[Editor's note: unangbangkay talks about how much he hates Quick Time Events for his Monthly Musing piece. -- CTZ]
Ever find yourself walking down the street, minding your own business, and suddenly see a bus barreling towards you? Certain doom! BUT WAIT, PRESS TRIANGLE NOW! DO IT! DIVE! DIVE! DIVE! HIT YOUR BURNERS PILO -- oops, not fast enough! You're dead! Hah!
Welcome to life with QTEs! As you may well know, the QTE is basically a Simon Says-esque minigame that pops up during pre-scripted in-game cutscenes. At its most basic level, the QTE is a random button cue that you MUST press to avoid instant and embarrassing death. More after the jump.
First birthed in
Dragon's Lair (laser discs rule!), the QTE has plagued action gamers for more than two decades. Incidentally,
Dragon's Lair was my first-ever experience of game frustration. Mutated versions of QTEs appeared in some non-action games, such as the timed "LIPS" dialog system of my favorite never-to-leave-Japan title
Sakura Taisen, wherein response trees changed according to how long it took you to choose an option (not choosing counted as a "silence" response). Also,
Sakura Taisen is great, you should learn Japanese, buy it, play it, and petition SEGA to bring it over while the PS2 still lives. Or the PC version, I don't care just do it.
A period of slumber followed as gamers enamored themselves with space-combat joystick waggling, early FPS games, menu-selecting jRPGs and real-time strategy. In 1999 the QTE reared its head once more, spicing up key action sequences in Dreamcast powerhouse title
Shenmue and its sequel. It was that game which actually coined the acronym "QTE", for "Quick Timer Event". QTEs have gone on to taint many high-profile titles, such as
God of War and
Heavenly Sword.
The idea behind the QTE (Yu Suzuki would rather you pronounce it "cutie") is great! All the drama of an action movie with the dynamism of actual gameplay! WRONG. In execution the QTE merges all the passivity of a cutscene with the sudden, blinding pain of a sucker-punch.
Furthermore, the need to stay alert to hit the cues actually
distracts from the brilliance of the cutscene itself. You're too busy prepping for the next press that you can't pay attention to whatever else is happening onscreen. It's lose-lose for both the player and the developer. The player is forced to submit to an inane non-feature, and the developer wastes time and effort on a cutscene that no one can appreciate One may as well have spent the money jazzing up a regular, non-interactive cutscene or, God forbid, on
gameplay.
To make matters worse, sometimes QTEs are
randomized, with each cue different with every repetition. Not only can we not memorize the cues and thus enjoy the drama, but a single slip of the thumb or accidental waggle means GAME-ENDING DEATH AND LOADING SCREENS.
The Bourne Conspiracy, I'm scowling at
you.
The sad fact is that QTEs are more often than not a crutch, a band-aid to cover up a bleeding wound of inadequate gameplay. Why would I have to watch (but not appreciate) this cutscene when I could be
playing? We didn't cough up our moneys to see ourselves die over and over again because we don't have the reflexes of an Olympic Trap Shooter (or a tween).
Not only does the average QTE waste gameplay potential, but it regularly wastes
its own potential. The QTE's greatest benefit is that it allows a game's design to transcend the mechanical prerequisites of an actual game. No matter the hardware, there will always be some need for drama that can't quite be mapped to the face buttons or keyboard commands. QTEs can provide that, but at the cost of pulling the player out of the game. With the right design, though,
they don't have to.
A new dawn may well be coming. In these halcyon days of hardware finally being capable of living up to artistic vision, opportunities in the refinement of the QTE abound.
Just off the top of my head, a QTE's cues could alter the flow of the action according to missed or hit button presses. QTEs then become engaging multiple-choice, context-sensitive events, rather than annoying, invasive signs of laziness or mediocrity.
Shenmue even managed it to a limited extent on the last-generation Dreamcast, think of what could happen on a current- or next-gen platform!
