What kind of content you want in the ENDING!

[-Zin-]

I think good endings celebrate the things you've been through and embrace the messages you've been told through the whole experience.

 

(Mass Effect 3 did none of this, but did the exact opposite. The ending felt like it was written by someone who didn't capture the over-all feel of the series. I'm not opposed to tragic endings, but just have them be coherent.)

 

Point is: Learn from Dragon Age Origin's ending, and the Baldur's Gate 2 ending. Hell, even something as basic as Dragon Ball Z had a great ending. You may like or dislike the premise for that anime, but it was executed great for the most part for people who liked that sort of thing. The final battle had people from Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z coming together to fight the main villain, thus making the last battle epic. They even used the Dragon Balls in a fight. Seriously, that was awesome! Afterwards, Dragon Ball Z covered what happened shortly after the main villain was defeated, and what the future beheld in the long run. It took its time and had a fitting epilouge that lasted 2-3 episodes and reflected all the things that had happened. Then GT came along and sort of ruined it a bit, but even DB:GT did the ending right, even if it was shorter. They played the iconic theme song (Dan Dan Kokoro Hikareteku, anyone?) and had the hero do a bad ass walk while they just showed the highlights from the entire serie, Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, to Dragon Ball GT.

 

I like both mentioned Dragon Ball endings because they work in their own way, but what they both managed to do, was to acknowledge what happened through-out the entire experience. The world is effectively different now than it was before they showed up because the main characters had a powerful presence.

 

Anyway, I'll stop babbling. Not like anyone will remember this in a day from now on ^^

[The Mist Devil]

That's because you do not know who Keldron was, plus, in ToB you get very epic, far more than what a regular 2nd edition character could get. Kinda why most endings are big, but most also end with them dieing as heroes against impossible odds.

[NerdBoner]

I'd like detailed Fallout like epilogues based upon the choices i made in the game...but I also hope they do a BG1 to BG2 character import option...I've longed to play an awesomely (not the button) epictastic game series using the same character i started out with and watching him/her grow in power over the course of time.

[Pshaw]

I love detailed epilogues in RPGs, and I want to know that any choices my character made had an impact on the world. It's great to see a character's legacy after the bad guy is defeated and the world is saved.

 

Just, for the love of god, don't make the ending be a binary good/evil choice. Or any sort of binary choice at all.

 

Teuthida hit the nail on the head.

 

Unless there is going to be an expansion/sequel that takes place immediately or soon after the events of the game nothing is more important to me than hearing about what became of my companions and main character down the road from the 'end' of the game. Dragon Age: Origins did a pretty good job of reflecting on what your character did in the game as well as letting you talk to your companions to see what their plans for the future were. There is another game that I can't recall that told you what your companions ended up doing with themselves after the game, maybe it was valkyria chronicles or a fire emblem game, and I recall enjoying that as well.

 

But yes, let us know what happened to the people with us and those that played major roles in the story. Don't just leave us with the current state of the realm because to be 100% honest I always care more about the characters in the story than the world at large I'm fighting for.

 

I'm actually ok with multipul endings though I prefer the DA:O style for this over the ME3/Blood Omen style. I don't want a choice of which ending to watch, I want to have picked my ending already by how I played the entire game.

Edited October 17, 2012 by Pshaw

[Brannart]

Yeah the game is not even out and we will be talking about the ending!

I want to know what kind of ending and what kind of content in the ending you want?

 

Personally some of Obsidians games had in my taste bad ending, that be for lack of time or what ever, the ending like NWN2 or Kotor2 where you beat the bad guy he place collapsed and we don’t know what happened, are unpolished and unispired.

 

I loved the ending of Arcanum. They should make Tim responsible for the ending. Do something like that.

[nikolokolus]

A full denoument with details about all of your companions and all of the major factions discussed like New Vegas would be great.

[Vox Draco]

Won't it cause bad luck to talk about the ending of this game before it even has begun? )

 

Anyway, ME3 patched or unpatched was the worst ending to the franchise you could do. The EC didn't help much either, because the entire premise of the ending was screwed, at least right from the point we reach Earth, maybe even earlier.

 

And despite what is said in my signature about happy endings I can deal with a little darkness in them. But then, and again ME3 is adressed, you need to make the rest of the story fit with what you want to say in the ending...and keep in tone with the topics, backgrounds and lore you established.

 

If you establish an enemy so vile as the Reapers you CANNOT deny the player not to at least have one ending where we kick their butts and make them feel the pain they had inflicted upon the galaxy multiple times. That was my major gripe beside how Bioware treated Shepard in the end (like a moron who totally forgot what had happened since ME1...)

 

So, I hope that PE will be mature, yes, and a little dark, yes. But I want the ending to be climatic. I want a villain (established early on and frequently met/confronted in the game) to be truly vanquished or defeated, and to feel a sense of triumph when the credits roll, and satisfaction about the fate of my hero and his/her comrads.

