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Insomniac Games responds to the QTE criticism in Spider-Man for PS4

S

Sevyne

Member
My problem with QTEs like this is that they simply could have just been cinemtic cutscenes instead. I know they're trying to keep you engaged, but all this does is annoy me. Instead of enjoying a cool scene, I end up distracted by waiting for shitty button prompts to pop up. They aren't fun at all.

That said, I don't think they'll ruin the experience if they're not often, but I do not like them.
 
eso76

eso76

Member
chandoog said:
Unpopular opinion time.

I wish Insomniac also add an "auto QTE" option for the game for accessibility, similar to how Capcom added an auto QTE option in Resident Evil 6. If it's a 'set piece block buster' moment. I'd rather eliminate the 'miss and repeat' aspect that usually plagues these kind of QTE's completely to enjoy the set piece in it's full glory.
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I have nothing against QTE in setpieces, but I can't say they really add anything to the experience for me. Nah, i don't feel the slightest bit more responsible for whatever awesome stuff my character does on screen and I'd rather just watch so yeah, Auto QTE sounds good to me
 
Monocle

Monocle

Member
Servbot24 said:
So ridiculous they had to respond to this idiotic criticism. It's as though people have never played a game released in the last 10 years. There is always normal gameplay with the occasional set piece.

"I saw a QTE so that must be the entire game."
"I saw four areas in Mario Odyssey so that must be the entire game."

That is literally the thought process of a small infant who doesn't understand that things it doesn't see still exist.



Yes you absolutely can blame people for thinking this. Unless the intelligence of the gaming audience does not deserve even the slightest modicum of respect.
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Wow, a tad harsh maybe? Why are you mocking people for reacting to the demo that Insomniac chose to represent the game with? How did you know, without being told, what portion of the game was composed of QTE driven gameplay?

You are literally telling people to assume that the game is mostly different than what they saw. You're calling people dumb for not comforting themselves with pure speculation. As if that weren't enough, you're dismissing people's reasonable concerns about an overabundance of QTEs interfering with normal gameplay—a problem that is hardly unprecedented. When God of War, the king of QTEs, distances itself from what was once a pillar of its gameplay, maybe that tells us something about the evolving standards of game design.

If anything, the backlash against the QTEs in the Spider-Man demo sends an important message to the developers about what kind of game fans want. You might personally disapprove of the way people have been speaking out, but it's not about that at all. This isn't people being dumb babies, it's potential customers making their preferences known, and doing so effectively enough that Insomniac not only noticed, but chose to respond.

As someone who wants a modern open world Spider-Man game with minimal obstacles to freeform navigation, I'm glad Insomniac was reminded that QTE driven set pieces are perceived by some fans as exactly that: obstacles to the way they want to experience the game.

chandoog said:
Unpopular opinion time.

I wish Insomniac also add an "auto QTE" option for the game for accessibility, similar to how Capcom added an auto QTE option in Resident Evil 6. If it's a 'set piece block buster' moment. I'd rather eliminate the 'miss and repeat' aspect that usually plagues these kind of QTE's completely to enjoy the set piece in it's full glory.
Click to expand...
Not a bad idea. I've been playing The Witcher 2, and this type of feature does make the cinematic moments more enjoyable.
 
O

orochi91

Member
GravityInsanity said:
I'm starting to think a very, VERY, small minority of people are even complaining about this.
dvRqlia.png

It's also the same people that will get the game anyway.
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Agreed.

I've been keeping up with Youtube reactors and their reactions to the E3 gameplay footage; the reception has been very positive so far.

The QTEs during these bombastic cinematic sequences and their scope is generally considered to be a non-issue.
 
L

Lys Skygge

Member
Sevyne said:
My problem with QTEs like this is that they simply could have just been cinemtic cutscenes instead. I know they're trying to keep you engaged, but all this does is annoy me. Instead of enjoying a cool scene, I end up distracted by waiting for shitty button prompts to pop up. They aren't fun at all.

