Game Endings @ Destructoid

It was actually the comments on Mafia's ending that caught my attention with this article but it does have a weak RPG link with a mention of KotOR. Hit the link for The difficulty in creating an awesome ending to a video game:

Since unconventionally dramatic endings do not lend themselves to pleasing gameplay, most videogames often end with one of the aforementioned action climaxes, followed by a quick bit of story to wrap things up. Knights of the Old Republic, as dramatic and wonderful as it was, simply ended with a boss battle and a quick cutscene showing a good/bad ending, depending on whether you played light or dark side. This method of ending a game is problematic, but also seemingly unavoidable: on the one hand, the boss battle/epilogue format can get very boring, very fast. But on the other hand, would you really want to play a game that doesn’t give the player a tremendously satisfying gameplay challenge during its climax? I’m obviously a big supporter of gaming as an art medium, but even I have to admit that an ending like the suicide scenario detailed above would be very, very frustrating.

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More information.

Good article. Made me immediately think of one game with an ending that's narratively immensely satisfying without being frustrating nor happy-happy-smile-smile (come to think of it, it's probably as close to the diametrical opposite of happy-happy-smile-smile as you can imagine), *and* makes a decent attempt at gameplay climax as well.

I mean, of course, Planescape: Torment.

In other words, it can clearly be done, even if it isn't easy.

I concur. I can still remember tears gathering in my eyes when I finished Planescape : Torment. It was such a huge game and I'd grown so fond of all the characters that it was really emotionally moving to let them go. By the way, I'm currently re-playing the game and it's as fantastic as it was 6-7 years ago and I'm thoroughly enjoying it!

On a different note, Mafia also had a brilliant ending. I can still remember the shock caused by the final cinematic. However, I disagree the article saying it betrayed the player. After all, by the time the story was concluded by the cinemtaic, the game had already finished.

I daresay that something shocking and completely unexpected is waaaay better than a cliché ending, so in this sense, I disagree with the article.

I think (at least so far, lets see what part two brings) the article paints the difficulties too large, or maybe I am just too strange a gamer. A tragic ending can easily been done and still make the gamer feel good. Diablo did it, although there wasn't much of a narrative there, the end was memorable enough. Outcast had a nice mix of happiness and sadness in the end. And in Halflife I proudly chose the other ending (and unlike what the author implies that didn't make me irritated at the sequel, actually). What's missing usually is simply the fine art of telling the story so that the player is rewarded by a sad ending. There could be narrative summarizing the hero's life and sacrifice, e.g. But in general, if it is cool, I have no problem with a sad ending for my character.

I simply loved Mafia's ending (call it narrative or whatever you like) but I thought it was great. That discrepancy undermined this whole article for me.

I think that taking away control from the player is a bad thing in games that try to be immersive or otherwise make you feel that 'you are there'. I think of the forced stealth in Jedi Knight II or many of the dialogs in Dark Messiah ... you are forced to say and do things you simply wouldn't.

Then again, the very Sun Tzu ending of 'Mysteries of the Sith' is quite wonderful ...

You know, I wasn't very satisfied with Plansecape's ending. It did not fit the character I was playing at all. I was "WTF! Why am i suddenly at the Bloodwar?!?!"

That's the problem with letting you choose your character, the ending may not match.

Of course at least it wasn't lame like NWN2. "Yay! I won!! Oh, and got squashed by falling rocks."

Ending is also a big problem for adventures today. Still Life ended without showing us who is the killer, Runaway 2 ended half-way through the story...

I have fond memories of the endings of Realms of the Haunting (kind of bad) and Lands of Lore 3 (seemingly bad):
In RotH, after saving the world - when you think the game might be over - , the main character first has a run in with an enemy who appeared several times during the game but was actually forgotten by the time the game ended (okay, so I forgot all about this one and was duly scared when it reappeared), then the house burns to the ground and the main character must escape it, and when he finally makes it outside... he's hospitalized at a mental institution.
In LoL 3, after the main character saves the worlds, you're shown an animation of how he's killed by a cave-in. Ta-da! Then the credits roll by, you sit there, shocked... and *after* the credits, there's another animation about how he escapes the cave. Then the game continues, allowing you to solve a minor problem that has probably bugged you (the player) since LoL 1. THEN the game really ends.

Cave-ins/falling rocks often serve to cover the fact that someone isn't really dead and will reappear in the next part of the game, so perhaps the NWN2 ending is trying to do the same for the heroes?

BillSeurer said:

You know, I wasn't very satisfied with Plansecape's ending. It did not fit the character I was playing at all. I was "WTF! Why am i suddenly at the Bloodwar?!?!"
"

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You know, that was not the only ending... <mysterious smile>

Hey guys, spoiler warnings please!


I don't recall a different ending for Planescape, course it's been at least 6-7 years now since I've played it.

gothic 1 ended with the hero ending up under a lot of rumble or am I mistaken and is that part only introduced in G2? but I thought it was a good ending and dont forget the ending for G3 it was satisfying and made you crave for G3

JDR13 said:

Hey guys, spoiler warnings please!


