What makes a good game ending?

M

Magix

Weaksauce
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A lot of people like to share their opinions as to whether or not they liked the ending of some game. For me it's almost always a negative experience because the ending means I don't get to play the game anymore.

Anyway, how would you describe a good game ending? What do you have to do to make a good ending for a game?

I guess we can extend this question to movies and tv shows as well.
 
Take the formula mass effect 3 used then do the exact opposite. Success.
 
I think it depends on the game ... for long games that I have invested MANY hours and weeks and months playing the ending should provide a good denouement wrapping up the storyline and providing some linkage to my activities in the game (Baldur's Gate 2, Fallout 3, Bioshock, etc), although some of those choices might not work for others

For a building game like an MMO or ARPG the ending should make you use all the skills and abilities you have spent the entire game developing and provide a challenge (but not an insurmountable one)

For platformers or adventure games I like a little humor or something to wrap things up

For strategy games I like that "Yea Me" moment to reward you for your win

I enjoy cinematics at the beginning and end of games the most since they don't detract from or delay the actual gameplay.

I generally dislike a totally closed ending (your character dies) since after investing that much time and effort in a game I have an attachment to my character and dislike the idea of my character being dead and all further game play being curtailed

Anyway, that is my feedback on endings :)
 
I'd say any ending that leaves me thinking about the game once the ending is over. I tend not to sweat endings too much these days, though, as the many hours of gameplay enjoyment (hopefully!) leading up to it are far more important to me.
 
Seeing your choices come to fruition like in Deus Ex--finally taking down that son of a bitch who was mean to me and my brother (and mankind, i guess). :mad:
 
chockomonkey said:
Seeing your choices come to fruition like in Deus Ex--finally taking down that son of a bitch who was mean to me and my brother (and mankind, i guess). :mad:
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One of the best games ever when it came to resolving conflicts.
 
Closure to the events of the game. I would also say "tie up loose ends" but I think that would make quick and cheap story elements that I would rather play out in end-game gameplay.

You could also say that an ending that left you "wanting more game play" would be good but at the same time I see that as being bad. You want to finish a game and feel like you've completed it, not left wanting.
 
resolution of character arcs...every small detail doesn't have to be resolved (some things are best left open ended and left up to the player's interpretation) but the main storyline needs closure...whether it's good or bad doesn't matter as much as not leaving things open ended for a sequel or follow up...I hate games that are afraid to give definite closure because they want to leave things open for a sequel in case the game becomes a blockbuster...that is unless a game is specifically meant to be a trilogy (like the Mass Effect series)

Mass Effect is a perfect example because they tied up pretty much all the major storylines and character arcs in ME3...every choice you made led to some kind of ending...people can complain about the quality of the ending and whether the choices throughout really changed anything but I was satisfied for the most part

on the opposite side, the TV show LOST left so many major mythology questions open ended that it was ridiculous...Sopranos ended with a fade to black...both are 2 of the greatest TV shows of all time but the final episodes left a lot to be desired
 
For me its the main characters need some sort of closure, not everything has to be wrapped up but if I play an RPG i want the final battle to be the end to the story that you have been working towards, but a FPS games are different types of endings to me.,
 
My wife is one of those people that flipped out over the ending to ME3 and I never really understood it.
They ended the series. I don't really feel entitled to know what happened after any of it. It's over. As far as endings go, at least they actually went all-in.

To me the worst kind of ending is the kind where you actually get most of the major plot revelation earlier and the actual end is just some random text over a still image or a plot point that was already a foregone conclusion. Oh yeah - unlike Assassin's Creed, do NOT force me to sit through 25 minutes of fucking credits.
 
I don't like endings that show something happening when you could be playing it instead. I DO like endings that show you how your previous choices impact the world after your own story ends (see: Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer, and many other RPGs).

However I also like endings that don't tie up ends that didn't need tying. For instance, the "good" ending to STALKER. As much as I really liked the last optional bonus level (I may be the only one who did) as far as the endings went I actually preferred the ones where you find the wish granter and ultimately perish. It keeps some of the game's mystique alive rather than throwing gobs of "this is what's REALLY happening" narration at you and tying everything up in a pretty bow.
 
Domingo said:
My wife is one of those people that flipped out over the ending to ME3 and I never really understood it.
They ended the series. I don't really feel entitled to know what happened after any of it. It's over. As far as endings go, at least they actually went all-in.

To me the worst kind of ending is the kind where you actually get most of the major plot revelation earlier and the actual end is just some random text over a still image or a plot point that was already a foregone conclusion. Oh yeah - unlike Assassin's Creed, do NOT force me to sit through 25 minutes of fucking credits.
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I didn't have a problem with what happened at the end of it (maybe cause I wasn't as invested in the series, ME3 was my first game), as much as I had a problem with the game being so heavily choice focused, and the ending was just a ternary choice. Do you want this, this or this? None of the previous decisions mattered. That gives no satisfaction. The whole point of these choices is being able to see the consequences of your actions, and if the most important choice is right before the ending credits, you don't get that. The ending of the game should BE a consequence of the previous actions.

^ But this only applies to games that actually put an emphasis on choice
 
It needs to:
- Offer a satisfying wrap up to the game
- Round off all the stories for every character of value (this is why A Link To The Pasts ending is so amazing)
- Have a final boss battle that takes ~10 minutes to finish
- Answer any questions that may have been ignored.
 
hmm.. plenty of murder, gore, fucking people up for teh lulz.. sadness, suffering and despair, and at the end im rich, full of loot and looking good! thats what a good game is about.
 
My two favorite game endings have to be Descent: Freespace and The Walking Dead. In Freespace, you finally come to some sort of "happy" resolution after about 2/3rds of the game being bitter defeat after bitter defeat. It was a great culmination (and did the whole ancient destroyer/preserver motif much better than Mass Effect).

The ending to TWD had the waterworks going. Just a great story with great characters that got me 100% invested.
 
To me a good game ending is an ending that leaves you with fulfillment, that fits within the games story , themes, etc.

One that doesn't diminish your experience .

Example of a great ending to a game, Syberia II.

It closed the journey that was started in Syberia I and brought a sense of accomplishment tot he characters and experiences throughout the game.

Last of Us also had a great ending in my book, it fit the world, the characters, was alos a bit surprising but it also left you with hope there'd be more.
 
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