…not like it?
I was discussing ideas for my game with some of my friends, and when I mentioned some ending ideas, the first thing my friend pointed out was that none of the endings feel like "good" endings – they're all grey at best, and possibly outright downer endings. While that was my full intention, he got me worried that some people might not like it. o.oMy game's story is a deconstruction of a popular RPG storyline. Happy endings obviously don't work well in that context. But I don't know how well the average person can appreciate a well-written deconstruction – some are met with praise (Watchmen), many are disliked (but possibly due to quality) and with some, people don't realize their nature (Final Fantasy VII, for example. Most fans like it because it's "teh coolz," not because it's a brilliant deconstruction of the first 6 FF games).In context, I would basically need for it to end on a bad note to get my message across. I'm utilizing multiple endings to show the possible resolutions to the situation presented throughout the story, and why none of them are particularly good. Hopefully the people who can't appreciate that aspect of my game/story will at least enjoy the ride enough to like the game.The player characters and their actions directly cause the outcome in each ending. Nonetheless, the outcome in any of the endings isn't particularly good, and not quite what they set out to do. It's basically an examination of not only the particular plotline (which has been used in a number of recent RPGs), but as an extension uses that plotline to form a critique of… basically, humanity as a whole. There's a lot of moral grey areas present in the story, and it's almost made to make the player question who exactly was the worse of the two sides.Thanks in advance for any input.
If a heavily story driven game has a downer ending (or multiple endings, all downers), would players
Posted by Vance_Kimiyoshi on July 21, 2010, 12:30 a.m.
Comments
Ever heard of Silent Hill 2? Not all the endings are total downers, but most fans prefer the saddest one where (spoiler alert) the main character commits suicide.
Oh come on, exceptions prove the rule guys.
Sad endings are a good setup for sequels usually.
Although, granted, the traditional concept of a tragedy does have mileage. It's rather rare nowadays though.
@Juju: Could you address my question (in the reply directly after your first reply)? Thanks.
Go to TV Tropes and look at some of this crap. They have a lot to say about it.
Oh right sorry, missed that one Vance.
I think it's largely to do with audiences not liking to leave a movie theatre (or a book or a play or a game) with a bad feeling in their mind. Psychologically, they associate that bad feeling with the work as a whole and as such colours their opinion negatively.This is not to say a bad ending cannot be considered acceptable. The Godfather movies all end with death and destruction but all work - do note that none of the endings are "satisfying" though, they simply work. There are many famous examples of tragedies throughout literature but there are considerably more good endings. They often invoke a self-reflection after the movie that most people simply don't want to approach especially for negative emotions.Considering that video games are the equivalent of literary whores - that is, they exist to be entertaining - bad endings should be avoided in the casual game market. A bad ending may well be intellectually stimulating but a good ending is just more fun. Silent Hill 2's bad ending worked because it isn't so much a fun game, it worked because it's arguably an "Art Game." If you're going to be a pretentious asshole (asshole type 1, incidentally) and create an artistic game, by all means go for the tragic route. Don't expect it to be popular though.In order to write a proper game story, you have to do a lot of reading. Yes, you have homework.
I've played a lot of games with tragic endings that I actually liked. Lufia 2 was one of my favorite games I've ever played, and though you saved the world from destruction, blah blah blah, the protagonist and another lead character die.But this works especially well with multiple endings (though I would highly advise against it unless you're a great writer). Bomberman 64: The Second Attack had an ending that was based on whether you won or lost to the last level's miniboss. The final boss was different per ending, and in one, though you basically saved the universe, everyone dies except for you.Even Mario Galaxy (original) had a sort of "sad" ending. My little brother was bawling at it. But since the game is so new, I won't spoil it for anyone.IN CONCLUSIONThe point is, even with a sad ending, you can still have a great game, but the ending needs to tie in to the story well. The conflict needs to be resolved even if the characters die. Why not, right? You'll never see them again anyway.But if the conflict isn't resolved, you have to tie everything up somehow, even if it means a sequel, which many fans will come to expect, I promise you.Kilin, we are talking about bad endings, not sad endings =P