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[Jingo]

It goes for movies too, but games are way more expensive and with much more time investment.

when i play a game and finish it, i want a sense of conclusion, an ending that we can agree,a resolution, make it good or bad, but give me an ending for something i invested so much time on it, a game its not a series that end on a high note to leave you hanging till next week episode.

Especialy if its a new ip and you dont know if its gonna get a sequel, cause market is what market is, and then you will always wonder, "Its not a lake, its an ocean" What happened to alan wake? Where is The order gonna go next?

In Star wars movies we can all be peacefull about the endings, cause we know they had marketed for 3 new movies, but games tend to believe they re gonna be a hit and so they leave history open for the next one.

Maybe we are victims of being the pre order generation, hiting the prime with "No man sky" a hit of marketing for a bogus game with laughable ending, giving the wrong message to producers doing whatever they want .

 

[psyfi]

I'm cool with it.

I get all your complaints OP, and I think they're valid, but I also really love the sense of "WHAT THE HELL" and anticipation that can come with a good cliffhanger.

 

[justsomeguy]

It's disgusting when things are left with the audience hanging.

I'll tell you why in my next post.

 

[Zolo]

We can have both, but I agree that I gravitate toward games with proper endings these days. If I remember right, I think the main writer of Dragon Age II made comments about how DAII wasn't a cliffhanger which I'd have to disagree on for one example....

 

[Neoleo2143]

I like Teases, stuff after the credits not too pertinent to the main game. Some games earn cliffhangers because they have a planned sequel to close out the narrative. Many games do not and it pisses me off when that happens. Endings are really important and you can't screw them up if you want a satisfying experience.

 

[Doctor_Thomas]

I'm completely fine with it. Sometimes a cliffhanger ending can have impact and give you the chance to fill in the blanks and draw your own conclusions rather than giving you the definitive. It's sometimes just much more effective.

 

[Kouriozan]

Sometime I like it but Golden Sun Dark Dawn is the worst since the sequel never happened.

 

[Jawmuncher]

I agree OP. Anyone who has played Psi-Ops knows why they are so bad.
This is literally the ending

 

[PepperedHam]

Indeed, The Order pissed me off with this. You could tell they made that ready for it to be a super series but now, as someone who sort of enjoyed the story, I'm left with that poopy ending.

 

[Trigonometrize.]

Yeah, I agree. An absolute cliffhanger is always bad. There needs to be some amount of conclusion to any movie, game, book, or season of a TV show. Making your audience wait and/or pay for the climax for long periods of time isn't fun, it feels manipulative.

I'm completely fine with it. Sometimes a cliffhanger ending can have impact and give you the chance to fill in the blanks and draw your own conclusions rather than giving you the definitive. It's sometimes just much more effective.

A game that makes you draw your own conclusions and a cliffhanger are very different things. Last of Us, for instance, isn't a punch in your face with "find out what happens to Joel and Ellie next time!" It doesn't give you the direct answers of what happens after the credits roll, but the game already had a climax. It's not baiting you.

 

[Fandangox]

It's disgusting when things are left with the audience hanging.

I'll tell you why in my next post.

The only thing Im mad about this post is that I did not come up with it.

 

[Shinigami]

It's disgusting when things are left with the audience hanging.

I'll tell you why in my next post.

This... This was a good joke. Had to do a double take. Thank you.

 

[Schlorgan]

Crysis' Halo 2 ending really bummed me out.

Spoiler

Probably because I played Crysis 2 first.

 

[Kyzon]

I was hoping this was a Xenoblade Chronicles X thread. My game of the year 2015, but that ending was pretty bad.

 

[RoboPlato]

You can leave stuff open or have some teases for more in the series but straight up cliffhangers really suck and are even worse for new IPs. If it tanks, the people who liked it are left without any sort of closure.

 

[Zolo]

I'm completely fine with it. Sometimes a cliffhanger ending can have impact and give you the chance to fill in the blanks and draw your own conclusions rather than giving you the definitive. It's sometimes just much more effective.

For what it's worth, I don't count cliffhanger endings as endings that leave questions or other stuff for the player to think about. I consider it more 'We have to gather for the new theat!', 'This person's missing. We need to find them and get their help for the times to come.', etc. Not stuff like "Another World", "Ico", and "Shadow of the Colossus".

 

[Jawmuncher]

You can leave stuff open or have some teases for more in the series but straight up cliffhangers really suck and are even worse for new IPs. If it tanks, the people who liked it are left without any sort of closure.

