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The strangest and most unfortunate examples of contextual actions (QTE) in games of recent years

On November 4, the Russian release of the popular shooter Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare took place. In addition to the actor Kevin Spacey and a look at the war of the near future, supported by real developments, users found a very strange contextual action (QTE) in the game: they were asked to press the button with a square (or F, if we are talking about PC) to express their respect for the fallen in battle comrade.

A week later, this episode had already turned into a local meme, and TJournal recalled other examples of strange, excessive or inappropriate use of QTEs in games.

What is QTE

QTE or Quick Time Event is a way of user interaction with the game, in which the first one needs to quickly press the buttons whose symbols appear on the screen.

Most often, this method is used in cinematic inserts, in which developers want to create additional tension and involve the person sitting in front of the screen in what is happening. Thus, they cause a rush of adrenaline in the user or, for example, allow them to at least partially feel the heaviness with which the hero pushes something heavy.

QTEs have become a recognized standard in the industry and, it seems, are not going anywhere: in 2014, they can be found in one form or another in most of the biggest games. On the other hand, many developers openly abuse them.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

QTEs are nothing new for Call of Duty, and the single-player campaign of the new part of this popular series is jam-packed with them. However, one of these scenes in the game still stands out. In it you need to press a button to pay respect to a fallen comrade. Why couldn't they just include this gesture in a subsequent pre-directed video? Netizens who asked this question even decided to start a meme based on the strange scene, but it died out quite quickly.

Heavy Rain

The cult game of the French studio Quantic Dream consists almost entirely of QTEs. With the exception of small scenes with the opportunity to explore the surrounding space, Heavy Rain is one continuous film in which you regularly press the buttons of the gamepad quickly and furiously.

Most of all, players remember the moments when the X button had to be pressed to call the son of the main character.

The phrase “Press X to Jason” also managed to become a meme, and there are even music videos based on it on the Internet.

Beyond Two Souls

It’s impossible not to mention QTE from another project from Quantic Dream. In Beyond Two Souls, the player must deliver a baby by pressing buttons to speak soothing words to the expectant mother. As a result of this action, users are given the opportunity to cut the umbilical cord with their own hands.

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon

The contextual action from the finale of the flight simulator Ace Combat: Assault Horizon is at the same time the most joyful and ridiculous in the history of game development. The user is allowed to clench a virtual fist with his own hands and raise his hand in victory in front of a joyfully screaming crowd.

Battlefield 3

The single-player campaign of the shooter Battlefield 3 quickly faded from the memory of players who immediately rushed into multiplayer, but one episode from it has not been forgotten to this day. In it, the main character crawls along a ditch with a knife in his hands and enters into a fight with a rat. But what is surprising here is not so much the fact itself as the ability to lose to a rodent without pressing the button in time.

Tomb Raider

Sometimes QTEs are remembered not for the situations in which they are used, but for their poor implementation in general. The PC version of the reboot of the legendary Tomb Raider series, due to an unfortunate misunderstanding after its release, did not show icons of some of the buttons that needed to be pressed in it, forcing players to suffer and watch the same scene over and over again in attempts to find the right combination. This flaw is still remembered in the game a year and a half after its release.

Resident Evil 6

There was even a talented song dedicated to the annoying QTEs in the action game Resident Evil 6, which was already lukewarmly received by critics and players. In it, players ask for a little freedom and tactics instead of constantly pounding the keys.

Rуse

The action game Ryse from the studio Crytek, originally announced as an exclusive for the Xbox One console, was criticized for its QTEs immediately after the first presentation of the gameplay. At that time, the project looked like the most far-fetched game in history: the developers couldn’t come up with anything better than making a mindless action game with pressing buttons on command. In practice, the gameplay turned out to be a little deeper.

On the other side

Despite the general dislike of QTEs, it cannot be said that they are absolute evil. For example, many players love the way they are implemented in the brutal God of War series. In the end, here you can gouge out the eyes of Poseidon himself by simultaneously pressing both thumbsticks of the gamepad with your thumbs.

Press X to read the caption
Vadim Elistratov,
TJournal

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