Does anyone actually like sad endings?

[billyro]

Personally, I don't understand why many recent games have decided to go for a sad ending. Really, I just find it disappointing.

 

For the purposes of this rant, I have a few endings I'd like to talk about. The games in the spoiler below are Far Cry 3, and Bioshock Infinite.

 

Far Cry 3: Rakyat(sp?) Ending

So, I've destroyed all the enemies of the Rakyat and become a hero, the land is liberated and the pirates are dead. What do I get for my efforts?

 

Stabbed in the freaking chest!

 

Yeah, doesn't make sense, does it? Citra, the Rakyat princess (if you will), kills you while you are... ahem... and I was just like, "what?!" First off, the only reason I chose Citra over Jason's friends was because I didn't know that was the end of the game, and I'd rather have been a Rakyat warrior than some guy trying to flee the island. But... why does Jason need to get stabbed? What a waste! A giant waste of time, too!

I really don't understand why that needed to happen. I mean, yeah, she says that she only wanted Jason's child because he will become the ultimate warrior of mad chaos and destruction, but why does Jason need to get stabbed? I was watching the cutscene play out... BANG - dead. Nothing I can do about it. What a rip off!

And then the game decides to chuck me back in the game with free-roam. And I'm alive. Like, what the hell?

I haven't played Far Cry 3 in ages.

 

Bioshock Infinite Ending

Ok, so I thought this one was a little more clear. Doesn't change the fact that the ending is SAD and gut wrenching.

 

Elizabeth, your companion through the whole game, your friend... drowns you! And you even find out that she is your daughter!

 

Now, this game is pretty twisted... there is a lot of interconnecting universes and whatnot, kinda confusing for my small brain, but I see it that Booker DeWitt is just trying to wipe away the debt, then gets caught up in a whole series of events that lead him to doing anything to protect Elizabeth. He then finds out that he is in fact Comstock (the enemy) in the future, who then wants Elizabeth as a child, and Booker hands over that child unknowingly... then Comstock (Booker) escapes through a portal and the baby's finger is severed... the same finger that Elizabeth didn't have.

So then, after much travelling through random portals, you are in a spring of some significance to Booker. Elizabeth is there, talking to you about how there is never ending nonsense (to me, that's what it was), then SHE DROWNS YOU. I was a bit depressed with that ending... I'd built up this bond with her, fought for her, and discovered heaps about her, then she drowns me. Like, I know that it's the right thing to do, because Booker will later become Comstock and lots of evil stuff occurs, but I just feel betrayed. So, my 7 hour playthrough goes to waste, and I haven't wanted to play the game again because I know that at the end, I am killed by a friend.

 

Also, if there are infinite worlds and stuff, what's the point of killing Booker then and there? There will just be another one!

 

 

 

So there you have it. Sad endings only cause me to stop playing the games. They make me feel despressed and ripped off... I mean, I invested time into this game, I strove for the ending, seeing my work pay off... then something occurs that just ruins it all. I don't understand why there are sad endings!

 

Enlighten me, and discuss.

[samadchaz]

nope not me

but it means that the story is going to continue in next episode :wink: but if its not then its worse

[lonewolfkai]

Generally speaking, sometimes sad endings can have a profound positive effect on your outlook on life.

[hoofhearted4]

talking about whats in his spoiler:

 

i just finished the end of FC3 and i chose the hero path. but i gotta say that either way they ending kind of sucks. because thats it. a cut scene and credits. you dont feel any weight to your choice so why even put it. i feel like the Citra ending was completely pointless. never once did i Feel like i was some Godly Warrior destined to be with Citra. I was always focused on saving my friends, albeit being a badass in the process. and While the game does through the Magic/mysticism in there, I feel like its still always pushing you to be the hero. I feel like the only correct ending is to save your friends and have Cirta die. Joining Citra doesnt even make any sence to the story unless you just wanna be "that guy who goes against the status quo". though i didnt think the ending was Sad lol....

 

 

my opinion to this but also takes into account the end of a game (MGS4, The Walking Dead and Resistance 2)

 

There are only Two truely sad endings I can think of off the Top of my head. the end of MGS4 and the end of Telltale Games' The Walking Dead. the end of MGS4 was sad, but turned out not to be. that said MGS4 and the MGS series in general is a very emotional game both good and bad, happy and sad, so a gut renching moment isnt really a surprise....as for TWD, i mean its a Zombie game so character you grow attached to Die. one of the suckiest things about the show. but still the Ending, while you saw it coming, was such a crush. but that really added to the icing on the cake of what made it such a good game. that it went there and killed a character you had grown so attached to (your character).....only other ending that pissed me off but wasnt too sad was Resistance 2's ending, with the Killing of Hale. wasnt a sad ending per say, but a character who was defining of the series, who you had grown attached to, killed just like that. offed. lol. not sad, but pissed me off and thought it was a bad call of the game

 

[Rennn]

Sad endings could theoretically carry more weight. Having said that, so far they've been failing on every level, with developers including them seemingly for their own sake.