 

What I don't want is some philosophical bullshiat forced upon me without any indicators in the story prior to that end, and no sudden fade to black with a whole questions totally unanswered. Some yes, for the sequel, but not rendering everything we did the whole game through pointless!

 

And just for the record: I was somehow okay with Planescape's dark ending, but really, the Nameless One had this one coming, we learned that throguh the game and got prepared that this would hardly be a romantic ride into the sunset for him and Annah in the end. But I never felt Shepard to be a tragic hero bound to die, yet to achieve the impossible! Conquer both the Reapers and death! The message was hammered into us so often throughout the games I still am amazed so many players say they always knew Shepard would die...that "message" was obviously totally lost on me up until the last ten minutes...

Edited October 17, 2012 by Vox Draco

[SarcasmoTheGreat]

Whatever the ending, make it an open ended affair. Tie up the main plot line if you want, but allow us to continue exploring and raiding orc forts.

 

And also incorporate random loot drops to keep us in game forever.

[deamon451]

The problem with ME3 wasn't just the ending (all choices don't really matter), or the forshadowing of it (if I save the Rachni queen she gets catpured and I get rachni enemies, but if I kill her I have to still deal with rachni enemies from a cyborg version) but that the end was the end for the character. All the DLC in the world has no effect on anything because they are all self contained stories that don't play into the ending.

 

I want Obsidian to write a coherent narrative that has a satisfying conclusion. Choices that mean something. Since we know there is an expansion pack coming, it needs to fit in post-main game narrative (which possible requires free play) or be stand alone but ties in with the main narrative.

 

If you are going to put a gun in Act I, scene I, you should use it by Act III, scene III. The converse is also true, if a gun is fired in Act III, scene III, it darn well better be there near the beginning (I'm looking at you ME3).

 

[/rant]

 

Sorry but crappy writing really pisses me off and I want P:E to shine.

[Jarmo]

I particularly like endings that go all white.

 

Lots of action, then something, Kapow! Whack! something, enter the final lair of the end boss... then cue in the ending of Space Odyssey 2001.

A bit of talk, maybe a revelation, a whole bunch of metaphysical and philosophical nonsense. Roll in the credits and leave me with a what the... did just happen.

 

A bunch of games have taken a lead from this direction, some have pulled it off better and some worse.

[deamon451]

I particularly like endings that go all white.

 

Lots of action, then something, Kapow! Whack! something, enter the final lair of the end boss... then cue in the ending of Space Odyssey 2001.

A bit of talk, maybe a revelation, a whole bunch of metaphysical and philosophical nonsense. Roll in the credits and leave me with a what the... did just happen.

 

A bunch of games have taken a lead from this direction, some have pulled it off better and some worse.

 

I saw that once in a game called Final Fantasy VII. Pissed me off to no end. Reactions went from confused (What's going on?) to angry (That's it?) to indifference (**** them)

[eselle28]

I'd like to see multiple, nuanced endings. There's nothing worse than having open-ended character creation, consequence-based gameplay, and then finding out that it finishes with a Successful Good Ending, a Successful Evil Ending and a Partial Failure Ending. I'm tolerant of that to some extent in games with a set protaganist, but if this is really supposed to be my character's story, I'd like to have a little more control over my destiny. Maybe I don't want to ride off into the sunset. Maybe I'm the sort of person who wants to retire back to my little farm, or to use my success to gain power or wealth. And while I don't mind having a tragic ending as one of the options, it shouldn't be the only choice (and I don't think it will be, based on developers' statements that they'd like us to use our characters in future games).

 

Ideally, there would be some epilogues that could pick up on some of the choices I made long before the final battle, including a few that might not have seemed so terribly important when I was making them. But if that can't be done, I'd at least like a good handful of possibilities for my character to pick from at the game's end.

[deamon451]

I'd like to see multiple, nuanced endings. There's nothing worse than having open-ended character creation, consequence-based gameplay, and then finding out that it finishes with a Successful Good Ending, a Successful Evil Ending and a Partial Failure Ending. I'm tolerant of that to some extent in games with a set protaganist, but if this is really supposed to be my character's story, I'd like to have a little more control over my destiny. Maybe I don't want to ride off into the sunset. Maybe I'm the sort of person who wants to retire back to my little farm, or to use my success to gain power or wealth. And while I don't mind having a tragic ending as one of the options, it shouldn't be the only choice (and I don't think it will be, based on developers' statements that they'd like us to use our characters in future games).

 

Ideally, there would be some epilogues that could pick up on some of the choices I made long before the final battle, including a few that might not have seemed so terribly important when I was making them. But if that can't be done, I'd at least like a good handful of possibilities for my character to pick from at the game's end.

 

I think that everyone that has posted on these forums has the same opinion. ME3 ending bad. Bioware & EA should be marched on by people with torches and pitchforks.

[eselle28]

Example of superb ending story/format.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzvjOg9zBSI

 

That's over the top. One knight dies and becomes a god's right hand man? I prefer less epic, more relatable storylines, honestly.

