THE_KING_OF_HYRULE'S PROFILE

I remember when I was younger, the idea of a game having multiple endings was really appealing, because it meant that you were responsible for not just what happened in the game, but what would happen to the in-game universe after you left it.

After actually playing a number of these games, the value of multiple endings has diminished for me, especially when you start to think about what they are in the real world: i.e. that they just function as a different cutscene to closer the game experience.

I would say that in story-driven games, as many RPGs are, it can help to have multiple possible endings just so that the player knows that their journey is somewhat unique, or at the very least, not simply inevitable.

For example, I liked that KotOR had two different endings, even if the ending cutscenes themselves were not especially rewarding, simply because it meant that the story and the universe had been shaped by the character I'd created.

And like LockeZ and others have mentioned, multiple endings can be rewarding where there is a gameplay reason for them. E.g. the cutscenes for finishing Street Fighter II on the hardest difficulty without losing were just a bunch of character sprites covering the screen, but I still remember them because it was a nice feeling that the game recognised the additional effort in overcoming that level of challenge.

author=mawk
creating replayability is more complex than just gating some of your content away from the course of a single playthrough, and making your ending branch in only a token sense for the sake of checking off 'replayability' on your arbitrary list of features isn't going to pan out as well as making an ending branch organically from the story.

author=DR1988
Although many reviewers state things like "And the 10 different endings certainly add to the replay value/ keep you busy for hours", I don't think they do.

I agree with these quotes - multiple endings are often cited as reasons for replayability, but in practice they aren't enough on their own. Going through a whole game a second time just to get an alternate ending often makes the playing experience pretty unenjoyable.

author=thatbennyguy
I prefer not to break the experience of my journey by seeing what would've happened if I didn't play it like I did. For me, it breaks immersion into the character, and seeing a different ending just takes away from my connection with the events that occurred.

author=Sam
The importance of multiple endings is closely linked to the importance of choice in some video games, especially an RPG. Role Playing Game, that implies that you should get to make choices and that those choices should impact the world you inhabit. It could alter not only the ending but also the course of events leading up to the ending.

I also strongly agree with these. The immersion of story-based games only takes hold the first time we play them. The idea of choice is really important, but how much difference it actually makes is a secondary issue. Going on YouTube to look up alternate endings, or reloading save files to watch them in-game, completely destroys the immersion of the game, the feeling that you are actually there, or that your avatar is really part of a living, breathing universe. During the first playthrough, we are given choices and can see immediate results of those choices, as well as imagine the further implications.

Although it's not an ending, the example I'll draw on is the fate of the Rachni race in Mass Effect. It is made clear through the story dialogue that deciding what to do with the Rachni Queen will have far-reaching and potentially devastating consequences for the entire universe. Making that choice weighs heavily on a player that is immersed in the story. This is analogous to the existence of possible endings in a game because it shows how simply the existence of a choice makes the story more personal and real for the player. If the decision were out of our control, we would simply be watching the character Shepard do the pre-destined thing. Similarly, to have one ending means effectively we are simply watching events unfold, and our only influence was to get the PC up to this point by controlling the physical actions.

This was much too wordy, but in short I think that multiple endings can add satisfaction if they provide reward for a difficult challenge, or they can allow a player to enjoy being more personally invested in a game universe.

Ok thanks very much for the advice man, now I just gotta see if I can get something done.

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone.

author=kentona
I wrote them from scratch but with heavy guidance from the books, if I recall correctly. A lot of credit goes to them for the subject matter.

EDIT:
basically, I summarized a lot of their ideas, and injected a few of my own and (sometimes) gave different examples. It's like a Coles Notes version of their book.

That's really impressive - the writing style is so professional, and the articles are easy to understand and ideal in length for the format. I'm really encouraged by the effort and attention to detail put into so much of the stuff I've read so far - I guess this kind of perfectionist mentality is normal for people who are heavily invested in making fully realised games, as well as helping others do the same.

Hi everybody!

Ok, I am prone to rambling but will do my best to keep it brief. I got RMVXA last week having never heard of it before. I've always wanted to make games ever since I was a kid, but never took appropriate steps towards doing it.

So I tried the program out last week and it's been great fun. I went through Touchfuzzy's tutorials in a couple of days and have been reading up on all the amazing resources I've found, like the articles written by kentona and Addit and LockeZ and so many others. It's all so well-written and well thought out! So thank you to all those who have contributed to this amazing hub of information.

I had 0 projects last week but now have 4, thanks to all the ideas spewing out after getting started on the program. It sounds sad, and I know that the initial enthusiasm from the new people will always wane, but I am really excited about all this right now! I'm not young (I remember playing on Spectrum, Atari and c64) but I never learned any programming or game design so this is all very new for me.

I have so many questions, but I will keep them to the appropriate forums unless someone thinks its ok for me to ask them here. For now, just saying hello and hope I get to meet a whole bunch of you, contribute to this community and hopefully actually make a game!!