Quick time events are often mentioned as a negative aspect in video game reviews or retrospectives. But what exactly are these events, and why do gamers generally dislike them?
Below, we take a look at the history of quick time events in video games and explain what they are to help you get familiar with this game mechanic.
What Are Quick Time Events?
Quick time events, or QTEs, are prompts in video games that require you to perform a certain button action with little warning, or else suffer negative consequences. They usually appear during cutscenes, when the player would otherwise think that they don't need to do anything.
The requirements of each QTE differ. Some ask you to hit a single button, while others have you repeatedly press (or "mash") the button for a while. Others require you to input a series of buttons correctly, utilize motion controls, or press a button at the right time.
Depending on the title, quick time events can make up the majority of a game or appear only in certain places. They also appear across genres. Keep in mind that quick time events in gaming have no relation to Apple's QuickTime software.
The History of Quick Time Events
Some early video games consisted almost entirely of quick time events, though the gameplay element didn't have this name back then. Dragon's Lair, an arcade title released in 1983, is a popular example of an "interactive film" that exemplifies this.
These "games" were essentially movies that required you to press certain buttons at the right time to advance the video. If you failed, you'd see a relevant death scene, then restart and have to try again.
As arcade games, they worked well for munching quarters, and the graphics were excellent for the time. But the reliance on trial-and-error and memorization was frustrating. There's no gameplay outside of pressing the right button at the right time.
Later games integrated QTEs into other genres. The most notable example was 1999's Shenmue on the Dreamcast, an early open world game with staggering detail for the time. In some situations, the game required you to press the right buttons to perform certain actions, such as dodging enemy punches.
Shenmue's director, Yu Suzuki, called these "quick timer events," but the modern name stuck before long. The game is credited with birthing QTEs, which Suzuki wanted to use to provide a cinematic experience.
Since Shenmue, all sorts of games went on to incorporate QTEs. You'll find them in everything from action games like Uncharted to horror games like Resident Evil 4. They were quite popular in the 2000s and early 2010s, but have died out in popularity since.
How Quick Time Events Typically Work
Quick time events often appear during cutscenes, when you don't expect the game to ask for any input from you.
For example, your character might be running down a hallway when an enemy suddenly jumps out. Suddenly, you're required to press the correct button to dodge the enemy's attack and keep running. If you fail, the enemy will kill your character and you'll have to reload from the last checkpoint.
Not all quick time event failures result in death. Sometimes you might take damage but continue on anyway. Other times, failing a QTE might result in a different story path taking place.
Some quick time events have entered meme status. The best-known example is "Press F to pay respects" from 2014's Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. During a cutscene at a friend's funeral, you're required to press a button to "pay your respects" and move the cutscene forward. This was widely mocked for being awkward, and birthed the use of "F" as a way to respond to sad news.
Quick Time Events vs. Action Commands
Action commands are a related mechanic that enhances regular gameplay, meaning they go well beyond a QTE. For example, in the RPG Bug Fables, each attack you have offers a corresponding input that makes the attack deal more damage. You may have to spin the control stick, or press a button with good timing.
If you complete the action command, the attack does more damage; if you fail, the attack still happens but is weaker. The differences are that action commands happen during gameplay, are clearly explained, and offer you the chance to master them over time. They aren't one-off "press the right button or die" surprises like QTEs.
Low-intensity action commands, like mashing a button to open a door, pop up in games too. These technically aren't quick time events since they're outside of cutscenes and don't have a negative result for failure, but have most of the same features otherwise.
Why Do Gamers Hate Quick Time Events?
Most video game fans don't view QTEs favorably; there are several reasons why quick time events aren't popular.
As mentioned above, since QTEs happen during cutscenes, the player might have set their controller down to watch the cinematic. When the prompt pops up, they may not have time to hit the right button before they realize what's going on. Failure can mean having to watch the cutscene over again, which becomes repetitive if you mess up multiple times.
Quick time events also aren't rewarding, since they don't require you to use the skills and controls focused on throughout the entire game. Some games, like Uncharted and Shadow of Mordor, fall into this problem with their final bosses. Instead of testing your combat or platforming chops, you just have to press some buttons to win. These feel at odds with the rest of the gameplay.
Additionally, quick time events take control away from the player in interactions that could be more exciting. Pressing a button to start a cutscene that shows your character landing a killing blow on a boss isn't interesting. But having to figure out how to take down the boss through normal gameplay is a lot more exciting, and doesn't feel like the game is playing itself.
The button prompts for QTEs also don't necessarily match up with their normal functions. You might have to press X to dodge an attack during a quick time event, even if the X button normally reloads your weapon. This feels jarring and arbitrary.
Quick Time Events Aren't Always Bad
While quick time events are usually a negative element in a game, they aren't always terrible. In the past, quick time events were sometimes borne from technical limitations. They can also act as a way to make cutscenes more interesting, when done properly.
A good example of this is a well-known knife fight scene in Resident Evil 4. While the entire fight takes place through QTEs, the scene is important to the plot because it contains a lot of story beats. Without the QTE, the player might zone out or skip the cutscene, thus missing the plot points.
Hearing your opponent dish out the story context as you press the right prompts also makes the fight more intense than if you were simply watching it. Of course, it would have been better to make this fight fully interactive. However, as Resident Evil 4 was released in 2005, it didn't have the technical power to make a controllable knife fight happen.
Some modern story-based games rely heavily on QTEs. Interactive drama titles, such as Heavy Rain, and Telltale games like The Walking Dead and Tales from the Borderlands are good examples. A major part of these games is using quick time events to play out action sequences and making timed decisions about what to say.
Your actions and decisions affect the story, so the pressure to perform quickly lends itself well to the interactive narrative.
Overall, QTEs are hated because they don't fit with the gameplay style of action games. Used in other genres and settings, they can be a suitable gameplay mechanic.
Press X to Stop Reading
Now you understand what quick time events are. We've seen some examples of how they typically work, studied where they came from, and examined why people hate them. Thankfully, quick time events in action games are rare now, but you'll likely encounter them when you play older titles.
If you love terminology, there's a lot of other video game lingo to study.