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Is it ever acceptable not to have a "skip" button in a cutscene?

jigglet

Banned
I grew up on Nintendo games, which either had no story or an incomprehensible patchwork of one (ala Zelda). These days I play mainly competitive games, which obviously have no story. I have to admit, I've barely paid attention to a game's story in probably 10+ years. I hit the skip button whenever I can. I've even sold games before that put me through too many unskippable cut scenes. Even when I see the very best the industry has to offer (Naughty Dog etc) I can't help but think: why wouldn't I watch a movie if I wanted to see a good story? I've always felt unskippable cut scenes were like game developers trying to force their "incredible" stories on us, like they're trying to convince themselves that all their hard work just had to be seen and appreciated. The truth is I don't appreciate it, and I don't give a flying fuck. It's not that I don't have an attention span for this, some of my favourite movies ever are what many consider boring as shit, e.g. Revolutionary Road, The Descendants. I just play games for games, not for story.

Unless it's a point and click where there are literally no other game mechanics to speak of, is it ever a time when it shouldn't be optional? Is it possible to say that gameplay is what matters most, but you also must be forced to suffer through a cut scene that you're simply not enjoying? Is there a scenario where this isn't a contradictory statement?
 
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TonyK

Member
Cinematics should be always skippable, but please, developers, stop showing the skipping button on screen during all the cinematic, that breaks any immersion and it feels like if you were encouraging me to skip your cinematic.

That shitty button there says: "you know this is a trash cinematic with no more meaning than make some graphics without the limitations of gameplay to take some screenshots for marketing and comparisons, but you and I know that it's pointless and forgettable, please, press the skipping button and stop this suffering, please, push it, do it, PRESS IT!".
 

DelireMan7

Member
A pause button and a skip button should both be mandatory.

I’m still not quite over the uncertain times when pressing start had a 50/50 chance of skipping or pausing the cutscene.
This !

I personally almost never skip cutscenes but the option should still be there.

A pause button is a must have for me.
I share the fear of pressing Start to discover if there is a pause option or just an automatic skip...
 

jigglet

Banned
This !

I personally almost never skip cutscenes but the option should still be there.

A pause button is a must have for me.
I share the fear of pressing Start to discover if there is a pause option or just an automatic skip...

I find it weird that an industry consensus hasn't developed over the last 20 years. It seems like a no brainer to me.
 

Stuart360

Member
Nope, there should ALWAYS be a skip function for cutscenes. Its up to me what i do with my games, and my time. I mean i get why some devs make it so you cant skip a cutscene the first time you play through a game, but still there should always be a skip option.
Same with annoying forced slow walking, its so incredibly frustrating at times. You dont need to make me fumble along when i reach a camp, or a village, etc.
 
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Gaelyon

Gold Member
I never skip a cinematic unless i've already seen it, but i fully agree on skippable option at all time.
What really infuriate me is unskippable boss cinematic, as you tried to beat it for the tenth time, it add so much salt to the wound :messenger_face_steam:
 
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Soodanim

Member
Nope, there should ALWAYS be a skip function for cutscemnes. Its up to me what i do with my games, and my time. I mean i get why dome devs make it so you cant skip a cutscene the first time you play through a game, but still there should always be a skip option.
Same with annoying forced slow walking, its so incredibly frustrating at times. You dont need to make me fumble along when i reach a camp, or a village, etc.
With SSDs now in consoles, hopefully we’ll see less slow walking because we won’t need to cover up loading. Fingers crossed, because I can’t stand it. It’s the worst of both worlds: it pretends to be gameplay while demanding attention like a cutscene.

I always remember an early part of Metal Gear Rising, where I can’t jump up to the next part because I have to listen to an unskippable codec call. So I can’t even walk slowly, I’m forced to wait it out.
 

Hellmaker

Member
Yeah there should always be a skip option!
I want to play ghost of thushima on a new account, but if I remember correctly you can't skip cutscenes the first time. I hate that...
 

Teslerum

Member
I grew up on Nintendo games, which either had no story or an incomprehensible patchwork of one (ala Zelda). These days I play mainly competitive games, which obviously have no story. I have to admit, I've barely paid attention to a game's story in probably 10+ years. I hit the skip button whenever I can. I've even sold games before that put me through too many unskippable cut scenes. Even when I see the very best the industry has to offer (Naughty Dog etc) I can't help but think: why wouldn't I watch a movie if I wanted to see a good story? I've always felt unskippable cut scenes were like game developers trying to force their "incredible" stories on us, like they're trying to convince themselves that all their hard work just had to be seen and appreciated. The truth is I don't appreciate it, and I don't give a flying fuck. It's not that I don't have an attention span for this, some of my favourite movies ever are what many consider boring as shit, e.g. Revolutionary Road, The Descendants. I just play games for games, not for story.

