Summary
Sudden button prompts—known as quick time events (QTEs)—have garnered a reputation as one of the most widely hated features in gaming. Despite this, QTEs aren’t inherently bad, most games just don’t know how to use them.
Quick Time Events Were a Necessary Innovation
Quick time events are gameplay prompts that require you to press a specific button within a brief window of time. Passing a QTE usually triggers a special event or is necessary to avoid an immediate game over.
QTEs can appear in both gameplay and cutscenes, and are often required to progress through a game. Most QTEs require you to follow button prompts that flash on the screen, though some involve other inputs such as button mashing or shaking a thumbstick.
Although QTEs are now used across a variety of different gaming genres, they first appeared in interactive movies; games centered aroundfull-motion cinematicsthat occasionally required players to complete a QTE to progress.
One of the earliest examples of an interactive movie isDragon’s Lair, an adventure game designed by renowned animator Don Bluth and released for arcades in 1983. The game places you in the role of a knight named Dirk the Daring, as he journeys into a trap-filled castle to rescue a princess. Along the way, you’ll complete QTEs to avoid dangers, battle monsters, and navigate through the castle’s depths.
While it may not seem impressive by today’s standards,Dragon’s Lairwas a revolutionary game for its time. Its stunning animation and punishing difficulty helped the game feel like a cinematic action title—something that was practically unheard of in 1983—rather than a series of linear cutscenes.
Unlike most modern games with QTEs, the original release ofDragon’s Lairdidn’t include onscreen button prompts, meaning you had to learn how to overcome each obstacle through trial and error. This madeDragon’s Lairfrustratingly unfair, but the game is still highly rewarding to learn and eventually master, even if its challenge boils down to memorizing the right buttons (and a lot of spare change).
In later years, QTEs became a popular feature in many other titles.Shenmuewas one of the first action games to use QTEs in its cutscenes, keeping you engaged during cutscenes and transforming many of the game’s cinematic fights into exhilarating encounters.Resident Evil 4continued this practice while also incorporating them into boss fights, which provides players with opportunities to dodge fatal blows or perform context-sensitive attacks.
Admittedly, these early examples of QTEs don’t hold up perfectly tomodern standards. Plenty of newer releases feature better combat and flashier set pieces without relying on button prompts.
However, at the time of their release, few other games were capable of blending cinematics with gameplay in the same way as these innovative titles. QTEs were a necessary stepping stone for video game presentation, and these early implementations laid the groundwork for many cinematic gaming experiences that followed.
The Worst QTEs Detract from a Game
Although quick time events began as a necessity for early action games, they’re still a common part of gaming. Unfortunately, they’ve also become a crutch for developers, with many modern games taking all the wrong lessons from their early inspirations.
Many games struggle to find a reason to include QTEs, resulting in gameplay sections that are dragged down by unnecessary button prompts. The most infamous example of this is a moment inCall of Duty: Advanced Warfarein which you’re prompted to “Press F to Pay Respects”.
Advanced Warfaretries to portray this scene as an emotional farewell to the protagonist’s closest comrade, but the sudden attempt to gamify his grieving only succeeds at breaking your immersion with this out-of-place video game trope. Similar moments exist in other titles, but most allow their emotional scenes to play out with little player involvement or provide interaction in more nuanced ways.
The context surrounding a QTE is arguably more important than the prompt itself.Dying Lightdemonstrates this in its final boss battle; a rooftop showdown against the game’s primary antagonist. Although that sounds like the perfect excuse for a QTE, it feels woefully anti-climactic when the rest ofDying Lightis full of memorable battles that take advantage of the game’s visceral melee combat.
You could make a comparison betweenDying Light’s disappointing finale and the use of QTEs in games likeShenmueandResident Evil 4, but there is a key difference in how these games introduce their QTEs.Dying Lightspends much of its game building up to its final battle, but the use of a QTE rather than a proper test of skill results in the game ending on its weakest note.