That said, I don't think they'll ruin the experience if they're not often, but I do not like them.
Click to expand...
The issue with simply doing a cutscene is that the game is trying to seamlessly blend gameplay with cinematic set pieces. What you're proposing would basically be a series of 15-30 second cutscenes that segue into gameplay. To me, that sounds more annoying than pressing a couple of buttons to keep me engaged. So basically, I feel the exact opposite of you.

I do like the idea someone proposed earlier, and having the option for QTEs to auto-complete. I don't remember for sure, but I think Uncharted 4 did something similar. I think that would be a fair compromise.
 
V

Volta Mars

Banned
orochi91 said:
Agreed.

I've been keeping up with Youtube reactors and their reactions to the E3 gameplay footage; the reception has been very positive so far.

The QTEs during these bombastic cinematic sequences and their scope is generally considered to be a non-issue.
Click to expand...

Totally agree. I have yet to meet a person in real life who expressed any discontent with the QTE events presented in the E3 footage.

If anything, it reminded them of the explosive setpieces seen in comic book movies and the prospect of being able to "play" them in a video game is exciting.

Vocal minority at it again. Not that anyone is not entitled to their opinion (I'm not the biggest fan of QTEs myself), it's just weird to me developers have to go into damage control mode over something like this. It's ridiculous to me.
 
S

Sevyne

Member
Lys Skygge said:
The issue with simply doing a cutscene is that the game is trying to seamlessly blend gameplay with cinematic set pieces. What you're proposing would basically be a series of 15-30 second cutscenes that segue into gameplay. To me, that sounds more annoying than pressing a couple of buttons to keep me engaged. So basically, I feel the exact opposite of you.

I do like the idea someone proposed earlier, and having the option for QTEs to auto-complete. I don't remember for sure, but I think Uncharted 4 did something similar. I think that would be a fair compromise.
Click to expand...

That is a proposal I can agree with. I can understand that some may like having the in there, but I hate them. Having a choice would be the best option, and I can only hope they're considering that.
 
M

MoonsaultSlayer

Member
Sevyne said:
My problem with QTEs like this is that they simply could have just been cinemtic cutscenes instead. I know they're trying to keep you engaged, but all this does is annoy me. Instead of enjoying a cool scene, I end up distracted by waiting for shitty button prompts to pop up. They aren't fun at all.

That said, I don't think they'll ruin the experience if they're not often, but I do not like them.
Click to expand...
This isn't a PSX-era jrpg where they need a cg cutscene to hype up how "cinematic" their game is. It's also a far better option than cutting it out entirely or making some mechanic out of it with a static camera as to not interfere with the gameplay (it was done so many times in the PS2 era, I can imagine how it'd be done).

I'll use my action figure analogy again: Did you ever perform slow-motion, choreographed action scenes with two figures or make an amazing jump escape with a car or were you more the type that just hammered your toy up and down knocking down all your other toys? To me, I did the epic action and that's what these qte segments remind me of when done right.
 
S

Sevyne

Member
MoonsaultSlayer said:
This isn't a PSX-era jrpg where they need a cg cutscene to hype up how "cinematic" their game is.
Click to expand...

Except that's exactly what QTEs are to me, but with the annoyance of waiting for a button prompt or two during it. It adds no fun to the scene for me. It doesn't immerse me. It does quite the opposite. It bores me to death and takes me completely out of what is actually going on in the scene because I'm just waiting for unnecessary button prompts to come up.

If you like that kind of stuff then that's perfectly fine. I'm also allowed to hate them.
 
M

MoonsaultSlayer

Member
Sevyne said:
Except that's exactly what QTEs are to me, but with the annoyance of waiting for a button prompt or two during it. It adds no fun to the scene for me. It doesn't immerse me. It does quite the opposite. It bores me to death and takes me completely out of what is actually going on in the scene because I'm just waiting for unnecessary button prompts to come up.

