Wreck-It Ralph
Member
QTEs annoy me because they completely take me out of the cinematic. I can't pay attention to how awesome Kratos looks swinging around and ripping heads off because I'm too busy looking for the button prompt so I don't die.
-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
QTEs are NOT cinematic
- Thread starter JumpJeff84
- Start date
JumpJeff84
Member
Yeah but that proves my point. The original Dragon's Lair had no button prompts- that was the whole point of the game. Nothing appeared on screen to clutter up the visuals, hence the game was extremely cinematic.
JumpJeff84
Member
Yeah, that's pretty much it.
I H8 Memes
Member
I dont understand the point of QTE's during cutscenes. I sure as hell dont enjoy them. Most people dont. Am I supposed to be watching this cutscene? Because I'm not. I'm watching a 3 inch by 3 inch piece of my screen intensity waiting for a goddamned button prompt. You could put up a cutscene of 2 midgets banging and I'm not going to notice. I need to watch for those button prompts.
orthodoxy1095
Banned
And that's exactly how QTEs need to be. Devs should just allow us to turn the button prompts off.
GribbleGrunger
Dreams in Digital
I know what you mean but it seems to me that people are expanding the QTEs in The Order by adding in things that have been in a lot of great games. QTEs are a sequence of events (be it small or large) that have 'consequence' or 'meaning'. Sneaking up behind an enemy and strangling them because a triangle appears isn't a QTE, it's a 'button prompt'.
I don't like them, except when is to add "strenght" to some move, like in Bayonetta 2 and The Wonderful 101. This is fun, is like a minigame inside the game.
But this The Order Cutscene is stupid, just let me watch the fight. I don't feel like I'm in control (because I'm not) and yet I do have to press buttons that they told me to do so.
It's so fucking boring.
But this The Order Cutscene is stupid, just let me watch the fight. I don't feel like I'm in control (because I'm not) and yet I do have to press buttons that they told me to do so.
It's so fucking boring.
Yep. If your game is going to have cutscenes just have them without the QTE's and be done with it. QTE's are completely unnecessary. I'd rather sit through a cutscene that I can actually pay attention to than I would sitting there waiting for whatever random button press I need to hit.
Excellent point. 90% of the time I'm watching the video sequence and following along and then I get blindsided by a QTE and miss it. The scene repeats itself and instead of paying attention I am just waiting in anticipation of the prompt. If you actually pay attention to the video sequence you are more likely to miss the prompts.
The problem is that you usually don't know which button to press without the prompt.
Well, designers thinks that we don't learn the button to open doors through various games.
And you can't skip QTE cutscenes (when you are replaying the game) because the qte either.
think the best QTE's are the ones where the button prompts are pretty much the same as the normal in game buttons.
Like in arkham origins, you press triangle/Y for when batman needs to counter or something.
Stuff like that just feels... smoother and less jarring in your typical ones where gameplay transitions to simon says with big colorful buttons.
Like in arkham origins, you press triangle/Y for when batman needs to counter or something.
Stuff like that just feels... smoother and less jarring in your typical ones where gameplay transitions to simon says with big colorful buttons.
geordiemp
Member
Your right OP, and if the game has to have QTE then have each button do an action, like hit square, dodge O, defend Triangle at the right time, something contextual without the button prompt.
Nothing like a big button prompt in the middle of the screen to tell me that I am in fact playing a video game.
I H8 Memes
Member
I do this everytime. Always miss the first QTE because I assume the developers are trying to tell a story or something crazy like that. Instead they wanted me to play a mini game.
This right here:
is literally a cinematic. No human interaction required. At all.
in general QTEs suck. Really badly. Developers can't be bothered to add actual gameplay, so they simply create movies or fixed realtime cutscenes and call it a day. RE4 invented them and it was probably the only game that handled them fine. Not great, but fine (except the Krauser cutscenes)
It's as much interaction as a BluRay player pausing a movie every few minutes. And in the case of QTEs it's forcing you to go 5 minutes back in case you didn't press it within a second.
is literally a cinematic. No human interaction required. At all.
in general QTEs suck. Really badly. Developers can't be bothered to add actual gameplay, so they simply create movies or fixed realtime cutscenes and call it a day. RE4 invented them and it was probably the only game that handled them fine. Not great, but fine (except the Krauser cutscenes)
It's as much interaction as a BluRay player pausing a movie every few minutes. And in the case of QTEs it's forcing you to go 5 minutes back in case you didn't press it within a second.
FF Seraphim
Member
GribbleGrunger
Dreams in Digital
In TLOU you grab someone when the triangle button appears and then either shiv them (triangle) or strangle them (Square). both of these options have button prompts. In the Order when you fight someone you have similar choices and the same button prompts.