In contrast, the QTEs inShenmueandResident Evil 4are reserved for sudden surprises and minor events, while their most important moments are presented in gameplay. These games keep you on your toes through the use of QTEs throughout.
There are numerous other reasons that QTEs are often detrimental to the quality of a game. Difficulty is a common problem for QTEs, as many of them fail to strike a satisfying balance between being mindlessly easy and infuriatingly unfair. Even if these QTEs are entertaining, they can still become a source of frustration if they appear too often and start to feel like a constant disruption to normal gameplay.
The Best QTEs Are the Most Sensible
The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 console generation soured many players on QTEs, as they were overused—and often poorly implemented—in most games of the era. However, that doesn’t mean gaming should abandon QTEs altogether, and there are plenty of fantastic examples that highlight their innovative potential.
Cinematic QTEs have dramatically improved since the days ofShenmueandResident Evil 4.Story-driven gameswith a heavy emphasis on player choice, such asDetroit: Become HumanandUntil Dawn, add high stakes to QTEs by allowing your success (or failure) to drastically alter the plot.
Failing a QTE won’t always trigger a game-over screen. Instead, it may force you onto a different story path or potentially lead to a major character death.
QTEs can also be used to present players with important narrative choices without pausing cutscenes. TheMass Effectseries features a unique “interrupt” mechanic, in which a button prompt will momentarily appear during cutscenes, which you can press to trigger certain choices.
These prompts are divided into “Paragon” or “Renegade” actions, allowing you to easily infer what will happen if you decide to press the corresponding button. “Paragon” actions trigger heroic or pacifistic deeds, such as sparing an enemy or rescuing an ally. “Renegade” prompts are often the polar opposite, allowing you to end a conversation early by attacking a character or performing some other morally questionable action.
Many action games also include QTEs in the middle of gameplay, allowing players to activate spectacular special moves under certain conditions. TheGod of Warseries popularized this idea with their “finishers”, brief QTEs that allow you to end weakened enemies with uniquely brutal attacks.
TheLike a Dragon(Yakuza)series features similar special attacks known as “heat moves”, which can be activated in a variety of different scenarios. Some heat moves are triggered by holding a specific weapon, while others can only be performed in specific locations and scenarios. While the combat in these games is still enjoyable without QTEs, these mechanics spice up battles by discouraging mindless button-mashing and rewarding skilled players with a thrilling spectacle.
QTEs can also add an extra layer of depth to a game’s combat.Kingdom HeartsIIis fondly remembered for its “reaction commands”, which provide players with an extensive range of unique abilities that change depending on the enemy you are currently battling. With the right timing, reaction commands enable you to perform swift counterattacks, instantly slide behind foes, engage in unique mid-combat minigames, or weaponize stunning set pieces against bosses.
Similarly, many games withturn-based combat systemsuse QTEs to give players a way to engage with combat beyond simple menu options.Super Mario RPGintroduced “action commands”, allowing players to deal more damage by performing carefully timed button presses during an attack.
Every attack has a unique “action command” sequence, which encourages you to learn the timing for each of them to make the most out of your full moveset. It’s an incredibly engaging twist on traditional turn-based combat and inspired many other role-playing games to adopt similar mechanics.
Not every QTE needs to bring a major shakeup to gameplay or storytelling. Some QTEs are memorable solely because they help immerse players in well-directed and highly imaginative action scenes. At their best, QTEs can make you feel like you’re taking part in a cinematic confrontation or an explosive setpiece. Many games try and fail to capture this feeling, but the rare successes have led to gaming’s most unforgettable moments.
Don’t Dismiss QTEs
In recent years, game developers seem to have become more careful about how they implement QTEs. Not only are they used more sparingly in newer releases, but more games are starting to include accessibility options for players to simplify or skip these sequences altogether.
Modern games have found plenty of inventive, immersive, and imaginative ways to use QTEs. Sure, QTEs aren’t always the best way forgames to keep players engaged, but there’s no denying that many games wouldn’t be as satisfying or impactful without their inclusion.
