curlyhairedboy: i keep reading about "horrible consolized QTEs" as a big flaw in TW2.

as far as i understand it, a QTE is a quick time event where you see a prompt on screen, then push an appropriate key in response.

why is this such a hated gameplay mechanic?


and furthermore, isn't the ENTIRE COMBAT SYSTEM of the witcher 1 just a series of QTEs over and over?

curlyhairedboy: i keep reading about "horrible consolized QTEs" as a big flaw in TW2.

as far as i understand it, a QTE is a quick time event where you see a prompt on screen, then push an appropriate key in response.

why is this such a hated gameplay mechanic?


and furthermore, isn't the ENTIRE COMBAT SYSTEM of the witcher 1 just a series of QTEs over and over?

cloud8521: indigo prophecy :P

anyway it does make some fight scene's more cinematic, but they could have done it a little differently. i personally like the extra cool added to my games though them, they keep you still in control of something that would otherwise be a cut scene. BUT! i wish you has MORE control. there are parts where all you do is tap a button as fast as you can, couldn't that have turned into a mini game one that fit the situation? i just want more control in those sequences, its just a little lame to react to the things that pop uo on the screen for a long time.. i never have missed one it was so easy.

curlyhairedboy: context-sensitive ones would have been pretty neat. say, for example, when cranking up the ballista you had to drag an icon in a circle instead of just clicking rapidly.

lw2jgog: I don't have particularly strong opinions on it, but it's not entirely unreasonable to complain that, say,

(1) QTEs usually force you down exactly -one- path (at least, if you want to not suffer Horrible Consequences of some kind), which is jarring if the game is otherwise at least fairly non-linear

(2) "Watch for and press the button" may be much less satisfying than, say, using one's own judgment to cleverly resolve a situation, and it's definitely a less useful skill to train :P

vindik8or: QTEs are not gameplay, it is a glorified remote control for a DVD player, the only buttons being "Play the next 10 seconds of footage" and "Too bad you have to watch this junk again".

A proper game has rules and tools. A good game allows a player to strategise how they will use their tools to overcome obstacles and to adapt their strategy to changing conditions. QTEs are stimulus and response at the most basic level. You could train a dog to beat a QTE. There is no leeway for strategising, there are no tools. It is lazy designers distracting hamfisted, nitwitted fratboys with how much money they spent on animators.

curlyhairedboy: yeah, both valid points in some cases. i find they're good to spice up otherwise non-interactive scenes.

i guess my puzzlement is stemming from the fact that a lot of purported witcher 1 fans are complaining bitterly about QTEs in the witcher 2, which doesn't make much sense to me.