The only thing I would say about The Order that I hope changes is the 'game over' state when you fail a stealth move.
D
Deleted member 57681
Unconfirmed Member
Alien Isolation does them well, if you want to call them "QTE" at all. Every time you unlock a door, you have to do some code breaking sequence or input a more or less elaborate combination of buttons (for example "hold L2 and press down to pull lever" or "draw a circle with this torch to uncover this circuit" or whatever) and damn near poop your pants because you might end up with alien tail through your stomach :-(
It's actually the one example I can think of where QTEs makes something more immersive.
It's actually the one example I can think of where QTEs makes something more immersive.
ClaptoVaughn
Member
PSY・S;147765326 said:
Floating letters and shapes are the complete opposite of cinematic?
If those movies required me to press a button on my remote control in order to continue to the next scene, yes they would be.
The issue with QTEs is that they tend to be a lukewarm middleground. They're not full on movies, yet they're not full on gameplay. We want to see the action on screen but our eyes are focusing on a little portion of the screen to see what button we need to press instead. We see our characters doing cool stuff that we want to do, but we're only allowed to give permission rather than actually do it.
ChronotriggerJM
Member
I love when QTE's are done right. God of War really nails quicktime events in my opinion because they link the effort with the animation.
I don't like when games have you mash a button, and it doesn't link the animation to the effort, making the action feel arbitrary. Like when Kratos is trying to throat stab a Minotaur, you can almost feel the resistance being applied to your wrists, the mashing becomes an effort to overwhelm your opponent, and when you start to slack, Kratos begins to fail. It's not all or nothing. And it's incredible!
I do wish more games would stick with a constant, regarding what type of QTE is about to go down. Like if they had a dedicated button for when your character was about to dodge, ditto for when they're about to attack. etc etc. Randomization feels kind of silly. But I'm all in favor of cinematic executions that are believable to the character, and I think they enhance the game greatly.
If they can keep the button's constant, I would be down for them hiding them altogether. But the game becomes far less approachable by doing so. So many would fail constantly without prompts.
I don't like when games have you mash a button, and it doesn't link the animation to the effort, making the action feel arbitrary. Like when Kratos is trying to throat stab a Minotaur, you can almost feel the resistance being applied to your wrists, the mashing becomes an effort to overwhelm your opponent, and when you start to slack, Kratos begins to fail. It's not all or nothing. And it's incredible!
I do wish more games would stick with a constant, regarding what type of QTE is about to go down. Like if they had a dedicated button for when your character was about to dodge, ditto for when they're about to attack. etc etc. Randomization feels kind of silly. But I'm all in favor of cinematic executions that are believable to the character, and I think they enhance the game greatly.
If they can keep the button's constant, I would be down for them hiding them altogether. But the game becomes far less approachable by doing so. So many would fail constantly without prompts.
MrCunningham
Member
Good point. The on screen button prompts can take away the "cinematic experience" when done wrong and just remind you that you are playing a game by consciously making you think that you have to press a button at a specific moment to avoid failure or a change in game direction. And I guess that can be immersion breaking and a bit of a cheap way to throw the player a curveball.
JumpJeff84
Member
Yeah, that's pretty much my whole issue with QTEs. The extra 'clutter' on screen more than anything. But I'm the type of guy who a lot of time turns off HUD elements and on-screen button prompts as much as the game will let me.
ChronotriggerJM
Member
I can agree with this in full. I suppose one way they could change up the formula is instead of having that awkward wait for button prompt pause, they could do brief moments of slow-mo, giving the user time to analyse the scene, then continue after your prompt.
JumpJeff84
Member
I've been playing MGS : Ground Zeroes lately and I actually dig how the game goes into slow mo when you get spotted and gives you a chance to take out the guard before they can sound an alarm. It's cinematic and makes you feel like a badass, yet you feel in control the whole time.
But that's just it. Things like these don't need button prompts because, besides feeling cinematic, they're are actual mechanics in the game. In Ground Zeroes, all they have to do is teach you how it works once, and then it always works the same way. The game slows down, and you have the option to do things.
Whereas in games like The Order, you don't necessarily know if you can open this or that door, so they feel the need to but up a button prompt, saying, "yes you can in fact interact with this." Or in The Last of Us. If they don't put that square button prompt on the screen, I don't necessarily know that I need to tap square over and over during that section.
I agree that it isn't cinematic though, and it's definitely more jarring in games that attempt to be cinematic than in other games. Most of the time I'd rather just sit back and watch the scene. But they can't be compared to things like in Ground Zeroes.
