Does anyone actually like sad endings?

[billyro]

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.

 

So, in a nut-shell that means "the game developers are trying to make their games more related to real life"? If so, then I don't really agree that games need to have sad endings, because life isn't all that sad. I've had a great life with only a few sad moments, so I don't think games are more realistic if they end in tragedy. Sure, from a soldier's viewpoint it could be deemed realistic, but for me it's not really. A sad ending is just sad for no apparent reason.

 

I reckon a truly realistic ending would be something neutral. Instead of all your hard work being flushed down the toilet, it pays off for you (so, a good ending) but it's quite obvious with everything that has happened and you can truly see how your actions affected everything. An example of this is Dragon Age Origins, which had a fantastic ending that can be either happy or sad based on different scenarios. Actually, DAO has probably the best ending in a game ever.

 

Now... for something very crazy: I haven't seen the movie Titanic. Yes, blasphemous, I know. And yet, it is probably the highest rated movie of all time, and it has a sad ending (I know the story of the Titanic, both real life and movie.) Yes, I can see that that movie sparks an avalanche of emotion, which is probably why the critics loved it so much, but I don't really understand why an avalanche of sombreness is deemed the best emotional influence.

 

I can't cover everything you've said because there is simply too much there, but I think I've responded to the biggest points. :smile:

Edited April 11, 2013 by billyro

[TRoaches]

Real life isn't sad or happy. 99% of the time it is utterly boring, with the only truly memorable parts being the extremes of happiness, sadness, fear, and anger. Neutrality is also boring. Fiction, even that which is intended for small children, relies on conflict. WIthout conflict there is not a story. I am also a generally happy and content person, but I don't want to read about, watch, or play characters who are happy and content because there will be nothing to do and nowhere to go. Nothing will motivate them to act. Even the Sims has conflict.

 

I don't think sad endings are inherently superior to happy ones. I'm just putting myself in the shoes of a plot writer who has been gaming since childhood and wants to make something original and creative. If that person made a list of cliches to avoid in their writing, given that most of the games ever made have happy endings, many of those cliches would involve pure and unwaveringly moral heroes, saving the world, and getting the girl. If that writer were to purposely avoid all of those things their final product will be darker than it would have been had those cliche elements been included. I just think the whole thing is a reaction against plot cliches, and that this reaction is a symptom of artistic maturation in a very young medium.

[lonewolfkai]

Happy endings tend to be cliche, and expected a lot in whatever media you chose. That's why writers often seek sad endings. It's an easy way out imo becaus of that. It shocks the reader/watcher/player because of their cliche'd happy ending expectance that we all get when growing up. However, even sad endings are becoming cliche. You can often predict what direction a sad story is going to now.

To me, the greater success of a writer is to end a story without the cliches. IMO, the greatest success of these challenges is a happy ending that you weren't expecting in the end. If you can pull that off, then you are a true word-artist.

Edited April 11, 2013 by lonewolf_kai

[Zewp]

It depends. A real sad ending can be good, but in the case of something like ME3, where the only sad part about the ending is how terrible it is, then no. :p

[mohammad10]

I like sad endings.It's realy amazing.For example you are watching a movie and at last the hero of the story DIE.Any way all stories shouldn't end with happy endings like the real life.

Edited April 30, 2013 by mohammad10

[lonewolfkai]

I like sad endings.It's realy amazing.For example you are watching a movie and at last the hero of the story DIE.Any way all stories shouldn't end with happy endings like the real life.

Real life hardly always has a happy ending.

[mohammad10]

 

I like sad endings.It's realy amazing.For example you are watching a movie and at last the hero of the story DIE.Any way all stories shouldn't end with happy endings like the real life.

Real life hardly always has a happy ending.

I have to write it in this way:

all stories shouldn't end with happy endings,like the real life.

I mean real life stories end with sad endings but not all of them.

Edited May 2, 2013 by mohammad10

[billyro]

 

I like sad endings.It's realy amazing.For example you are watching a movie and at last the hero of the story DIE.Any way all stories shouldn't end with happy endings like the real life.

Real life hardly always has a happy ending.

 

The end of a movie or game isn't the same as the end of someone's life. If it was, then everyone would die at the end of every single movie or game.

 

And when everyone does eventually end up on their death bed, it would be a lot better to remember the joyous times you've had in your life, rather than to look on sombrely towards your approaching death. In this way, real life can have a happy ending.

Edited May 2, 2013 by billyro

[lonewolfkai]

 

 

I like sad endings.It's realy amazing.For example you are watching a movie and at last the hero of the story DIE.Any way all stories shouldn't end with happy endings like the real life.

Real life hardly always has a happy ending.

 

The end of a movie or game isn't the same as the end of someone's life. If it was, then everyone would die at the end of every single movie or game.

 

And when everyone does eventually end up on their death bed, it would be a lot better to remember the joyous times you've had in your life, rather than to look on sombrely towards your approaching death. In this way, real life can have a happy ending.

Wow, you're going morbid there. I don't necessarily mean death. There are many "stories" in a person's life, some happy, some sad.

Edited May 2, 2013 by lonewolf_kai

[billyro]

 

 

 

I like sad endings.It's realy amazing.For example you are watching a movie and at last the hero of the story DIE.Any way all stories shouldn't end with happy endings like the real life.

Real life hardly always has a happy ending.

 

The end of a movie or game isn't the same as the end of someone's life. If it was, then everyone would die at the end of every single movie or game.

 

And when everyone does eventually end up on their death bed, it would be a lot better to remember the joyous times you've had in your life, rather than to look on sombrely towards your approaching death. In this way, real life can have a happy ending.

Wow, you're going morbid there. I don't necessarily mean death. There are many "stories" in a person's life, some happy, some sad.

 

Perhaps I'm misinterpreting the message you're trying to get across. That seems to happen a lot. :facepalm:

 

But what I'm saying is real life isn't sad. A movie isn't super realistic by being sad.

Real life has all kinds of emotional moments, good and bad. Movies that have the same are good, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they need to have a sad ending.

 

It's a trend in a lot of recent video games that is annoying me. Most MA15+ games that have come out in the last few years have had a sad ending, and I don't know why they do that. All a sad ending accomplished is making me feel like s***.

But why make sad endings then? Is it because the developers think that sad endings are more realistic? If so, they are fools because I'm almost never sad with my life. Sad = real life? I don't think so.

Is it because they feel sad endings inflict stronger emotions upon us? If so, then they are simply a bunch of pricks. ;D