Quick Time Events
The one-sentence "definition" that should be in italics.
This pattern is a still a stub.
Contents
Examples
The Dragon's Lair series was an early example of games that used Quick Time Events to let players avoid having their characters dying while trying to free a princess kidnapped by a dragon. While in this game all the actual gameplay was in form of Quick Time Events, later games such as the Shenmue series, Fahrenheit, and Heavy Rain uses Quick Time Events interjected with other types of gameplay.
The WarioWare series can be said to consist of a large collection of mini games that are actually Quick Time Events. Likewise, the main interaction provided by the toy Simon[1] can be said to be Quick Time Events.
Wikipedia has an entry about Quick Time Events including several examples[2]
Using the pattern
The gameplay aspects of design Quick Time Events are rather straight forward: what sequences of actions players need perform and when the events should occur. While some games (e.g. the Dragon's Lair series and the WarioWare series) consist only of Quick Time Events, others use them to handle situations that are not covered by the main gameplay actions (e.g. Fahrenheit and Resident Evil 4).
Diegetic Aspects
As a form of Cutscenes, Quick Time Events can provide specific presentations of Game Worlds but - as the Simon toy shows - this is not always the case since some Quick Time Events are abstract.
Narrative Aspects
Quick Time Events can, like Cutscenes, be used to convey parts of Predetermined Story Structures.
Consequences
Quick Time Events are a way of introducing Rhythm-Based Actions (which may devolve into Button Bashing) into games in the form of Cutscenes or Minigames. They give players explicit Ephemeral Goals and the arrival of these can be Surprises that give Tension.
Quick Time Events can work against Spatial Engrossment since they give players instructions of what to do through Non-Diegetic Features.
Relations
Can Instantiate
Button Bashing, Cutscenes, Ephemeral Goals, Minigames, Non-Diegetic Features, Rhythm-Based Actions, Surprises, Tension
Can Modulate
Predetermined Story Structures
Can Be Instantiated By
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Can Be Modulated By
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Possible Closure Effects
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Potentially Conflicting With
History
New pattern created in this wiki.
