QTEs ??

[Gorth]

We don't really have any Quick Time Events to speak of, as far as I can recall.

 

Oh, so you still have a game? Hasn't been cancelled?

Too obvious Krezack... too obvious

[Musopticon?]

I'm all for QTEs, but only if you do them Prince of Persia:Two Thrones-style and not Cliver Barker's Jericho way. Meaning, instead of having several QTEs in a row, each requiring success in order to not fall down a pit and die or get devoured(works a bit like d20 Chtulhu, heh), have a few QTEs where the difference between a success and a fail is a different outcome to the action or combat scenario. In the Two Thrones example, failing a QTE often meant that you had failed a sneak attack and got to resort to combat.

 

You could actually take this further and have different story outcomes depending on whether you e.g managed to catch a cab or miss a train stop in a hurry. QTEs can be used for the greater good.

[Raithe]

I can't think that the dialogue system could be called anything resembling a QTE... after all, there aren't going to be huge flashing symbols obscuring half of the screen that you have to pay attention to while tapping 2 or 5 keys in rapid succession..

 

About 8 seconds to choose one of potentially four options with no "fail" because you chose one of them over the other... Nah, that's not a QTE to me. Just a slight case of pressure to keep me moving in the storyline.

[213374U]

They just give you a timed response because they want the player to have to make fluid and quick decisions (like a spy) and not sit there and metagame for 40 minutes pondering exactly what the best dialogue option is for a current situation.

 

It could be pondering the "best dialogue option." It could also just be pondering how I want to roleplay my character. Either way it's about playing the way they want me to rather than in the way I will enjoy most, and I'm left wondering why they made choices that they had to realize would limit the game's appeal to some players of RPGs.

 

I don't understand how pondering how you want to roleplay your character takes as long as all the skeptics seem to make. For starters, you can already begin to decide on an appropriate way to roleplay your character based on your character's previous responses with the NPC that you are dealing with, based on previous responses your character has already made.

 

Moving forward, for the specific line of dialogue, you can already begin to decide on a type of response (especially since you know 3 of the types of responses already, for every situation you approach) as the character speaks. You already do this as a human being in real life interactions, so you are already well practiced in doing this. I'd argue that if you're already doing a good job of being in the character you're roleplaying, this actually won't be very difficult at all.

Also, think faster. This ain't rocket science.

 

I'm thinking the devs may be wanting to entice and place a greater emphasis on the emotional knee-jerk response, rather than the usual, cold and rationally chosen roleplay response. If some guy has been pissing you off since the first minute, you are more likely to press "headslam" than "apologetic", when faced with a quick choice - which in a tense environment is probably more coherent. This is, at least, an interesting concept and will be fun to see if it can deliver a more authentic, less gamey conversation system.

 

 

I feel that QTEs are like a cop-out. The developer can't or won't think of an actual mechanic for something and instead makes you push a bunch of buttons (semi-)randomly. It's also really abstract and game-y, there's nothing like having a flashing red "a" popping up on the screen to break immersion.

Any UI breaks immersion. Any control mechanics that are not breaking somebody's neck with your own hands is gamey. The degree of importance of these things is largely arbitrary, as suspension of disbelief is not the same for everyone. QTEs may be a copout, but they are also a sensible development choice, given that people work with limited time and resources. I'd have loved if Fahrenheit had featured a Tenkaichi-esque control scheme, but given the scope of the game, it would have made little sense to invest much effort into that. QTEs are also a pretty good way to avoid forcing the player to master a different gameplay scheme for something that's outside of the focus of the game, without leaving the player out completely.

 

Still looking for that Holy Grail, I presume?

Edited October 8, 2009 by 213374U

[Sannom]

For me, AP's dialogue system has nothing to do with QTE. And people should remember this is not the new model for all of Obsidian's games. Looping conversations might be annoying, but they're still unavoidable unless with a really specific approach to dialogue, like AP does. AP is an ovni, even for Obsidian, and some of the features of that game will probably remain with that game and his sequels or inspirations. The dialogue system probably won't be used except for similar systems. The design that each level brings you really cool improvements will probably remain : Wizard did it for D & D 4th Edition, and Bioware did it for Dragon Age.

