When a Game Concludes Juuuuuuust right

[max734734]

How does a game have a 'good' ending?

To clarify, I'm not referring to that whole good/bad/non-canon ending scenarios that often pop up in games that do the whole multiple ending thing.

Rather, the whole idea of how an ending concludes a game experience.

Like seriously, what makes a good ending? A cliffhanger? A wrapped up story? An Ultimatum? A Prelude?

What makes an ending so good, that it's a goal that any player is willing to play through? As bloody predictable as some of them are.

What are your thoughts about how a thing ends?

 

[Borty The Bort]

My idea for a good ending would be

-The antagonist has something happen to them, though it doesn't necessarily have to be "their just dessert", just SOMETHING has to happen to the story antagonist, and it has to be either shocking or satisfying to see.

- No happily ever afters, unless you feel like the player has worked for it. This is cheap writing, but I will accept a happy ending if the player has literally been put through hell and back in order to achieve it, but usually a bittersweet or full-on horrible ending for the protagonist can be more effective.

-Wrap-ups as usual are pretty important, but don't shoehorn it if you don't need to. For example, don't go back to look at a minor character that came into play about halfway through the game and you never saw again. Goodbyes should have been said to that character a long time ago.

Would write more, but have stuff to do, sorry.

 

[Saelune]

A good ending doesnt leave you going "but what about...?"

That excludes non-final endings (like in a continuing series) or generally horror/mind fuck things that want to let those "but what about...?" thoughts linger and likely freak you out.

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

It's a boring, finicky answer, but...

A good ending is something that suits the game, so it will vary across genres, styles, stories, etc. Personally I feel one of Spec Ops The Line's endings was absolutely perfect---

Spoiler

The suicide choice.

---as was the end I chose for the first season of The Walking Dead---

Spoiler

Having Lee tell Clementine not to pull the trigger.

The first Mass Effect had a fine ending, as it resulted in a satisfying sense of accomplishment and victory, whilst also seamlessly establishing the coming threat without undermining itself.

Oddly enough, I really liked Crackdown's twist at the end, as it made the whole game rather subversively gleeful/gleefully subversive in retrospect.

...so I suppose, in short: it depends.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

A good ending has to leave the player feeling like it was worth it for themselves and the characters for the game to have happened. Too many games go the 'Oh its so depressing and real!' endings, like Inside or the Last of Us with Joel lying to the little *****. Completely destroyed any good will I had towards the game.

An ending should make the plot have felt worth the effort. Bioshock is about rescuing children from an underwater hell, and it ends with those same children at your deathbed, thanking you. Boom! Worth it.
Mechwarrior 4 is about avenging your family and freeing your homeworld. Ends with the bad guys dead and Kataris free.
Final Fantasy 6, most Fallout games, OoT, these games use the ending to make the player feel as though the effort of playing was worth it.

Special exception goes to Limbo, which had an amazing ending 100% in keeping with what the game was meant to be. Limbo. Unending Limbo.

 

[Drathnoxis]

I like it when everything is all wrapped up at the end, no major loose ends or cliffhangers. Everything you've been working for the whole game comes together thematically and feels worthwhile. The characters should have solved their emotional conflicts, and generally be in a better place than where they started. No big plotholes either. The way things ended up should make sense and shouldn't feel contrived. The victory needs to feel earned. I shouldn't be left feeling like the game just let the protagonists win because they're the protagonists. Winning with the power of friendship is pretty cliched, but for a reason. When it's done well, it's just so satisfying. Also it's nice if there's a wrap up period, when you can talk to everybody one last time for closure.

Some endings I really liked:

Spoiler: Undertale Spoilers

Pacifism ending.

You've been told through the game that you can't possibly win without violence. Flowey constantly calls you a fool for being too soft. You endure attack upon attack, and sometimes it's tempting to go the easy route and gain a few levels. Sometime it seems impossible to get through without violence. But you stick to your values, turn foe after foe into friend, and in the end you find a resolution that works for everybody. Everybody admires you for your courage not to fight, and you've helped them all move forward in their lives. Most of the major characters have had an emotional resolution. Undyne, Alphys, Papyrus, Mettaton, Toriel, Asgore, Asriel, and even a lot of the more minor characters too. You can even give the snowman his snowball back after carrying it through the whole game and get some resolution from him. You did the right thing, and it just feels good.

Ghost Trick. Everybody should play Ghost Trick.

Spoiler: Ghost Trick Spoilers

Finding out who Sissel was and why he was killed seems like a fairly simple mystery to solve, but every revelation only adds more questions, and it starts to feel like there is no way for the game to possibly resolve everything in a satisfying manner. But in the end it all fits together perfectly. It's not like other games where something will come out of nowhere in the end and answer the questions. The answers were all set up right in front of you but weren't recognizable until the end. It's truly masterful they set everything up in advance. In a different game Sissel being a cat would seem dumb, but they show that ghosts can change their appearance to what they believe they look like with Lynne, and that ghost animals are capable of understanding humans with Missel. It all just feels natural, and is perfect. Also all the characters have their emotional resolution, and end up with strong bonds of friendships.

