What do QTE's add?

edited October 2013 in The Wolf Among Us

So I loved TWAU and TWD. I love the story, cinematics, and the choice mechanic. I like the parts where you walk around, investigating and/or solving puzzles. What I don't like are the QTE's. They really feel like something that takes away from the action, rather than adding to it. It actually distracts from the wonderful cinematics when there's a gigantic "Q" on the screen. It just reminds me that I'm not Bigby and that I'm playing a video game. In my opinion, Telltale's games would be much better served if the QTE's were completely removed. They're completely immersion breaking.

Thoughts? I'd really like to hear from people who like the QTE's. Because I don't understand their appeal at all.

Comments

  • edited October 2013

    I think the argument in favour of QTEs are that they add a degree of interactivity and helps to engage the player in what would otherwise be a very long cutscene. You can certainly see how that works, what with the moving targets and button prompts to control Bigby getting you involved in the action and doing a bit more than just having you mash X to not die.

    That said, I'm not a fan of QTEs, and while I feel that the cutscenes might drag on a little long without them, I'd prefer if they weren't there.

  • I have no problem with them. I thought they were fun. I like being immersed in the story but I never forget Im playing a game. It just added a bit of variety to the gameplay for me.

  • I'm not really a fan of QTEs in general myself. But I can see where they do have their uses.

    I think the biggest thing is that they often feel more immersive. You're not pausing the game to click on the right ability from a menu or stopping to find the right control for the thing you want to do. It's just, "Press A, and something cool will happen" without any break in the gameplay. I think this especially comes through when you're playing on a console because the QTEs make the players viscerally feel more like they're doing the thing that the character on the screen is doing.

    I think QTEs also allow for more dynamic and interesting action sequences. In an older action game you might have a button to jump and maybe a couple different types of attacks. But you couldn't, say, grab a cue stick off the bar room wall, jump onto the monster's back, and stab it into its shoulder. Developers simply can't account for every possible action a player might want to try.

    Now I'm not sure that's all worth the loss of freedom that also generally accompanies QTEs. But I have to admit that I've played some pretty amazing action sequences that probably wouldn't have been possible without them. I'd kind of like to see them used more sparingly than they're used these days, but I think they do have their place when done well.

  • they don't break immersion for me but I would rather not have them. i would rather have that aspect of the game taken away and more point and click elements being added like more demanding puzzles when it comes to investigations. having said that I play and love telltale games for the story and I don't mind going through a bunch of QTE's that much in order to get to the awesome cutscenes and dialogue. so it is a very minor thing for me.

  • I think it is a step up from Walking Dead's press X then Q, which I was fine with but am still happy they improved, which reminds me of the QTEs in Heavy Rain, not that I am a fan of that game, so in short I am not a fan of QTEs in general, but I think they were done right here.

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