Fake endings in games, do they just annoy the hell out of you? or renew your intrest in the game?

[Tolly]

Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura did this. You finally reach the guy you've been hunting for ages, and it turns out he's just as much of a victim as you. And the game had been dropping subtle hints that this might be the case for ages, so the big reveal is even cooler.

(And I refuse to spoiler this, the game has been out for something like a decade, it is officially past it's spoiler date.)

 

[Ace of Spades]

Well, I thought that GTA IV's ending should have been when you

Spoiler

kill Dimitri, but that's just me. Did anyone here actually choose to work with him?

If you did the "chose to work with him" ending, you get the "better" end, in my opinion.

Not better as in more uplifting, in fact it's a terrible downer in all ways, but it's still the correct way for the game to end.

- J

I chose to kill him for two reasons. 1: I promised myself that I would kill him if I ever saw him again, and 2:

Spoiler

I refused to let Roman die. I don't care what anyone says, I liked him. He was a funny character, and losing him would mean losing one of the reasons I liked GTA IV.

 

[Hippobatman]

Donkey Kong Country, when you think you've beaten King K. Rool!!

Yeah.. That's what I'm contributing to this.

 

[Grimm91]

The best fake ending was Hitman:BM. Suberbly cinematic.

For bioshock, I knew it wasn't the ending, because of the oh so obvious bathysphere level selections.

I agree, but if that little fact was over looked it would have been all good.

 

[mark_n_b]

Short, what you are defining as fake endings are not fake endings at all. They are called reversals. You seem to be annoyed with the three act structure and actual plot development.

In Bioshock, the end of the second act hardly counts as a "fake ending" and far from being annoyed by them, One of the major complaints about games is that they do not offer the writing of other form of narrative entertainment. Getting rid of complex plot development, making the game more obvious is a step backwards into a more simplistic and irrelevant area.

If this bothers you, you would probably be more interested in games from 1982 to 1992. The current world of games is not a friendly place for you.

 

[Vivvav]

I have mixed reactions, really. It's all dependent on various factors. Note: This is only if you're surprised by it not being the real ending.
1. Length of game so far: If you've been playing the game for an incredibly long time, you fight the big baddie and win, then realize it's still not the end, you could be pretty god damned pissed. But if it's been a relatively short amount of time, it can be a nice surprise to find out the story's only just taking off.
2. How much you liked the game: If you're one of those people that has to beat every game they ever play ever, even if you don't like it, it makes sense that you're gonna be pissed when you find out you have to continue subjecting yourself to this torment. But if you love a game and don't want it to end just yet, this is always a nice surprise to prolong the experience a little more.
3. How it affects the story: If you have a situation where the story has seemed to come to a reasonable end, then something randomly happens for no reason that seems totally unnecessary, you're probably gonna hate what they went through to pointlessly prolong the game. If it makes sense, in a way that's filling up a plot hole or answering a previously brought-up and unresolved question though, it's good.

 

[N-Sef]

Castlevania does this all the time these days, and I love it. I love seeing a different ending because of something I did different in the game.

 

[Fightgarr]

In Chrono Cross, if you kill the final boss instead of using elements in a specific order then you get the "fake ending". To get the real ending you need to save someone instead of kill something.

 

[CoverYourHead]

The only reason BioShock's "fake" ending is that I was done with it and I wanted some closure on the story. Then it turns out I have more work to do; I never got my closure.

 

[ShortCommings]

Short, what you are defining as fake endings are not fake endings at all. They are called reversals. You seem to be annoyed with the three act structure and actual plot development.

In Bioshock, the end of the second act hardly counts as a "fake ending" and far from being annoyed by them, One of the major complaints about games is that they do not offer the writing of other form of narrative entertainment. Getting rid of complex plot development, making the game more obvious is a step backwards into a more simplistic and irrelevant area.

If this bothers you, you would probably be more interested in games from 1982 to 1992. The current world of games is not a friendly place for you.

sorry my reply is in spoiler mode cus ive only just worked it out, and i like a good rant

Spoiler: bioshock

wooo wooo wooo whaat? hey please with the patronisation here lil girl, i love a good plot twist as much as the next guy but the build up to this bit of th game was such a ***** of a build up (and yes the bathysphere level selectory parts kinda nagged at the back of my brain before but i just kinda let it slide.. mighta been a trick ya see)what with the grind fest for the EMP butchering your way through the plaza and shops working for cohen (and the blasting his tits off with the grenade launcher, thought he deserved it, the plaster of paris weilding wacko, everything in the game seemed geared towards killing ryan, granted many mnay fucking references to fontain but i kinda belived the whole ima dead guy thing, thought hed be like the cockney geezer whos tapes u keep picking up. it kinda hit me a bit hard, felt cheated in a way.. i dunno what i expeced fucknig flowers and a load of little sisters to run on with a meddle i just DONT KNOW!