Unless it's a point and click where there are literally no other game mechanics to speak of, is it ever a time when it shouldn't be optional? Is it possible to say that gameplay is what matters most, but you also must be forced to suffer through a cut scene that you're simply not enjoying? Is there a scenario where this isn't a contradictory statement?

Absolutely not. Should always be optional. If your storyline is that good, then no one would skip anyway. I personally don't care for 90% of cut scenes, or at least parts of them, Especially scrolling text which is an abomination anyway.

I'm a bit baffled by this thread and the reasoning given.

Quality of Story should have 0.00000001% to do with why a skip button is necessary. There's a far more prominent issue that affects EVERYONE: Whether you like stories in games or not.

I never skip a cinematic unless i've already seen it, but i fully agree on skippable option at all time.
What really infuriate me is unskippable boss cinematic, as you tried to beat it for the tenth time, it had so much salt to the wound :messenger_face_steam:
Nobody wants to watch a cutscene twice (at least until a certain amount of time has passed). Most people don't watch a movie twice in a row either. It's just that much worse in a game, because you don't want to waste time watching the same thing again just because you died or made a mistake right after.

So, yes. Skip buttons for cutscenes are always preferable. Who even disagrees with that, except for self-absorbed designers/modders/whatever?
 
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lh032

I cry about Xbox and hate PlayStation.
skipping option should be mandatory.
Im quite surprise that you cnat skip certain cutscenes in Miles Morales for some reason.
 

Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
If the cut-scene contains important information that needs to be communicated then its right and proper to make watching it unskippable first-time only. Repeats should be optional or omitted entirely if they get in the way of the flow of the action (e.g at the start of a boss fight).
 

RoadHazard

Gold Member
If the developer thinks watching the cutscenes is integral to the experience they want to create, they shouldn't be required to add a skip button. I don't understand why you would WANT this anyway. Why wouldn't you want to know what's going on? Do you care so little about the story of the game? Do you skip all dialogue when watching movies too, and only watch the shooty bang bang scenes?

I think it's perfectly fine if you're unable to skip a cutscene the first time you see it (I never would anyway), but for cutscenes you've already seen there should be a skip button.
 
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cireza

Banned
It's not. People who replay the game should be able to skip whatever they want on the second run. The goal of a second run is to get more enjoyment out of your game, so it you want to only have the gameplay sections, it should be easy to do so. Or if you simply want to watch the cutscenes, there should be a theater or something.

They need to let people access to the content conveniently once that the game has been completed.
 
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HG8A90s.gif
 

NeoIkaruGAF

Gold Member
The time I wasted re-watching some pre-boss scenes in Xenogears and Kingdom Hearts will never return. And you better believe that when I played the KH remaster and heard Riku say “Yes. A Keyblade”, a shiver ran down my spine and memories of an afternoon spent watching that scene a good dozen times flashed before my eyes.

Xenosaga, of all games, had skippable cutscenes in 2001. There is absolutely zero reason for any game come after that to not have the option.
 
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RoadHazard

Gold Member
Nope, there should ALWAYS be a skip function for cutscenes. Its up to me what i do with my games, and my time. I mean i get why some devs make it so you cant skip a cutscene the first time you play through a game, but still there should always be a skip option.
Same with annoying forced slow walking, its so incredibly frustrating at times. You dont need to make me fumble along when i reach a camp, or a village, etc.

That's incredibly entitled of you. Should all games also have a "skip battle" button for people who just want the story? What about a "skip to the end of the game" button? Why should all games cater to YOUR specific needs?

It's NOT up to you what the game lets you do and not, it's up to the developer. It IS up to you whether you decide to buy and play the game at all.
 
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Teslerum

Member
If the developer thinks watching the cutscenes is integral to the experience they want to create, they shouldn't be required to add a skip button. I don't understand why you would WANT this anyway. Why wouldn't you want to know what's going on? Do you care so little about the story of the game? Do you skip all dialog when watching movies too, and only watch the shooty bang bang scenes?

I think it's perfectly fine if you're unable to skip a cutscene the first time you see it (I never would anyway), but for cutscenes you've already seen there should be a skip button.
Maybe if the cutscene had never been seen before. I just don't skip cutscenes in games unless I've already seen it.
It's not. People who replay the game should be able to skip whatever they want on the second run. The goal of a second run is to get more enjoyment out of your game, so it you want to only have the gameplay sections, it should be easy to do so. Or if you simply want to watch the cutscenes, there should be a theater or something.

They need to let people access to the content conveniently once that the game has been completed.