 

To be fair, Keldorn is a companion character and, well, a paladin. That sort of ending fits well with his character. Some of the other companions in the same game had more down to earth endings, and others were funny or a little sad.

[Jarmo]

 

I think that everyone that has posted on these forums has the same opinion. ME3 ending bad.

 

Wasn't my all time favorite, but I liked it anyway.

NWN2:MotB did pretty much the same thing, probably not giving you what you wanted and seeked, but you got what you got.

FFVII I played a few years ago, but couldn't kill sephiroth on my first attempt and didn't feel like trying again.

[Freddo]

I love detailed epilogues in RPGs, and I want to know that any choices my character made had an impact on the world. It's great to see a character's legacy after the bad guy is defeated and the world is saved.

 

Just, for the love of god, don't make the ending be a binary good/evil choice. Or any sort of binary choice at all.

Aye, I totally agree. I want a really meaty epilogue, that show me what happens to the gameworld and the various NPCs I've met during the journey. It would be nice if it was a playable epilogue too, like Dragon Quest VIII, The Last Story or whatever.

[Ruka]

Multiple endings like 'Chrono Trigger' that lead into the expansion

[kenup]

All I ask is for the ending to make sense and actually be based on ideas presented throughout the MQ. So no out of nowhere rational character to evil monster boss, or 180 turn on the overarching plot again out of nowhere. And lastly actually make the quest feel completed, or at least the part of it we got in game, if there is continuation.

[Hassat Hunter]

Epilogues are always good, so yeah, atleast that...

[lordgizka]

Seeing that the add-on is basically already announced, it's most likely that the ending will be a simple cliffhanger, hopefully with a lot of variables concerning the party and the world.

[Swells]

I want all the NPCs to merge consciousness for a singular moment, be ejected from the planet, far out into space and beyond that until they reach the kickstarter page for PE. In that moment the combined consciousness will realise how much this project meant to so many people. Then they're back, individuals again. Everyone goes to the nearest pub and parties 'til the end of time whilst the player character nods and simply says "my work here is done."

 

Now if I wasn't being stupid, I'd say multiple ending scenarios prehaps involving different end-goals for the player character to accomplish with varying big bads. The ending itself should have variety too, with consequences that have actual impact for the post game (companion deaths, city destroyed, reputation changed etc.), also including one ending for failing to beat the big bad.

 

If it's a closed off ending, then provide a voice over epilogue similar to Fallout.

 

Above all else; when the credits are done rolling there needs to be a cheesy "And You!" credit right at the end that finishes the grand orchestral score that goes with it.

[Zap Rowsdower]

It would be nice if the ending(s) give a decisive conclusion to your character and any successive games focus on new protagonists in different locations. After all Dyrwood is only a region in a much larger world and Obsidian should definitely take advantage of that.

Edited October 18, 2012 by Zap Rowsdower

[UncleBourbon]

Random thought, but with the whole concept of souls in the story it would be neat after the ending a new game + would be your previous hero's soul residing in your new character.

 

Reincarnation is indeed part of the lore.

 

I was thinking about this earlier, and it quite appeals to me. I'm a big fan of jRPGs, and New Game + is a frequent feature. That said, I want most of the focus of the development on content, not mechanic changes between play throughs or something. Maybe a head start on certain skills, or a special ability. Ideally, I would like an ending like Dragon Age: Origins, where you walk around at a celebration, or perhaps at your stronghold, with whatever companions you brought along, and some happy NPCs. In fact, I wouldn't be adverse to a gathering of such NPCs, speaking various things to you to subtley decide some last minute directional choices your character makes for his/her future, and then have a series of cutscenes describing the future of the world, taking into account those intents outlined by your character and the many things you did throughout the game.

If they enabled a sort of re-incarnation new game + or somesuch, I think this could work with a post-custscene room where you're a disembodied spirit roaming about, speaking to some deity-like beings, or perhaps reflecting on life and such, and then an option presents itself to try again - maybe in another timeline, or a chance to do it again, only this time, better!. Of course, a caveat would have to be that most of your memories and abilities would be lost, possibly regained in through the game as you leveled up/completed certain events. On that note, the idea that "in this timeline, the challenge was conquerable, but in another it is far stronger" as a reason to reincarnate in a sort of parallel dimension would lend itself to a harder setting for a new game +.

[Chabneruk]

Totally supporting the idea of reincarnation and some form of "circle of life"! It would be nice if there was a lore book in second playthrough that would cryptically alude to the results of the first playthrough in form of a prophecy. Or repeated history

 

And a detailed ending, showing consequences ala Fallout would be great as well. I really loved that in Arcanum!

Edited October 18, 2012 by Chabneruk

[deamon451]

It would be nice if the ending(s) give a decisive conclusion to your character and any successive games focus on new protagonists in different locations. After all Dyrwood is only a region in a much larger world and Obsidian should definitely take advantage of that.

 

Or set the sequals further in the future after your character has died. Your new character is just the old one reincarniated. If OE is planning on doing anything with meaningful choices that have consequences in game, the sequal could refer to them. Of course that assumes a sequal.