Always-honest
Banned
If they're done well, they can really intensify certain moments imo.
I don't mind QTEs as long as they're well implemented into the action. One of the many reasons I hated Lords of Shadow was its terrible QTEs during parts that were supposed to be cinematic sequences: This scene would go for about 30 seconds and all of a sudden you get a prompt... how the fuck am I supposed to expect a prompt after 30 seconds? I thought that was a cinematic.
Asura's Wrath and the God of War series as a whole as great examples of good QTE implementation for me.
Asura's Wrath and the God of War series as a whole as great examples of good QTE implementation for me.
Hero_of_the_Day
Member
QTEs are the worst.
Miles Quaritch
Member
JumpJeff84
Member
To which I answer,
I actually wouldn't mind playing Azura's Wrath just because the whole thing looks so damn ridiculous. Wish it were available digitally though. Wonder if I can pick up a cheap used copy for PS3 at a local gamestop...may have to look into that.
Asura's Wrath along with a lot of other CyberConnect2 titles are the only games that I believe do QTEs right. If you're going to have them, make those scenarios fucking cool.
I'm more immersed in the QTEs Asura's Wrath delivered than literally any other game with the damn things, because Asura's Wrath is fucking cool.
Man Asuras wrath is the shit.
Goldenroad
Member
The worst part about Asura's Wrath was playing it. That should have just been a Capcom film of some sort.
Miles Quaritch
Member
Oh man, you haven't played Asura's Wrath? It's the most.....there are no words that can accurately describe Asura's Wrath.
It's beyond life, it's beyond God. It's beyond existence. It's...Asura's Wrath.
Definitely check it out, you will not be disappointed. Those gifs aren't even close to capturing some of the really ridiculous stuff that happens.
JumpJeff84
Member
Oh man, you haven't played Asura's Wrath? It's the most.....there are no words that can accurately describe Asura's Wrath.
It's beyond life, it's beyond God. It's beyond existence. It's...Asura's Wrath.
Definitely check it out, you will not be disappointed. Those gifs aren't even close to capturing some of the really ridiculous stuff that happens.
Yeah I wanna play it! When it came out I always intended to pick it up when it dropped in price, but I'm not sure that ever happened.
EDIT: Looks like I can get it used on Amazon for $ 30
Miles Quaritch
Member
Get out.
Totally worth it and I'm not surprised it's kept its value.
PetriP-TNT
Member
I just finished Evil Within and I enjoyed how most of the action QTE's were actual playable parts (similar to Dead Space 2 IIRC) (
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
I don't know if they're cinematic or anti-cinematic. I can see the argument going both ways. What I do know is that they are shitty and I wish they would die in a fire, every single one of them.
Oh and the demo for Asura's Wrath is one of the most unpleasant thing I ever experienced. Most obnoxious game ever.
Anyway, yeah, boggles my mind that QTEs are still a thing. It never adds anything positive.
Oh and the demo for Asura's Wrath is one of the most unpleasant thing I ever experienced. Most obnoxious game ever.
This, so much this. Happened all the time in Lords of Shadow. I remember beating the final DLC boss and clasping my controller waiting for the final finisher QTE and dreading that I'd fail it and restart that annoying final phase of the boss again, and it mercifully didn't, but since it was inconsistent with the rest of the game I didn't trust the game to let me just deposit the controller and watch the ending.
Anyway, yeah, boggles my mind that QTEs are still a thing. It never adds anything positive.
I'm of the opinion that game designers utilize QTE's as a way to blend the illusion of gameplay with storytelling in order to give the player something to do. Even Nintendo has done this. I mean, we do see this even in Zelda games such as in Wind Waker. For example, you wait for a button prompt to appear on screen, then you get to watch Link plunge his sword into Ganondorf's skull at the end of the battle. The player has no control over Link's movement or the chosen attack. Same thing occurs in Twilight Princess at the end, albeit with sword shoved into his abdomen.
Tidus_Great
Banned
QTEs are awesome if they are part of big action gameplay sequence.
but if i just fall of a cliff like uncharted, or have to tap a button rapidly to punch someone it gets pretty stale imo
but if i just fall of a cliff like uncharted, or have to tap a button rapidly to punch someone it gets pretty stale imo
I want to play Asura's Wrath but the ending being DLC bothered me. Is that actually true or was it nonsense?
Get out.
Totally worth it and I'm not surprised it's kept its value.
Also the Wonderful 101 had some of the best QTEs.
I don't get the point when I'm focused on the button prompt instead of enjoying the game scene. That is worse in some games than others. Good game play is very hard to do but I would rather they tried new things instead of a fancy QTE that has the scene as depth of field while I concentrate on the prompt.