For people that are saying its fine on the second run....

That doesn't really work out that well.

1. - Restricting the button to the second viewing feels artifical at best.

2.- For technical reasons there are tons of situations where it doesn't work out.

- Say there's a bug that prevents the game from registering or *forgets* that the cutscene has been viewed before. In the event of a crash for example.

- Say, for some reason your savegames are broken / you had to redownload the game. Same issue.

Just have the skip button, it's not like it influences the design in any way to have or not to have them.
 
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jigglet

Banned
That's incredibly entitled of you. Should all games also have a "skip battle" button for people who just want the story?

I mean, talk about making a leap of logic there.

Should anyone even be able to have any control about whether they are allowed to buy a game or not? If the developer has a vision, who the fuck are you to say no? You should buy it, play it, and shut the fuck up. Right?
 

Stuart360

Member
That's incredibly entitled of you. Should all games also have a "skip battle" button for people who just want the story? What about a "skip to the end of the game" button? Why should all games cater to YOUR specific needs?

It's NOT up to you what the game lets you do and not, it's up to the developer. It IS up to you whether you decide to buy and play the game at all.
200.gif


WTF man?, calm the fuck down.
Many people are saying the same thing.
 

Teslerum

Member
I mean, talk about making a leap of logic there.

Should anyone even be able to have any control about whether they are allowed to buy a game or not? If the developer has a vision, who the fuck are you to say no? You should buy it, play it, and shut the fuck up. Right?
Aside from the pure fact that a *skip gameplay* button would have an enormous effect in how the designers approach the game design. A *skip cutscene* button affects nothing except maybe a technical decision like masking load times.
 

RoadHazard

Gold Member
I mean, talk about making a leap of logic there.

Should anyone even be able to have any control about whether they are allowed to buy a game or not? If the developer has a vision, who the fuck are you to say no? You should buy it, play it, and shut the fuck up. Right?

No, you are free to buy or not buy a specific game, but if you do buy it I don't see why it should necessarily be your "right" to decide which parts of that experience are necessary and which are not.
 
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Yep. Every cutscene and every piece of dialogue should always be skippable. If you're re-playing a game, or maybe if there's a cutscene before the boss and you have to try again and again.. It's extremely frustrating to have to watch these scenes multiple times.

When it comes to dialogue, I'm a quick reader (I always leave subtitles on) and in some games there is SO much dialogue and slow talking.. 🙄

I absolutely hate it when older games without recorded voices don't let me skip text when I'm done reading.
 

NahaNago

Member
For people that are saying its fine on the second run....

That doesn't really work out that well.

1. - Restricting the button to the second viewing feels artifical at best.

2.- For technical reasons there are tons of situations where it doesn't work out.

- Say there's a bug that prevents the game from registering or *forgets* that the cutscene has been viewed before. In the event of a crash for example.

- Say, for some reason your savegames are broken / you had to redownload the game. Same issue.

Just have the skip button, it's not like it influences the design in any way to have or not to have them.
Pretty much you just want to be able to skip the cutscene.
- Bugs can be fixed
- I'd be more worried about save games being broken than being unable to skip a cut scene.

This is like folks asking for easy mode in souls it doesn't influence the design for folks who won't be using it so just have it
:messenger_beaming::messenger_tears_of_joy:
 

cireza

Banned
For people that are saying its fine on the second run....

That doesn't really work out that well.

1. - Restricting the button to the second viewing feels artifical at best.

2.- For technical reasons there are tons of situations where it doesn't work out.

- Say there's a bug that prevents the game from registering or *forgets* that the cutscene has been viewed before. In the event of a crash for example.

- Say, for some reason your savegames are broken / you had to redownload the game. Same issue.

Just have the skip button, it's not like it influences the design in any way to have or not to have them.
I am not saying it should be restricted to the second and following runs. It should at least be available starting with the second run. Simply put the skip button and that's it. I managed to play some of Yakuza 0 because I could skip all the story to begin with. Sadly when I realized I wanted to skip gameplay as well, there wasn't anything left for me in the game.
 
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Teslerum

Member
Pretty much you just want to be able to skip the cutscene.
- Bugs can be fixed
- I'd be more worried about save games being broken than being unable to skip a cut scene.

This is like folks asking for easy mode in souls it doesn't influence the design for folks who won't be using it so just have it
:messenger_beaming::messenger_tears_of_joy:

Having an easy mode automatically changes your approach to game design. For a variety of reasons. Pacing, flow, level design, all of it.

Having a button to skip cutscenes, again. Changes nothing. A writer isn't going to let it influence the dialog, a cinematographer isn't going to change how he sets the scene. The exception here is hiding load times, but that's it.