I don't recall a different ending for Planescape, course it's been at least 6-7 years now since I've played it.

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shhh ... don't tell him Vader is Luke's father ...

On topic, I hate games with 'false endings'.

Red Faction 2 is one - the game built to a logical conclusion based on everything that happened within ~2-3 hours ... then you discover that you haven't found the *real* bad guy, so it is another 2-3 hour chase after him ... worst thing is that the whole second section feels tacked on.

Fable TLC is another - it is pretty obvious where the original game ended, and there is no motivation to do anything but pursue the final ending after getting to that point. Blah.

Gothic 1 actually ends with the narrator telling you that the hero emerged from the temple and had lowered the barrier etc.... G2 changed this by introducing the whole thing about the rocks so Xardas could save the hero

I love the Mafia ending and didn't feel betrayed by it at all.... I remember thinking "Wow, that was a surprise" when I first saw it, but then just thought "oh well - I guess you never truely can escape your past if you've been involved with the Mafia".

Interesting read. While the author made some good points--like atm all games are created to be sequalized(sad but true), on the whole I disagreed with almost all his opinions. Of course, he really wasn't focusing on rpgs, but even so...

I think too many games have bland or predictable 'happy' endings. This isn't necessarily satisfying. "Unhappy" endings or character death at the end of a game can be a plus, a plot resolution that makes sense, or gives value to the story.
The PS:T ending has already been mentioned and is a prime example.


My least favorite ending, though, has to be the kind where a bored voice comes on and shows you poorly drawn pictures of a lot of obvious events you don't care about anyway while melodramatic crescendos play in the background. Always feel cheated when that happens.

txa1265 said:

shhh ... don't tell him Vader is Luke's father ...

On topic, I hate games with 'false endings'.

Red Faction 2 is one - the game built to a logical conclusion based on everything that happened within ~2-3 hours ... then you discover that you haven't found the *real* bad guy, so it is another 2-3 hour chase after him ... worst thing is that the whole second section feels tacked on.

Fable TLC is another - it is pretty obvious where the original game ended, and there is no motivation to do anything but pursue the final ending after getting to that point. Blah.

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HUH!?! I thought Anakin was Luke's father!!!

Seriously though, it's common sense when you're discussing games that are still fairly recent. (NWN2)

Red Faction 2 was without a doubt one of the worst PC games I have ever played. I played it about 3-4 years ago but I don't even remember the ending. I think I subconsciously blocked it out to prevent myself from being emotionally scarred for life. I agree about Fable's ending as well. In fact, that entire game was quite forgettable to me.

JDR13 said:

Seriously though, it's common sense when you're discussing games that are still fairly recent. (NWN2)

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Sorry - I saw PS:T in your post and assumed that was what you were talking about - NWN2 is still in spoiler-land, but I think that things like 'the twist' in KotOR and the endings in games more than 5 years old shouldn't be a big deal anymore.

I find it annoying when games try to put an emphasis on story at the end of the game. Not be cause it's a bad thing, but because as used it doesn't hold up by itself.

Typical RPGs start off with a horde of gameplay elements: earn money, buy better bling, loot better bling, delve dungeons for better bling, gain levels/skills, learn new powers/moves, do side quests...

And then somewhere around 1/2 to 3/4 of the way through the game, you're filthy stinkin' rich, no merchant has anything worth buying, you've found/bought/stole the best weapons and equipment in the game (except maybe the +99 godslayer sword you earn 30 seconds before the final boss fight), maxed out your levels and skills, and you've done every side quest (or at least all of the ones you like).

You get to the point where all other gameplay elements have been exhausted, and the only thing left to carry the game is more of the same, plus dialogs (if there are any), and the story (if there is one). And "more of the same" is generally synonymous with "grinding mobs". Especially if there is a discrete end-game zone where the only thing to do is slaughter endless waves of demons/ninjas/sith apprentices.

I like playing games up to that point (and often delight in restarting and doing it all over with a different build/party up to that point, often repeatedly). After that point, all I want to do is get the game over with. Instead, I have to grind, grind, grind to get to the end of the story.

I'd like to see devs do a better job of making the culmination of the story end closer to the culmination of the other gameplay elements. Or make it more interesting and involving. Deus Ex is the only one I can think of off hand that kept story development coming at a decent pace up through the end, and even it felt too grindish through the final parts of the end game.

I liked the Planescape ending -- fight (or, you know, not), talk to your followers to get some closure, and cutscene away.

I also liked the KotOR ending -- not only did I whomp on the big bad guy, I got the big bad guy to turn a little toward the light there at the end. I got to both whomp on AND redeem somebody, and that felt awesome. I didn't mind not knowing what happened to all my followers, because, well, I was a big freakin' hero. I assumed we lived happily ever after.

My boss raves about the Hitman ending -- absolutely loves it.