Quick Time Event

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A Quick Time Event (QTE) is a method of gameplay used in video games. It allows for limited control of the game character at cinematic points in the game, and generally involves the player following onscreen prompts to press buttons. The name does not have any direct relationship to Apple's QuickTime software.

[edit] History

The earliest known example of the QTE is the gameplay of the original Dragon's Lair, released in 1983, and similar laserdisc video games. While not referred to as QTEs (that term having been coined much later by Sega), in principle it was the same concept, and this can be seen as its origin.^[1] In Dragon's Lair, however, the game doesn't display the buttons or directions that need to be pressed like later games featuring quick time events; it is up to the player to figure them out from onscreen cues. Unlike more recent games, Dragon's Lair and similar games use QTEs for the entirety of the game rather than in certain scenes.

Nevertheless, it was Sega's Shenmue which has made the QTE into the well-recognized and increasingly popular gameplay mechanic that it is today.^{[citation needed]} Since its release, several other games have included a QTE system or something similar. Some of the higher profile titles that focussed on such a system include Resident Evil 4, Fahrenheit, the God of War series, and Heavenly Sword.

[edit] References