Pretty much. Midway went down and no one ever got in contact with the writer with what was planned for the story going forward.

 

[gdt]

Nah. Good cliffhangers are great.

 

[Manu]

I agree.

But they can be great when done right (see avatar)

 

[Aaronrules380]

I think it depends. Games need some level of closure, and should be able to form a relatively complete story on their own, but a few open ended questions and teasers can be a good way to drum up excitement for a sequel. I think there are cases where it's done badly (Gravity Rush immediately comes to mind, where none of the interesting questions are answered and the plotline that was resolved with the final boss felt like it only started late in the game and was only there so that they could have closure on something)

 

[Phamit]

Half Life 2: Episode 2 The Thead

But most of the time I can deal with it and if there is no sequel the explanation is most of the time "it sold bad"

 

[Mobius and pet octopus]

I find this premise silly, that you actually want to tell artists what is and what is not acceptable as an ending. And isn't the entire premise about NMS ending that journey is the reward and not the ending?

 

[Averon]

I just finished watching Independence Day: Resurgence yesterday, so I sympathize with you, OP.

 

[JC Lately]

I hear what you’re saying OP, and I largely agree with you. That said, the cliffhanger at the end of FF XIII-2 was probably my favorite ending of the PS3 generation. Probably not for the reasons Square-Enix wanted, but still.

 

[Sanjuro]

That's why Super Mario Bros. 3 is trash. I beat Bowser just for the game to to tell me the princess was in another castle. I shut the game off right then and there.

NEVER AGAIN!

 

[SuperSonic1305]

Darksiders ending is amazing.

 

[Schlorgan]

Half Life 2: Episode 2 The Thead

Word.

 

[Chaserjoey]

On one hand you have FFXIII which had a closed ending and so XIII-2 had to introduce this weird thing where the ending of XIII actually had Lightning sucked into a time portal thing which didn't go over well with fans.

Then on the other hand you have the ending of XIII-2 which ended with

Spoiler

Serah's death and Lightning frozen in Etro's chair

which REALLY didn't go over well with fans, especially since a big part of the ending was sold as DLC.

But yeah, I sort of agree with you. If the game is first announced with sequels included, sure go for a cliffhanger because it's all been decided up front. When you introduce a sequel which alters the nice closed ending of the previous game, or you have a cliffhanger that never leads anywhere because people don't buy into it, then that's a problem.

 

[privitsan02]

It's disgusting when things are left with the audience hanging.

I'll tell you why in my next post.

Brilliant.

 

[KyleCross]

Indeed, The Order pissed me off with this. You could tell they made that ready for it to be a super series but now, as someone who sort of enjoyed the story, I'm left with that poopy ending.

Yeah, you can blame Sony for that. Oh, what could have been if Sony didn't fuck them over cause they wanted a graphical showcase game on the PS4 early in its lifecycle. I really hope Deformers does well and Ready At Dawn gets a chance at another big budget title. They've proven they're quality developers with their PSP games.

 

[desmax]

Nah,good cliffhangers are great.

Trails in the Sky has my favorite ending in a game,and that one ends with a pretty evil cliffhanger.

 

[Deadbeat]

It's disgusting when things are left with the audience hanging.

I'll tell you why in my next post.

Never post in this thread again.



















This way you are accurately reflecting how often games with cliff hangers never get resolved.

 

[RoboticWater]

I think there just needs to be a general rule about not leaving the audience hanging for an extended period of time. The cliffhanger is a valid narrative device, but it doesn't take too long for anticipation to become resentment.

Games are in the unfortunate position where they simply can't be developed quickly enough to constantly diffuse cliffhangers.

 

[Jingo]

I find this premise silly, that you actually want to tell artists what is and what is not acceptable as an ending. And isn't the entire premise about NMS ending that journey is the reward and not the ending?

You can probably tell by now that everyone gave a big deal about NMS ending so its not just my opinion.

The premisse its not silly, you cant try to sell me a story of a game that unless its divided by parts, and leave me in the middle of it without a resolution and not knowing if there ever gonna be one.

 

[ItsDorf]

Every single game should have an ending. Cliffhangers in games sucks bad. Only exception would be episodic games where new levels come pretty quickly

 

[Doctor_Thomas]

A game that makes you draw your own conclusions and a cliffhanger are very different things. Last of Us, for instance, isn't a punch in your face with "find out what happens to Joel and Ellie next time!" It doesn't give you the direct answers of what happens after the credits roll, but the game already had a climax. It's not baiting you.

