Set piece
Also said as Setpiece, Scripted sequence, Spectacle moment
A big, expensive moment built once for one place, often scripted, that the player will talk about afterwards: the building that falls down while you are in it.
It gives a long game peaks that stay in the memory, and a marketing team something to show. It is costly and works best once, because a second go reveals that it plays out the same way every time.
Say it
“Save the budget for one set piece: at the end of chapter five the bridge collapses behind the player as they run across it. Nothing else in the chapter needs scripting.”
Where you’ve seen it
Uncharted 2 has a chapter set on a moving train, fought along the carriages at speed, with the scenery changing around you the whole way.
Not to be confused with cutscene
In a cutscene you watch. In a set piece you are still in control while the world does something spectacular around you.