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Dhruin
Stranger In A Strange Land
Joined: 20 May 2002
Posts: 1825
Location: Sydney, Australia |
| Multiple Endings in Games @ Gamasutra |
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Gamasutra has an <a href="http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20041222/adams_01.shtml" target="_blank">editorial</a> (free registration required) written by Ernest Adams at iHobo (consultants on Kult among others) that probes the point of multiple endings in games. Here's a snippet close to home:<blockquote><em>Planescape: Torment, a game that I otherwise love, had about eight different conclusions, each based on a particular choice the player could make at the very end of the game. I saved and reloaded until I had seen them all (I think). I understand the designers' motivations for including them: the game was full of difficult choices, and they wanted the player to make one more big one and show the consequences arising from it. The endings were meaningful and in some cases profound. And yet I didn't feel they were all necessary. One ending felt like the "best," and the others - while clearly not "losing" - were less satisfactory. The game's theme became slightly muddled at that point. I think it would have been more powerful if it had had only one ending, or if the ending had been based on a cumulative choice made over the course of the whole game, rather than a simple mechanistic decision at the end.</em></blockquote>Hmmm...thoughts? |
Thu Dec 23, 2004 8:57 am |
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genji
Eager Tradesman
Joined: 11 Dec 2004
Posts: 39
Location: Melbourne, Australia |
I can see the author's points, but I don't think limiting games to one ending is the answer.
Well, not in all cases, at least. It depends on what the game is trying to achieve. It seems to me that the purpose of many games, even many RPGs, is to involve the player in a fascinating storyline. The storyline, and the events which it comprises of, may be completely linear. The player progresses in a linear fashion, from start to finish. This type of RPG is exemplified partly by console RPGs like Final Fantasy or the short-lived Shenmue, a game that played out more like a movie. I'm playing something similar right now, a fantastic game called Tales of Symphonia. I know that I'm mostly being lead to the game's conclusion, but it's been a pretty fun ride so far. Having several alternative endings in this sort of game would be largely pointless. Having a choice of ending would make little sense if the player has not been given any choices beforehand.
And then we have the other sorts of RPGs, the "go anywhere, do whatever you like" games favored by many PC gamers. These are quite different from the afore-mentioned linear games, because they are all about choice. You can choose which quests to complete, how to complete them, and tailor-make a character that best suits your playing style. You choose, and (in the better examples of this style) your choices have consequences, for good or ill. In this sort of game, having alternate endings would be staying true to this spirit, I think.
There are many games which have not achieved this so well. One thing that I somewhat disliked about the Deus Ex games was that these choices made very little difference. The ending you got was largely determined by a late-game decision. Even in Invisible War, which allowed you to join factions, your alliances made very little difference to the overall progression of the story, let alone the ending.
Ideally (at least in my opinion), games that offer alternative endings would allow these ending to be reached through cumulative choices, as the author of this article details. The choices you make at the beginning affect the story arc that you take, which in turn opens up paths leading - eventually - to one or two endings that are exclusive to the path that the player started on.
It may require a lot more work on behalf of the programmers, though. 
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In dreams I walk with you |
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Thu Dec 23, 2004 9:27 am |
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Lucky Day
Guest
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This is basically a variation of the debate between Open Endedness and Linear games. Open Endedness was all the push from fans until Morrowind when everyone became lost in its lack of focus for such an incredible game.
Linearity, like most Japanese console games, make you feel like your playing a movie and just pushing buttons until the next scene comes. you rarely have any actual impact. Those games are only successful if the story is compelling enough.
I don't think Alternate Endings are so bad but the writer makes a point. Alternate endings can pull down a conclusion to a story.
Wizardry 7 was one of the first games to attempt this. For years it was considered by many to be the pinnacle of RPG's because of its Open Endedness and mutliple directions you could take. One of hte first games where you could play to different factions.
The multiple endings it allowed actually affected how you started your game for Wizardry 8 ten years later when it was released.
Baldur's Gate and the early Ultimas, u3 and u4, had a linear plots but you could take a multitude of directions to get there. You could explore and choose any dungeon to explore at any time to reach it. One of the very disappointing things about Ultima 9 didn't have. |
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Fri Dec 24, 2004 3:59 am |
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genji
Eager Tradesman
Joined: 11 Dec 2004
Posts: 39
Location: Melbourne, Australia |
There's nothing inherently wrong with a linear game. Sometimes I find a story created for me by programmers to be more compelling than one I create for myself. Especially if the story I create involves mostly fetch and delivery sidequests, taking advantage of scripting bugs, or slaughtering entire towns for experience points.
I don't mind having no choices in the direction of the main plot. It isn't just watching a movie, it's taking an active part in it. I travel to my destinations, and I train and guide my characters through tough battles. It isn't just "pushing buttons". I like movies. I like them even more if I can be the main character. I can see that that's not everyone's cup of tea. To each his own, I guess.
But back to the point. I would prefer to have one great ending than the choice of several mediocre ones that were just tacked on to give a game extra "replay value".
(WARNING - possible Fallout spoilers ahead, if any of you haven't played it yet)
Actually, in my first comment, I forgot to mention Fallout. This, in my mind, is a perfect example of the type of ending I would like to see more of. Sure, the only real choice at the end was whether you killed the Overseer or not on your way out of the Vault. But the sight of the Vault Dweller, after saving everyone, being rejected by his own people, made for an ending that will stick in my mind forever. And, in an epilogue, you got to SEE the results of the actions that you took throughout the game. The choices that you made actually meant something in the end.
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In dreams I walk with you |
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Fri Dec 24, 2004 5:13 am |
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