"This is the end... my only friend, the end"

Designer DenouementsHow can the denouement be incorporated into gameplay? In literary forms, it is most often the events that take place after the plot’s climax that form your lasting opinion of the story. A well constructed denouement acts almost as a payoff, where protagonists and antagonists alike realize and adjust to the consequences of their actions. Serial media often ignored the denouement in favor of the cliffhanger, in order to entice viewers to return. Television has further diluted the denouement by turning it into a quick resolution that tidily fits into the time after the final commercial break.

But the denouement is most neglected in video games where it is often relegated to a short congratulatory cut scene, or at most–a slide show of consequences. This month’s topic challenges you to explore how the denouement can be expressed as gameplay.

Now this is a BORT entry I can sink my teeth into. Like Corvus, I can agree that the big finale of a lot of titles can be lacking, even the latest Batman game falls into the trap of not really concluding in a satisfying manner in my opinion. I'm not going to go into detail about game endings as the summary of this month's topic explains it well but instead will get right into what I want to see happen in games.

Going deep into the directory of my brain there are very few titles that come to mind that don't just end with a cut scene or the words "you won!" in multicolor font. One of my favorites was Toe Jam and Earl on the genesis, which had a unique reward for the time for getting the boys back home. The ending allowed the player to explore the planet of Funkatron talking to the denizens and having a look around. The game only ends when the player hits the power button and I found the ending was a great way to show the player what they were fighting for back on Earth. Looking at recent years I know a lot of people are going to cite games like Oblivion or GTA of letting the player play past the traditional ending, but I'm going to disagree that it is an example of a denouement.

My reason is that games like Oblivion and GTA DO have an ending, whether it was the playing killing the big bad demon or Niko enacting some long awaited payback, the stories had a conclusion. Even though the player is still able to explore the world afterwards, nothing has really changed. The people who still like you are the same; the people who hate you still want you dead. I did like the touch of having some last minute phone call conversations at the end of GTA 4 that did show the consequences of his actions. Looking at open world titles it is easy to see why they don't have a definitive end like other games.

The reason is that the designer still has to give the player a reason to keep playing, if the game ends with the whole world destroyed or the player removed from it, how will the player find everything? What I think could be done is have two versions of the open world available to the player at the end. One that is pre ending allowing the player to do and see everything they might have missed and another that shows the aftermath of the end. Such as the city destroyed or light brought back to the world and let the player explore how things turned out. In most cases the simple fact is that it is just easier to throw a cut scene together; get the credit list rolling and call it a day. Looking at the game ideas I've came up with I have a few ways to make the ending more interesting.

One of my bigger game ideas is for a real time strategy title where the player affects the story. Basically the beginning is set in stone and the player knows that the main character survives in the end; everything else however is up to the player. The player must choose which side they support in each chapter of the game which in turn affects everything afterwards. By the end of the game you'll see the impact the character had on the growth of the world. Another idea I had was for a RPG which the game is split into two story lines, during the first half the player chooses the places and events they want to see as they go across the land. After the end of the first act the player will return to those same places during act 2 and see the consequences of their actions as they move through the second act. Moving on let's talk about another weak part of game endings, the big fight.

Personally one of the biggest deterrents of great stories in video games in my opinion comes from the final fight. The reason is that if there was ever a polar opposite of an amazing story ending, it would have to be a 20 minute fight with some big bad dude. Games are designed for a challenge and the final boss is the final exam of the game and designers have to come up with something to end the game. I do think that we can be more creative with our endings, how about a game where the final boss dies from a heart attack when you reach it? Or where the great final battle is a puzzle to unlock some great secret? Instead a lot of games end with a fight with some steroidal brute. One of my favorite game endings would have to be with Rule of Rose which is a perfect example of a denouement, as the player can now explore the entire place seeing everything from the main character's perspective. I enjoyed the ending so much that it almost is worth it to play through the less than stellar gameplay to reach it in my opinion.


Creating a satisfying ending to a game is a challenging endeavor as an ending to a video game can be pulled into several directions. Do you create a balls to the wall final test forcing the player to use all the tricks of the trade to survive? How about an emotional and thought provoking ending showing the character at their weakest? Or do you press X for 30 minutes against a giant demon and hope that it doesn't kill you forcing to start the fight over?

Josh