Combined with ways to seamlessly transition from scripted cutscene to actual gameplay (as in some points of
Metal Gear Solid 4), and a QTE can
complement the gameplay, rather than combat it.
We've seen some of the fun that can emerge from even a reasonably well-integrated QTE, as
Indigo Prophecy (well, most of it) helps prove. Even today, that dreamed-of dynamism looks to be near, with
Heavy Rain's claims of being "the first interactive movie".
So, developers, stop jamming QTEs into games like uninvited guests, and start treating as they should be regarded: as members of the family.
NOW PRESS CRTL+D TO BOOKMARK THIS ARTICLE DO IT DO IT DO IT DO I- oh, missed it? Now I'm a sad panda.
Contest:
5:12 PM on 09.17.2008
| 
Nice turn of phrase and so very true.
IMG]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/MrMxyzptlk123/motivator735071.jpg[/IMG]
Well, I did in the god of war games. I felt really motivated to get it right; even though in GoW there weren't many consequences for failing it (just do it again) I still felt the need to do it perfectly.
QTE is here to stay, just like the the health regen system that every fps out there has now.
I think people are starting to realize that the true culprit here is long, non-interactive segments in games used to further the plot, instead of pushing it along within the game play itself (aka, Bioshock or Half Life).
And, if you want a great example of truly excessive QTEs, I give you The Bourne Conspiracy.
Kidding.
I guess after reading your write up I can see YOUR point of view, but its not mine. I like most QTEs. Like in the last couple Tomb Raider games, Resident Evil 4, God of War 1 and 2, Star Wars Force Unleashed.. cool stuff meTinks.
The QTEs in The Force Unleashed don't help the game much, it's more of a distraction for me because I'm watching for my next button press instead of watching how badass Starkiller is.
Every single time you jack a tank or helicopter in Mercs 2 requires a QTE, and it gets old, fast.
Secondly, QTE's are just overused now. Certain games really did them right, namely Shenmue and Dynamite Cop, but there are a lot of games that simply don't need them. They're okay if they don't detract from game play, but QTE's are difficult to implement in really action-packed games without making them feel boring in comparison to the normal action.
Farenheit (Indigo Prophecy) was a great game as far as character interaction went, but the QTE battles were horrible.
I remember trying to foist the pad off to my friends so I could just watch the QTE scenes without having to actually do them. Not only were they repetitive and boring, they actually force you to concentrate on the flashing icons rather than what is actually going on in the scene.
Honestly, I wouldn't mind QTEs as much if they were more intuitive and less random buttons flashing up on the screen. Like if a QTE requires me to jump, instead of showing a button on-screen, have some kind of more subtle indicator that I should be jumping.
I mentioned how Indigo Prophecy did it right because the QTEs were strongly integrated into its gameplay, each movement having a real connection to actions on screen. There were still issues, mainly with the prompts distracting from the scenes, and of course those terrible fights at the end, but the QTEs were solid and didn't end in failure if you missed (for the most part).
In fact I'm quite excited about Heavy Rain, which according to the trailers is raining QTEs. That might normally be a terrible thing, but if you notice the button cues are unobtrusive, largely visible without you needing to watch just a single sector of the screen. The prompts pop up right where you should be looking to connect to the action, and the scenes' flow naturally, be it hit or miss. If anything, from what it looks like Heavy Rain may well be the most refined use of the QTE yet. And if they can make it work, I'll be a less sad panda.
rarely heard a truer description of QTE's :-)
brilliant article!
The worst I can remember was Conan for PS3. Their is literally no pause or indication that a QTE is about to happen during a boss fight at the end of the game. You'll be frantically bashing combos trying to kill this boss and then out of no where the QTE happens and you almost instantly fail because you were in the middle of a fucking combo attack to kill him. I was absolutely shocked by how awful it was. Didn't anyone play test this shit?
Awesome article though, and so true. QTE's suck. Apart from God of War's, which I thought was decently done.