This is and continues to be a stupid comparison.
 
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NahaNago

Member
Having an easy mode automatically changes your approach to game design. For a variety of reasons. Pacing, flow, level design, all of it.

Having a button to skip cutscenes, again. Changes nothing. A writer isn't going to let it influence the dialog, a cinematographer isn't going to change how he sets the scene. The exception here is hiding load times, but that's it.

This is and continues to be a stupid comparison.
:messenger_tears_of_joy: It doesn't change anything for the folks who don't use it.
 

Esppiral

Member
I've replayed Wind Waker countless times and I would kill whoever decided that you can't skip that fuking intro
 

MadPanda

Banned
There should always be a skip button because people play games multiple times and don't want to watch every cutscene in each subsequent playthrough.
 

22•22

NO PAIN TRANCE CONTINUE
There should always be a skip option. ALWAYS.

Me when a cutscene pops up:

morse code GIF


Many times I've found myself on the end of a cutscene gameplay transition and realized I missed important story stuff because my natural reaction is to tune out lol.. What happened? Why am I here? Who cares? I can play again.

With certain games I'm really interested in I do tend to make the effort to pay attention. But that's mostly because it's simply interesting and entertaining. Games like MGS (yeah I know), Zelda, Resident Evil etc.
 
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I grew up on Nintendo games, which either had no story or an incomprehensible patchwork of one (ala Zelda). These days I play mainly competitive games, which obviously have no story. I have to admit, I've barely paid attention to a game's story in probably 10+ years. I hit the skip button whenever I can. I've even sold games before that put me through too many unskippable cut scenes. Even when I see the very best the industry has to offer (Naughty Dog etc) I can't help but think: why wouldn't I watch a movie if I wanted to see a good story? I've always felt unskippable cut scenes were like game developers trying to force their "incredible" stories on us, like they're trying to convince themselves that all their hard work just had to be seen and appreciated. The truth is I don't appreciate it, and I don't give a flying fuck. It's not that I don't have an attention span for this, some of my favourite movies ever are what many consider boring as shit, e.g. Revolutionary Road, The Descendants. I just play games for games, not for story.

Unless it's a point and click where there are literally no other game mechanics to speak of, is it ever a time when it shouldn't be optional? Is it possible to say that gameplay is what matters most, but you also must be forced to suffer through a cut scene that you're simply not enjoying? Is there a scenario where this isn't a contradictory statement?
Should be, but if not in the first run, has to be absolutely mandatory in every run after first completion, otherwise it kills any replayability
 

KungFucius

King Snowflake
No, especially pre boss cutscenes you have to repeat if you die. It is also not acceptable to not let the user save even if that save just saves to a previous checkpoint. If a gamer needs to save and shut the game off because of life, let them.
 

dr guildo

Member
I grew up on Nintendo games, which either had no story or an incomprehensible patchwork of one (ala Zelda). These days I play mainly competitive games, which obviously have no story. I have to admit, I've barely paid attention to a game's story in probably 10+ years. I hit the skip button whenever I can. I've even sold games before that put me through too many unskippable cut scenes. Even when I see the very best the industry has to offer (Naughty Dog etc) I can't help but think: why wouldn't I watch a movie if I wanted to see a good story? I've always felt unskippable cut scenes were like game developers trying to force their "incredible" stories on us, like they're trying to convince themselves that all their hard work just had to be seen and appreciated. The truth is I don't appreciate it, and I don't give a flying fuck. It's not that I don't have an attention span for this, some of my favourite movies ever are what many consider boring as shit, e.g. Revolutionary Road, The Descendants. I just play games for games, not for story.

Unless it's a point and click where there are literally no other game mechanics to speak of, is it ever a time when it shouldn't be optional? Is it possible to say that gameplay is what matters most, but you also must be forced to suffer through a cut scene that you're simply not enjoying? Is there a scenario where this isn't a contradictory statement?
Loadings issue.
 
It's acceptable if they are basically loading screens like with Max Payne. But thanks to SSDs that's become obsolete.

In 2021 skipping cutscenes option should be standard.
 
It's not ideal, but it's a million times better than an unskippable cut scene, no matter how proud the devs are of their cut scenes.
 

McCheese

Member
If it's loading in the background then sure, or if it's a tutorial for a multiplayer game then forcing people to pay attention is also okay. Otherwise they should offer a skip, or fast-forward at least.
 

01011001

Banned
it is 100% of the time UNACCEPTABLE to have unskipable cutscenes.

kills replayability like nothing else

there were so many moments where I was thinking about doing another Titanfall 2 playthrough, only to be reminded that none of the cutscenes are skipable... and so I didn't
 
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