[Lady Evenstar]

I know something different is scary for a lot of people, and personally I think people are doing a disservice to themselves to skip on this game for a game mechanic they aren't familiar with.

 

I would actually agree that skipping an otherwise appealing game because you dislike a single mechanic is likely to mean cutting off your nose to spite your face. For me the equation is more like:

 

+ chance that Obsidian has done something interesting one way or another (which I estimate as being pretty high) - (*action* rpg + can't play a female character + timed dialogue choices) - still enjoying WoW raiding 2 nights/week - (high interest in FO 3 GOTY, Dragon Age, and DaggerXL (a Windows port of Daggerfall currently under development)) = lack of immediate interest in AP

 

Deus Ex is my husband's favorite game, but I've never played it, mostly because of the action element. I enjoy tactical challenges in RPGs, tests of reflexes not so much.

 

Perhaps if my gaming plate is less full when AP is finally released, and I read that it was very interesting and less action-oriented than it sounded, I'll give it a try.

Edited October 8, 2009 by Lady Evenstar

[Perseus Veil]

About 8 seconds to choose one of potentially four options with no "fail" because you chose one of them over the other... Nah, that's not a QTE to me. Just a slight case of pressure to keep me moving in the storyline.

My doubt is: what happens if i don't press A,B,X or Y ???

there will be a default response ??

[Floodland]

My doubt is: what happens if i don't press A,B,X or Y ???

there will be a default response ??

 

Not sure what'll happen with your first ever dialogue choice, but I seem to remember Obs saying in a video that once a stance is chosen, the game will always default to that stance in every conversation if the timer ticks out.

[Oner]

My doubt is: what happens if i don't press A,B,X or Y ???

there will be a default response ??

 

Not sure what'll happen with your first ever dialogue choice, but I seem to remember Obs saying in a video that once a stance is chosen, the game will always default to that stance in every conversation if the timer ticks out.

The last chosen stance will be reused to be exact.

[alanschu]

I know something different is scary for a lot of people, and personally I think people are doing a disservice to themselves to skip on this game for a game mechanic they aren't familiar with.

 

I would actually agree that skipping an otherwise appealing game because you dislike a single mechanic is likely to mean cutting off your nose to spite your face. For me the equation is more like:

 

+ chance that Obsidian has done something interesting one way or another (which I estimate as being pretty high) - (*action* rpg + can't play a female character + timed dialogue choices) - still enjoying WoW raiding 2 nights/week - (high interest in FO 3 GOTY, Dragon Age, and DaggerXL (a Windows port of Daggerfall currently under development)) = lack of immediate interest in AP

 

Deus Ex is my husband's favorite game, but I've never played it, mostly because of the action element. I enjoy tactical challenges in RPGs, tests of reflexes not so much.

 

Perhaps if my gaming plate is less full when AP is finally released, and I read that it was very interesting and less action-oriented than it sounded, I'll give it a try.

 

 

I certainly won't judge if the gameplay style isn't for you. Try to get a gauge of the situation when it comes out because I do think that the action in the game will be faster paced than most RPGs.

[Oner]

I certainly won't judge if the gameplay style isn't for you. Try to get a gauge of the situation when it comes out because I do think that the action in the game will be faster paced than most RPGs.

There is stealth though.

[alanschu]

There is and while I don't doubt that you can effectively sneak your way around enemies using those abilities, I still get the impression that the game will be faster paced.

[Raithe]

It all depends on whether you mean the gameplay or the storyline being fast paced...

A run-and-gun approach usually feels faster in gameplay then careful sneakyness... While stealthy lurking might be a slower approach to a level, but still satisfy a well paced storyline..

The whole "pressure" of being stealthy with the sense of time slipping away purely from the storyline point of view is usually a sign of good writing....

 

But until we get hands on demos/the actual game...

[alanschu]

Faster paced in that it'll be more like Splinter Cell and less like Neverwinter Nights.