I’ve been perusing the interwebs, but can’t seem to find any solid opinions on this. All the polls I seem to find just ask questions like “Will you replay a game to see the different endings?”
So I’m posing the question here. Do you like games (specifically RPGs) with multiple endings? Is there a limit to this? Vote and let me know why in the comments. Thanks!
Some games I’ve gone through and gotten them all and for others, I’ve left the endings to be unknown to me. All of this just depends entirely on how I feel about the game and how I have to go about getting those multiple endings.
If it’s the ending of Deus Ex: Human Revolution with all of the endings presented as a choice at the very end, I will check all of those out, absolutely. It’s right there. Why not?
Other times when it’s an ending that is determined by the choices you make, often at times I play the game as I would making the choices that I (or as I see my character) making and let the ending be an outcome of those choices.
I prefer one ending. Minor story branching during the main story is okay, and at the end, I want it all to come to a close. I don’t like feeling that, “I missed something cool, because I chose left vs right”. I do like games that have replay, like Diablo, or MMO’s, where the story ends, and yet the gameplay continues.
Gigi
Can’t say I really care one way or the other. I suppose my bigger argument is whether the game itself actually needs different endings. Dark Souls is an interesting example where there is an entire secret plot line running behind the scenes, waiting to crown the new dark lord. Otherwise, most endings don’t really matter. Most either just wrap up the bland story or give you the usual douchebag or cool guy ending choice.
I guess it really depends, for example if you play Beyond two Souls it has more than one ending and it’s pretty amazing.
But it would not be good for a game like Super Mario haha. But in general I prefer 1 ending
Multiple endings are fine, but it’s really unlikely that I’ll ever see more than one. I barely have enough time to play games as it is, if I actually make it to the end, that’s the end…
For instance, I loved how many different ways Dragon Age Origins could end. The end I got was the end that happened, for me it’s definitive. It’s very unlikely I’ll play the game again for a different ending.
I also don’t mind not experiencing everything in a game. I don’t have the time.
My view is … I have never cared much about how a game ends. I care about how it plays.
For example, if it doesn’t play well I won’t care about how it ends and I won’t try to get to the end to see it.
And if it does play well enough to merit replays, then it’s more about the journey than the destination.
With the original Diablo, I could have cared less about the ending. I’m not sure I even remember it. But I found the play itself engaging enough that I played each class one right after the other.
Now sure … if you are writing a story it is possible to have an ending that is nonsensical and dissatisfying, one which leaves a bad taste in the player’s mouth. So endings do matter. But to me that is a separate issue from multiple endings. A bad ending can be avoided by being consistent in both game mechanics and storytelling, so the player can to some degree predict the ending and play to a satisfying conclusion.
Thanks for all the responses so far. My reason for writing this is that I’m beginning work on an RPG. My original idea was to have a few points in the game (around 6 or so) where the player makes a choice that drastically changes the events in the game. For a broad example, one choice in the beginning may have a character become your best friend and permanent party member. Making choice B, on the other hand, will result in that same character becoming the primary antagonist in the story.
Obviously, this means a great deal more work for me. At it’s most extreme, that’s 36 stories and a pile more art assets, dialogue, etc. Now, it won’t be quite that crazy, as each branch won’t be entirely unique from each other, but you get the idea.
Of course gameplay is my primary concern, and I think I’ve got some solid ideas on how to make the game fun and exciting. And I’m a dyed-in-the-wool storyteller, so creating a great story with interesting characters is obviously a large focus for me as well.
So! I think the gameplay will be enough of a “hook” to stand on its own, and I’m wondering if the added element of a drastically branching story would be worth the additional work.
I’ve seen something similar written (here?) by someone else so it’s not my original thought but still true: Most players will not get to see all different endings / branches. As you say, it’s a lot of work you’re putting into them, but each branch is only seen by a fraction of your player base. It would be more effective to put in the same amount of work into stuff that more of your players get to experience. If your time and the amount of work you’re willing to put into the game is infinite then by all means do as many endings as you want but if it’s not, I’d rather try to keep the myWork/theirFun factor as high as possible for as many players as possible.
Personally, I like multiple endings and freedom, in theory. In reality, I hardly ever finish any games and the only factor in me going for multiple endings is if the game play itself is so cool that I still want to play - the multiple endings are just a means to do it, not a motivation.
One thing to be noted (if it would make any difference), is that after completing the game, the player would be shown a line with points where each significant decision was made. They would then be able to select any one of those points to replay from there, and make a different decision (and, of course, unlock other decision points).
This is a huge difference. Could work if it’s a built in mechanic from the start.
My biggest concern echoes what’s been mentioned before. How much content will you be creating that will never be used. And RPGs are very content heavy.
I’m not going to be creating a game with multiple endings anytime soon - making a game with one ending at all decent is a challenge for me - but I like multiple endings. It reinforces that my choices actually affect the game world.
Oddly enough, I’m actually a big fan of creating content that will never be seen. Okay, well maybe not “never”, but rarely. I think it adds a great sense of depth to a game. For instance, in the game Alpha Centauri, normally you would just log out for the day and be done. However, every once in a great while, when you went to logout, a voice would say “Please don’t go. The drones need you. They look up to you.”
It’s nothing spectacular, but when you’ve played a game for so long, and you think you’ve seen all there is to see, it’s awesome to have something new come up. It makes it feel new again, and makes you want to come back.
As a player I prefer one ending because I want to experience the entire thing. not missing out. I am not the kind of player to replay an entire game to experience a small fraction of the game.
As a developer I avoid multiple endings, just because I will be spending more time fixing plot holes and bugs than adding to game play value.
But a small side story without relevance to the main story that is taken at your leisure is perfect. and in my opinion adds to the flavor of the world you are playing in. Something I feel is missing in many games are secrets areas that have some form of environmental storytelling(and a +5 holy avenger hidden in a barrel).
I SOOO agree with that last part. What happened to secret areas and hidden goodies!? My game is going to bring some of that back. Hidden locations that have side quests and stories, secret characters that require some skill and luck to find and acquire, etc.
This is absolutely something we’ve lost in today’s spoon-fed games. (And probably something that deserves its own forum post…)
How will you finish? Most replies say something like, “Such content. VERY hard. OMG!”. To ‘bring some of that back’, it needs to be seen by others, which likely means reducing scope, so you can finish.
Gigi
I’m in two minds about this as someone who is attempting different story lines, the consumer in me says YES! I want to decide my own fate. But the games developer in me doesn’t want to dig myself into a whole where I can’t follow up in the second act, also if you’re going to offer choice it has to be in some way meaningful or it’s just a waste.
You could always expand the story after the release. By Expansion or DLC. Your project is looking so promising I dont want you to burn out 
Yeah might be the way to go, I think at this point the plan is just get something released 
…
If a game offers me choices, then it must sustain the act that my choices have an outcome, it could be an illusion, that is fine, but it must not break the suspension of disbelief (aka, mass effect… …) .
So for me, and I believe this is what good storytelling in interactive media, is not not amount of choices, but how realistic the player perceive the consequences of them.