For what it's worth, I don't count cliffhanger endings as endings that leave questions or other stuff for the player to think about. I consider it more 'We have to gather for the new theat!', 'This person's missing. We need to find them and get their help for the times to come.', etc. Not stuff like "Another World", "Ico", and "Shadow of the Colossus".

That's what a good cliffhanger should do though. A shitty one that says "find out what happens next" is a poor use of the cliffhanger, a good cliffhanger should leave its self open, but also round off the story completely. I'll give you a fantastic example of a cliffhanger done properly - Metal Gear Solid -

Spoiler

There's absolutely no indication that series was going to continue, because it was resurrected years later, but they end on this massive cliffhanger where it's revealed that the President was the third clone. The last words are, literally, "Thank You, Mr. President."

This raises questions, allows you to make assumptions, but also doesn't directly impact the previous events, but does leave its self open to expanding on what is already there. That's the sort of cliffhanger endings that work.

 

[Maintenance]

Cliffhangers are bullshit, crutches. Good writing does not need that.

 

[ShinMaruku]

One of my fave things about some cliff hangers is the development team is so tied up in development that they put a sequel hook to a game that will never be made. As a result while they can be done well, I seen enough done poorly that I can't fault a person who thinks they should never be allowed.

 

[Aaronrules380]

Nah,good cliffhangers are great.

Trails in the Sky has my favorite ending in a game,and that one ends with a pretty evil cliffhanger.

Trails in the Sky would actually be one of the first things that comes to mind for a really good cliffhanger ending (Though granted, I wonder how it would of felt if I was one of the people waiting years for SC to be localized). The teases for the stuff that would happen in SC were relatively sparse until the cliffhanger reveals at the end, and the primary story of Trails of the Sky FC did come to a satisfying conclusion. It was still very much an intro to an even grander story, but it also told a complete story from start to finish as well. A perfect example of making you want more, but also leaving you satisfied with what you did get

 

[Mifec]

Cliffhangers are bullshit, crutches. Good writing does not need that.

Was about to come post this. Good show sir.

 

[Ploid 3.0]

I find this premise silly, that you actually want to tell artists what is and what is not acceptable as an ending. And isn't the entire premise about NMS ending that journey is the reward and not the ending?

If only people knew what was at the center (a rewind button) they wouldn't even explore for resources to head towards the center. Super Mario World's Star Road's ending would have been a better reward. The planets in the portal are all weird and dreamy. Enemies with space helmets on, butterflies piloting ships.

 

[120v]

"next time, on half life..."

 

[bug_42]

I think they .....

 

[Hikami]

This reminded me that Freedom Wars ended in a cliffhanger.. still waiting, Sony.

 

[Korigama]

I give a pass to things like Digital Devil Saga and Trails of Cold Steel, which were developed concurrently as part of a story that was already mapped out and led to relatively short waits (well, less so with the latter now with a third game for that not only still being quite a while away even for Japanese players, but also in development for a completely different system for the current market).

Didn't work out so great for Virtue's Last Reward (last I'd heard, the story for Zero Time Dilemma turned out rather differently from what Uchikoshi planned on doing as a result of the long delay between games). Vanquish's ending was about as disappointing as the rest of its story.

 

[SolidSnakex]

 

[Mobius and pet octopus]

You can probably tell by now that everyone gave a big deal about NMS ending so its not just my opinion.

The premisse its not silly, you cant try to sell me a story of a game that unless its divided by parts, and leave me in the middle of it without a resolution and not knowing if there ever gonna be one.

Yeah, they absolutely can sell you that. And yes they can leave you without a full resolution. No one is making you like that ending or lack of resolution and I am not saying you should.

This is incredible.

 

[Trigonometrize.]

That's what a good cliffhanger should do though. A shitty one that says "find out what happens next" is a poor use of the cliffhanger, a good cliffhanger should leave its self open, but also round off the story completely. I'll give you a fantastic example of a cliffhanger done properly - Metal Gear Solid -

Spoiler

There's absolutely no indication that series was going to continue, because it was resurrected years later, but they end on this massive cliffhanger where it's revealed that the President was the third clone. The last words are, literally, "Thank You, Mr. President."

This raises questions, allows you to make assumptions, but also doesn't directly impact the previous events, but does leave its self open to expanding on what is already there. That's the sort of cliffhanger endings that work.

I agree that is a fine use of a cliffhanger. As long as there's a decent amount of resolution to the story that was told, little teases as to what happens next can be fun.

 

[Staccat0]

Who the fuck finishes games?

 

[Aaronrules380]

Who the fuck finishes games?

people who care about game stories?