the button (instead of staring only at the area of the screen where I expect the prompt to flash up). I thought that was slightly-better implementation, for me.

[Smitty]

RE4's ones were sexellent.

[Elliott]

They're all shit.

If games are just videos that I have to press a button to be allowed to carry on viewing then count me out.

[Smitty]

They're all shit.

If games are just videos that I have to press a button to be allowed to carry on viewing then count me out.

Funnily enough, RE4's ones were, in the majority, just spicing up cutscenes. Which you would, er, be watching anyway.

[divine visitor]

The first time I'd ever seen a QTE sequence was in Sega's Die Hard Arcade on Saturn. For people who haven't played it, they were found in-between levels where you're running to the next area and quickly have to react to an enemy's sudden appearance. They were simple one-button-press sequences and really worked well as part of an arcade game.

I also quite enjoyed them in Shenmue 1 since they were used in a very similar way to Die Hard Arcade, but the crazy, over-elaborate cinematic events they have become - particularly in games such as Fahrenheit - is ridiculous.

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

"PRESS X TO NOT SHIT PANTS"

I don't mind Quicktime Events. They're more interesting than cutscenes and offer experiences that wouldn't fit in the regular gameplay while still giving you the feeling that YOU are the one doing it.

[Mr.Crowley]

They were tolerable and used well in RE4. Apart from that, none of my favourite games use QTE's.

I tried the new Legends of WWF game, and turned it off about a minute into the first exhibition match as i feared I couldn't refrain from slitting my own throat if I didn't.

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

I liked how they were used in God of War for serious brutal finishing moves. Although sometimes they got a bit too intrusive maybe. Still, I liked them. The only game I can think of where I actively disliked them was Fahrenheit because it was crippling the whole thing.

[CarloOos]

RE4 worked so well because there were only two prompts, either A and B or both the L and R triggers, so whilst they were randomised you always knew what to expect. This also meant you didn't need to look directly at the prompt to know what it was, so you could enjoy the cutscene more.

For whatever reason they changed this in 5, which does make some of the more extended sequences quite frustrating when they're throwing all these different buttons at you every time.

[lewismistreated]

They're awful, they've always been awful, and they're somehow getting worse.

[Ferine]

Shenmue's QTEs are still the best implemented in my eyes. Those who need a refresher can

; it seems to be running on an emulator, but you can still get the gist of things.

There are two key things about that example that are missing in a lot of QTE sections in games these days. First you have the sound: the beeping screams "You have to press a button now!" and there's also different noises for a successful or erroneous input. A lot of titles seem to completely omit these audio cues and simply flash something up on the screen; I missed quite a few of RE5's button presses first time around because they suddenly flash up at you with no warning whatsoever. The second key difference is that in Shenmue missing one or two inputs — or indeed messing up an entire QTE in some cases — wouldn't instantly kick you back to redo the entire section. There was some leeway, and the ability to mess up but not fail completely made such sections feel far more like an interactive sequence than a trial-and-error memory test.

Shenumue's implementation wasn't perfect and I'm sure that a more elegant solution could and should be discovered, but if baffles me that a lot of modern games' efforts are so much worse.

[scottcr]

I like QTEs and they work really well in some of my favourite games.

Thanks

[Asura]

The Force Unleashed did this really badly, as there was no way to know when the sequence was over, so you missed the entire cinematic waiting for it.

[Timmo]

Every game needs a boulder QTE after Resi 5.

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

Every game needs a boulder QTE after Resi 5 Rick Dangerous.

[Gabe]

The Force Unleashed did this really badly, as there was no way to know when the sequence was over, so you missed the entire cinematic waiting for it.

As I say, this is the main thing I hate about them. I missed much of the goings-on in God of War 2 because I was always expecting a prompt to flash up, and it's something I find hasn't really changed. I should play RE4 at some point, given that I've had it on the PS2 since not long after release, and see how they are in that.

Still, if Ninja Blade does nothing else, I'd like it to herald the widespread use of aural-cues in future.

[Wiper]

As I say, this is the main thing I hate about them. I missed much of the goings-on in God of War 2 because I was always expecting a prompt to flash up, and it's something I find hasn't really changed. I should play RE4 at some point, given that I've had it on the PS2 since not long after release, and see how they are in that.

Still, if Ninja Blade does nothing else, I'd like it to herald the widespread use of aural-cues in future.

Seeing as every game successfully ignored that element of the Shenmue series I doubt they'll take it up en-masse because of a game destined for the bargain bins.

[Mr. Gerbik]

I like QTEs and they work really well in some of my favourite games.

Thanks

Not to be mean, but I've always seen most of the 'gimmicky' waggle as "QTE Evolved". Instead of press X not to die, you, well, waggle not to die. I therefore always assumed that Wii fanatics would also like QTEs.

[Phelan]

The Force Unleashed and recent Spiderman 3 game both sucked because of QTEs - waste of my fucking time.

[womblingfree]

QTE's when used for effect and variety don't bother me at all usually. Resi's 4 and 5 and Farenheit all used them pretty well. When an entire game's built around them or they're used in RPG's they get on my tits though.

[Grey Fox]

Glad someone mentioned Die Hard Arcade - the thing it did right was it would have you running between levels and then would flash up a propmpt - e.g. Punch or Kick etc and if you pressed it in time you could avoid fighting a few enemies as you'd take them out in a single blow and carry on running to a further point in the level if you missed it you'd have to fight those enemies (that you could have wiped out in the QTE)

Also I thought Tomb Raider Legend got them really right. The button prompts matched exactly what I'd expect to do as the cut scene played out - e.g. Jump then Grapple then roll to avoid the trap/explosion. You can almost gues them ahead of time.

[Vemsie]

I like them when there's a bit of effort put into them. No game did this better than Shenmue (II). They were elaborate, really well choreographed and failing them would not necessarily mean that you had to do them over, especially in the sequel. Lots of different animations as well. I still remember that epic market stall fight in the sequel. You could mess up a few, which basically meant Ryo would get punched or kicked, but as long as you'd hit most of them, you'd actually made it.

Resi 4 (5 seems more lazy) and the God of War series also handle them well.