but aside from that your idea that im only suited for games pre 92 kinda irks me a bit. i love immersion and story telling in a game its the reason i play games to escape the stress of work and life etc. granted i enjoy the gamey games like fps's and RTS's but rpgy games are what i enjoy. the thing was it broke the immersion, whilst ill quite happliy play the night away and have done on this game it just felt so cheap =/ not gonna stop playing the game, its great. so, bring on the complex plot etc ill get stuck in and shoot smack wrestle oiled up midgets untill my hearts content.

 

[Tolly]

Going to disagree with you there, ShortCommings. Bioshock is a retro System Shock, and they were all about messing with your mind. In a WhateverShock game... it's never, ever over when you think it is. You never escape when you expect to, if at all. You are there to be manipulated, twisted, to have your mind and soul torn apart by uncaring forces. That's what was COOL about that plot twist. Just when you thought it might all be over, you realise that you've been manipulated and damn it, it's time to take your life back!

Then again, that might just be me.

 

[Gothicwitch]

Like anything else, if its poorly done then yes, I don't like them. But if it adds to it and gives you something more to look forward to, then I whole-heartedly enjoy them. I just depends on what you are discussing.

 

[samsprinkle]

Bioshock's "surprise ending" wasn't really that much of a shocker...

 

[Aardvark]

I like games with multiple endings, but with a clear point where the story branches off to get you the different ending, instead of "You got X level in stats, here's your ending". Only one I can think of at the moment is S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

 

[Lucane]

Yeah recently they did something similar in Mercenaries 2 but then I was like hey that didn't work followed by further Fury at my Enemies.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

It all depends on how it is executed. Sometimes it's well done - Bioshock is a great example. Most of the time I just feel cheated because the game designers decide at the last moment to change the course of the story.

Much of the time, games with fake stories seem to suffer from the "Thin Red Line" syndrome. Basically the opening story hook draws you in and the game builds to a natural conclusion. Then it drags on for hours after the natural conclusion for seemingly no reason other than to take everything you loved about the game and destroy it.

 

[ShortCommings]

Going to disagree with you there, ShortCommings. Bioshock is a retro System Shock, and they were all about messing with your mind. In a WhateverShock game... it's never, ever over when you think it is. You never escape when you expect to, if at all. You are there to be manipulated, twisted, to have your mind and soul torn apart by uncaring forces. That's what was COOL about that plot twist. Just when you thought it might all be over, you realise that you've been manipulated and damn it, it's time to take your life back!

Then again, that might just be me.

i think your right there, though im not sure what theres to disagree with in me post its just my opinion. after thinkin about it yes you do get 6 ways till sunday in that game from atlas ryan and peach. and lets not discuss the little sisters and tennenbaum... i actuely felt so bad about killing the lil brats that i reloaed my last save point when i first got one.. which is good i guess.. when a story makes u feel for the miniions.. but thats beside the point! i guess yes if they are done right fake endings are good and like any story telling tool just have to be used right

btw little clarification i considor 'fake endings' are those ones where you are tricked into thinking youve compleated the damn game and wham an extra chunk of gameplay falls in ur lap.

 

[hattifnatt]

Dark Messiah, you get impaled on a statue in first person How much more awesome does it get?
The most annoying ones are in stalker because they actually end the game and they bring no answers what so ever.

 

[ShortCommings]

It all depends on how it is executed. Sometimes it's well done - Bioshock is a great example. Most of the time I just feel cheated because the game designers decide at the last moment to change the course of the story.

Much of the time, games with fake stories seem to suffer from the "Thin Red Line" syndrome. Basically the opening story hook draws you in and the game builds to a natural conclusion. Then it drags on for hours after the natural conclusion for seemingly no reason other than to take everything you loved about the game and destroy it.

thank you someone who seems to have grasped the point i was trying to make

 

[Syphonz]

STALKER, in my opinion, is nearly the king of fake endings. In total 5 fake endings with 2 'real' endings and only 1 actually lets you continue afterwards for sandbox play.

EDIT: Before some of you say "no endings let you play the A-Life of SoC after the good ending Unless you have Oblivion Lost mod" GSC fixed this in patch 1.0004. But yes, the Oblivion Lost Mod kick all amounts of ass and its a damn shame so much was cut from the original game.