If you like that kind of stuff then that's perfectly fine. I'm also allowed to hate them.
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I'm just trying to offer another perspective. To me, it's impressive because it's all in-game and there are those moments where tension ramps up to hit your cue. No, you're not actively running towards that cue or rapid firing on your own until you hit it, but you're still engaged in the scene. At least here, there's large window to hit that prompt rather than it abruptly flashing on screen, John Cena style.
 
R

Ricker

Member
What happens if you miss one or a few...some QTE make you start the whole scene over and even change them up each time,which I despise...hopefully it just goes on if you miss to the next without the ''bonus''of nailing them or something...
 
S

Sevyne

Member
MoonsaultSlayer said:
I'm just trying to offer another perspective. To me, it's impressive because it's all in-game and there are those moments where tension ramps up to hit your cue. No, you're not actively running towards that cue or rapid firing on your own until you hit it, but you're still engaged in the scene. At least here, there's large window to hit that prompt rather than it abruptly flashing on screen, John Cena style.
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You are offering another perspective to someone who actually understands your perspective already though. I totally understand the appeal for some people. Its just like I can understand why people like the band Rush, while I can't stand them. Amazing musicians that I just do not like. Or how the Uncharted series is amazing yet I hate those games. QTEs are just something I've never liked even when I know they're done well.

I'll say this though; They're not a deal breaker for me. Hell, I liked the Tomb Raider reboot games and we both know how much they loved throwing QTEs in those. Now if a game goes all Order 1886 on me, then I'm 100% out.
 
H

Haines

Banned
To be fair, if you get that much of a backlash maybe you didnt do the best job presenting the game.

But ive always come to this conclusion. QTE is for big setpieces
 
P

phantasmic_glaive

Member
Haines said:
To be fair, if you get that much of a backlash maybe you didnt do the best job presenting the game.

But ive always come to this conclusion. QTE is for big setpieces
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Haters gonna hate. It's plenty people out there wishes this games was multiplat and when a game looks this extraordinary they'll find things wrong with it, or stuff to hate on.

They could fix whatever issue today and tomorrow it would be something new. Horizon all over again.

That being said, they could also do a "Spider senses tingling " thing with some type of gauge and let you figure the timing out yourself, but that'll be unfair. Let em do what they do, and I'm all in.
 
LightofRohan

LightofRohan

Member
I've never understood the overwhelming hate for QTE's. Of course there are times when they are excessive and overly difficult and result in insta-fails that makes them annoying. But for the most part its just something to do to make you feel in it still.

Honestly not that big of a deal at all. I hate those quirks that were done bad a few times so gamers deem anything with them garbage.
 
E

ElFly

Member
More_Badass said:
Whether you like it or not isn't actually the issue. What matters is figuring how to use the tool effectively rather than discarding it. For example, jump scares in horror movies. People tend to hate those, they're often cheap and unearned, and used as a crutch rather than actually building suspense or tension

And yet some of the best horror movies have jump scares, because the jump scare itself isn't inherently bad. What makes it bad is how it's used, why, and when.

Game design and these elements are the same. And we're still learning the how, why, and when. Player control, when to limit and modulate control and when not to, is as much a part of game design as deciding what to show in camera is for a movie. A game isn't a one way street; the developer is guiding you as much as you're guiding the action onscreen.
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and you think that this trailer is effective use?

all that the trailer says is that spidey cannot save a crashing helicopter outside a QTE. or stop a falling crane. or run on one

I don't doubt that there are still valid uses of QTEs, but it is disappointing to see an action game still use it so liberally cause it cannot translate its controls into the action of the cutscenes the QTEs are gating. QTEs should be for things that there are no controls for.

if spiderman needs a QTE to shoot web to save a copter, well, I guess I will have to have fun rescuing balloons for kids or delivering pizza
 
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