I could give more examples and go into more detail, but I'm running out of time for today... Other endings I love are Dragon Age: Origins, Persona 4, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, Okami ended pretty well too, Mother 3 I think but it's been a while, and 999 but the sequels kind of ruined it.

Obviously, not every game should have an ending like this, different endings work for different games, but endings like these just feels so satisfying to me.

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

I could give more examples and go into more detail, but I'm running out of time for today... Other endings I love are Dragon Age: Origins, Persona 4.

DA:O's a good'un. To me that felt like an ending of a great book you didn't want to end; the last few pages you'll spend in this world with these characters. Provided you survive the final battle, it was like an extended goodbye on the player's terms (re pacing, at least).

 

[jedisensei]

It's a boring, finicky answer, but...

A good ending is something that suits the game, so it will vary across genres, styles, stories, etc.
...
The first Mass Effect had a fine ending, as it resulted in a satisfying sense of accomplishment and victory, whilst also seamlessly establishing the coming threat without undermining itself.

...so I suppose, in short: it depends.

Came here to write this, almost word for word. So, kudos.

 

[Xprimentyl]

A good ending has to leave the player feeling like it was worth it for themselves and the characters for the game to have happened. Too many games go the 'Oh its so depressing and real!' endings, like Inside...

To each their own, but I?d contend that INSIDE?s ending was very much in line with the character of the experience as a whole. The entire game was an implicit, imaginative experience that spun further and deeper into the surreal and the ending ties it all up by leaving it all open, literally tasking the player to let their imagination run wild. Had the dev?s explicitly explained the whole thing, robbing it of its mystique, it would?ve significantly lessened the impact it had; I likely wouldn?t have wanted to play it the several more times I did or recommend it to everyone I can and it certainly wouldn?t have left much to talk about

That being said, I think a good ending does depend on the type of game and the story being told. INSIDE was a brief peek into a dark, mysterious, morbid and violent world, so it could afford to leave us puzzled and wondering. But most games that tend to be heavy on identifiable characters and overt narrative are best served by an ending that closes the gaps and takes a decent amount of time to do so. What NOT to do? Id?s Rage; a mediocre game that looks pretty with painfully little content despite selling itself as an open-world needed more than the 12 second cut scene amounting to an implied ?and that?s how you saved the world.?

 

[sageoftruth]

There's a good quote I read recently: "If someone says that a story has a satisfying conclusion, that means that the writer did a good job handling the journey leading up to that conclusion."

In order for an ending to feel just right, you must first feel a connection with the main character's plight. If the player doesn't care about the main character, or cannot empathize with the main character's struggle, then the ending will feel underwhelming. The more the player cares about and empathizes with the characters, the more of an emotional impact the ending will have.

Of course, even if the buildup is nice, the ending will still need to feel like it fits with the journey. No cop-outs. If the ending doesn't feel at least retroactively like the result of the circumstances from before, then even a strong buildup won't be able to save it.

 

[Kyrian007]

A good ending is great... but I've never been one to let a bad ending ruin a good experience. I've never understood that way of thinking. I'm enjoying some form of entertainment (book, movie, tv show, video game... whatever) and I love it through 95% of the content. Then the final 5% drops the ball... so what, then it sucks? I've just spent the vast majority of my time enjoying something but I'm supposed to hate it all now that it ended badly?

An example... even an over-example. Far Cry 3. Not only is the ending terrible, but the entire second half of the game is pretty bad. But overall, I liked Far Cry 3. The good parts more than made up for the bad.

 

[Wrex Brogan]

Spoiler: I thought the Mass Effect 3 Ending was Just Right.

A Good ending is something that wraps everything up. The Characters have had their arc, the conflict has occurred and now the story itself should be reaching its own little zenith, preferably one that makes the most of the characters and setting. Given the sheer breadth of games and genres it's hard to pin down exactly what makes a 'good' ending, but narrative theory alone demands you use the universe you have created to do so.

...Or, you know, Gainax the shit out of it. What? Just because it's a good ending doesn't mean it has to be a satisfying ending.

 

[votemarvel]

I could give more examples and go into more detail, but I'm running out of time for today... Other endings I love are Dragon Age: Origins, Persona 4.

DA:O's a good'un. To me that felt like an ending of a great book you didn't want to end; the last few pages you'll spend in this world with these characters. Provided you survive the final battle, it was like an extended goodbye on the player's terms (re pacing, at least).

I loved those endings even when the Warden dies as well.

When Alistair, at the Warden's funeral said "I'd thought be be together forever", I confess I almost cried. The setting, music and voicework were all excellent.

 

[dscross]

I thought Heavy Rain had a pretty satisfying ending, especially because it rewards you on your decisions.