[billyro]

Sad endings could theoretically carry more weight. Having said that, so far they've been failing on every level, with developers including them seemingly for their own sake.

 

Yep. That couldn't be more true.

 

Sad endings are emotional, which is the point of having sad endings, but so far not many games have successfully made a sad ending emotional.

[hoofhearted4]

apparently you two have not played MGS4 nor The Walking Dead :P

Edited April 11, 2013 by hoofhearted4

[TRoaches]

I think it is a sign that the gaming industry is catching up with its customers in terms of maturity. 30 years ago a "mature game" would have implied pornography. Adults played games back then too, but it was a much smaller minority and gaming was still viewed by the majority as child's play. This meant that most games had simple plots with simple endings that usually amounted to "save the princess and/or world from evil". I remember when games like GTA, Postal, and Fallout were new releases that were surrounded by controversy because of their mature content. Things have changed for the better, and adult games are now more acceptable. The industry surely does their own research on this, and have hard numbers describing how many gamers are age 30-50. In other words, people who grew up in the the Pong, Atari, Commodore, and Nintendo eras. I imagine this is a LARGE number. They probably love to market to this demographic. From a business viewpoint this demographic has its own disposable income, so no need to beg Mom to buy them that new game. From a plot writer's viewpoint it is probably more fun to write an adult plot without constraint.

 

All of this adds up to a general increase in the overall maturity level of some new games, and this applies to the ending perhaps more than anything. A happy ending in a film is nice for a lighthearted romantic comedy but if you want real drama some good guys are going to have to die because that is how real life works. Real life good guys are not bulletproof or charmed or even lucky; they are beaten and bruised and broken, and usually hated. They are the first ones to get screwed over and the last ones to receive reward. It just comes with the territory of being a true good guy. Ask a retired police officer which statement he heard more often during his career: "thank you" or "F%!@ you"

 

If you look at any critic's list of "100 Greatest Films/Novels" I would guess that at least 50 of the works listed will have sad, or at least melancholy endings. A sad ending has more potential to provoke thought in the viewer. There is more for the viewer to mentally process as they attempt to come to terms with why all of that terrible stuff just happened. It allows the writer to break away from the simple equation of good guy + bad guy = bad guy dies/goes to jail while good guy gets the girl. It can serve as a warning to the viewer (1984). It can reinforce the heroism and sacrifice of a central character (Spock in Wrath of Khan). It can be a vehicle of redemption for a villain (Darth Vader), or it can work the opposite way and show the downfall of a hero (the other Darth Vader). It can also just be a reflection of history (most post-Vietnam war films) and how good humans are at being terrible to each other.

 

I'm not saying that the games you mentioned are masterpieces just because they are sad. I haven't played them, and they may indeed be poorly written. That said, I thought the Mass Effect 3 ending was an absolute masterpiece, production-rushed or not. Most seemed to think it was crap, but I'm sure I'm not alone and there is probably a silent minority out there who feel the same way. They took a ton of flak for that ending because people wanted to be the hero AND live to tell about it while sweeping their chosen love interest off his or her feet. It pushed the envelope just a little bit, forced the player to choose between bad and worse, and utilized symbolism that was probably lost on 95% of the people who viewed it. I have a huge amount of respect for their writers for taking that risk with their prized title.

Edited April 11, 2013 by TRoaches

[Aegrus]

I like sad endings. . . when I have a choice. For example, I like the fact that I could get a sad ending in Dragon Age. But games with just one ending, and a sad one? So far, I don't think they've been executed well enough to not suck.

[TRoaches]

Happy endings are rarely the result of a conscious choice made by a protagonist. More often a happy ending is caused by a miracle of some sort, where everything lined up just perfectly and was timed just right to the hero's favor. This is fantasy, it has a place in art. It does not, however, resemble anything real. At the very least I like the choice to have some level of moral ambiguity that forces you to compromise with yourself. A hero who is forced to pragmatically deviate from his or her own moral compass reeks of authenticity. It is a central theme in a large portion of history's prominent works of literature. When I'm forced to choose between Stormcloak vs Empire, or Dark Side vs Light, or NCR vs Legion it adds a level of depth when both choices come with advantages and disadvantages. If it is obvious that you are choosing between "Total Victory" vs "Partial Victory" vs "Total Defeat" there is no true moral challenge being presented to the player. Same goes for when the question amounts to asking "So do you want to be a good guy or a bad guy?". Real heros and villains are not created by a conscious decision to be heroic or villainous They follow their instincts or morality or whatever drives them, and history applies the label after evaluating their deeds.