On the subject of Quick Time Events.

Used to be, you knew what parts of a game you could play and what parts you couldn’t. When Peach was talking, Mario appropriately kept his mouth shut and didn’t move, even when he was being informed that his princess was, in fact, in another castle (sorry, had to do it). Ninja Gaiden for the NES’s cutscenes were totally about exposition and crafting a better story, right? Even today, most games have a divide between interacting and following through (or changing) a story, and watching as the story cements itself. Recently, however, developers have seen fit to leave that behind in favor of involving you in while the story plays itself out, in what are now dubbed Quick Time Events.

For the uninformed, a Quick Time Event (QTE) is, as defined by Wikipedia,

“a method of gameplay used in video games. It allows for limited control of the
game character during cut scenes or cinematic sequences in the game, and
generally involves the player following onscreen prompts to press buttons.”

The intent, of course, is to engage players in what they’re watching to (seemingly) prevent the player from getting bored with what’s going on. Pressing buttons or performing simple actions allows the player to continue playing, while failing to do so means being handed a penalty, usually death. So, with all the wide, wide uses found for it today, is this a valid way to have players interact with their games, or a crutch for developers to lean on when they can’t decide on whether to make a part interactive are not?

With entire games based upon this premise, you would think that it’s a perfectly reasonable mechanic. Judging a player’s reflexes is a way to test their reflexes, along with their timing and whatnot. But to some extent, if you’re going to try to test a reflex or the player’s timing, wouldn’t the best place to do so be in the game? As in, not a cutscene? Because any use of a QTE in a cutscene that would test a player's skills could be done in game instead, the purpose of the Quick Time is not to challenge the player’s skills, but rather to engage them in what’s going on.

This does not, however, invalidate their use. Just because the button pressing and stick twirling is not inherently challenging, it doesn’t mean that it can’t be done well and engaging. Some of the best examples (and one of the most often cited) are God of War’s. While they’re not exactly Quick Time Events because they don’t take place in a cutscene, when you are pressing buttons in a cinematic in which you kill a Cyclops, you have one button to press, which will then launch into the next part of the cinematic, which essentially makes it an in-game Quick Time Event. This is one of the best uses for it, because there isn’t a way for Kratos to jump on a Cyclops and then gouge its eye it. It just isn’t possible in normal gameplay. But it would be too easy to just press one button and watch the entire thing unfold (and yes, I am saying that instances that do just that are not good ways to use them).

So, God of War puts this mechanic to great use, but are QTE's that happen in the middle of gameplay the best way to do it? Not always. Recently, the newest Prince of Persia puts QTE's to work extensively, too much so. There is a pseudo-QTE in that when you're falling off something and will die, the screen turns white to show you, and most of the time that means that you have to jump again. Also, it pretty much tells you when you're supposed to block every time, so there isn't much in the way of difficulty, but that's an entry for another day. The point being that this is overusing QTE's, and they become a nuisance more often than not.

If it seems like I'm arguing back and forth, it's because I am. There is a valid point to both sides, and it's only fair that they both be represented. My verdict on the subject, though, is this: as with any mechanic, there's a good a way to do it, and a bad way to do it. Their existence isn't required in video games as a medium, but they can be a way to engage a player by letting them perform specific actions that wouldn't be possible to perform in game, as long as you keep it interesting by using them sparingly. Always in moderation, folks.