 

[Xprimentyl]

I think The Darkness had a great ending. If you played it and didn?t fall in love with Jenny during the ?watching TV? scene, you?re a heartless bastard, and if their final moments at the end of the game didn?t kick your heart up directly between your tonsils, you?re probably the devil himself.

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

I loved those endings even when the Warden dies as well.

When Alistair, at the Warden's funeral said "I'd thought be be together forever", I confess I almost cried. The setting, music and voicework were all excellent.

Oh, I shed tears, alright, and that was when surviving simply because it was so bittersweet; a last goodbye to great characters, and a sense that this bonded group was now heading their separate ways.

Somehow a single line from Oghren always stands out, his "Don't get lost in the shuffle, now", which I'm pretty sure is the last thing he can say to you given certain responses. All of the characters have variously touching things to say (I like Leliana's, especially if she's an LI), but that ostensibly quite casual line from the dwarf somehow best symbolised the unlikely - yet very believable - friendships that had been formed, and the sense that whilst fate or happenstance had brought them together, nothing would likely keep them together, and so given Thedas seems in perpetual danger it'd be easy even for someone as notable as the Warden to be subsumed by events[footnote]Which is kinda what happens by the time of DA:I...[/footnote].

DA:O was a classic fantasy roadtrip tale, and its endings were pretty much perfect for it. I've enjoyed all of BioWare's games since, but whilst I think ME1's is akin to a structural and tonal masterclass (cracking track for the credits, as well), DA:O's will always be my sentimental fave (it works so well across the various permutations, too; the Warden as queen, consort, warden commander, martyr, etc).

 

[happyninja42]

When the ending fits the narrative of what you just played, and feels like it ties up whatever storyline was being presented.

If it's designed to be a cliffhanger, then it needs to have a good solid hook at the end, that makes you aching for the next game, so you can continue with the story, being that invested.

 

[SweetShark]

A good ending leave satisfied with its independent conclusion it had either it is bad or a good ending.
Very good examples are Mass Effect, Undertale. They don't need to have in the ending a cliffhanger to make it more interesting like most sequels in general...

 

[max734734]

Uncharted 4 was juuuuust right as both a game ender and series ender, at least for Nathan Drake's character.

The earlier Final Fantasies could also be thrown in there if we're going for "storybook" type endings.

I'd rather have a game avoid cliff hangers unless it's known as a planned trilogy or something. I'm also more partial to surprise, thought provoking, or even darker endings especially when left open to different interpretations, because they're simply more interesting and credible.

 

[votemarvel]

I loved those endings even when the Warden dies as well.

When Alistair, at the Warden's funeral said "I'd thought be be together forever", I confess I almost cried. The setting, music and voicework were all excellent.

Oh, I shed tears, alright, and that was when surviving simply because it was so bittersweet; a last goodbye to great characters, and a sense that this bonded group was now heading their separate ways.

Somehow a single line from Oghren always stands out, his "Don't get lost in the shuffle, now", which I'm pretty sure is the last thing he can say to you given certain responses. All of the characters have variously touching things to say (I like Leliana's, especially if she's an LI), but that ostensibly quite casual line from the dwarf somehow best symbolised the unlikely - yet very believable - friendships that had been formed, and the sense that whilst fate or happenstance had brought them together, nothing would likely keep them together, and so given Thedas seems in perpetual danger it'd be easy even for someone as notable as the Warden to be subsumed by events[footnote]Which is kinda what happens by the time of DA:I...[/footnote].

DA:O was a classic fantasy roadtrip tale, and its endings were pretty much perfect for it. I've enjoyed all of BioWare's games since, but whilst I think ME1's is akin to a structural and tonal masterclass (cracking track for the credits, as well), DA:O's will always be my sentimental fave (it works so well across the various permutations, too; the Warden as queen, consort, warden commander, martyr, etc).

While Mass Effect is my favourite franchise, Dragon Age: Origins is my favourite Bioware game.


It just feels so much more varied and a lot of that comes from the simple text screens that come as the epilogue.

I almost cried at the scene mentioned above but I did shed a tear or two at

Leliana remained in the Royal Court for a time, mourning.

She poured her heart into a ballad that would eventually become known throughout Thedas.

But after one performance, Leliana quietly vanished.

Some say that the Maker came to her in a vision again that night. Smiling, tears in her eyes, she told a maid that she would see her love again at last.

Sten bowed once before Megan's remains and then left without a word, returning to his homeland.

His honour had been restored, and when fellow qunari asked if there were worthy people outside Par Vollen, Sten would answer that in all his travels he had only met a single one.

Oghren accepted a position as a general in the army of Ferelden, the first dwarf ever promoted so high, and eventually sobered up and married.

When his first daughter was born, Oghren held her in his arms and wept and named her after the friend who had changed his life so long ago.

I don't know what it was but on that play through those screens just managed to touch me in a way not much ever has.