Twist endings?

[Rinima]

I want to know what you guys think of twist endings?
What makes a good twist ending to you? If it's realistic? If it's so unrealistic you couldn't see it coming?

And do you think they can be properly utilized in vn's?

This question was promoted by the ending of HIMYM (How I met your Mother) (and I hated it, it was horrific for me)

[Asceai]

Twist endings are great, I think, since the simple definition of a twist ending is simply doing something unexpected vs doing something expected, and I think largely the former is preferable.

It depends how well the ending is foreshadowed as to whether people appreciate it or not. Even if you don't see it coming, to be able to look back and see how everything came together is I believe a very positive experience. On the other hand, nobody likes a deus ex machina.

By the way: probably a good thing to define your acronyms.

[Sleipnir56]

In my opinion it depends on what type of Vn you're writing. For example, if it's a Fantasy it doesn't have to be too realistic just as long as it makes sense. For vn's that are about romance or drama I'd have to say I like twist endings which are still realistic. Sometimes if you write and unrealistic ending, the reader won't be satisfied.

Also, I don't thing ending should just end. I've noticed this happens sometimes in games and it can sometimes make a game bad if the writer doesn't put in the time to make the proper ending for the game

But sometimes even a realistic ending is not wanting. At times I like variety where something could never happen in real life, but makes the story in the game more interesting for me.

In the end, it really depends on how well the writer plans it out. Sometimes realistic can be good but so can unrealistic. Still, I always want a twist ending and not a predicable one because that would be boring.

[sake-bento]

No matter what the ending is, the reader should feel like they didn't waste their time. If there's an opening question or problem, it should probably have some sort of solution. Even if it's not the solution the hero originally wanted, it should still solve things in a satisfying way.

For instance, Detective X finds a corpse and spends the rest of the game hunting down the murderer.

Realistic Bad Twist Ending: After finding the killer, the victim re-appears, reveals he faked his death, and blows up everyone in the building including Detective X. All of Detective X's work was pointless. The victim wasn't dead. The murderer isn't a murderer. Detective X is now dead for something he didn't have to do in the first place.

Realistic Twist Ending: Detective X finds the killer, but it turns out the killer is a sweet mother of two only killing to save her kidnapped children. Detective X now decides to seek out the mastermind behind the murder. Sequel to follow. Even thought it leaves the reader hanging, the initial question has been answered, so there's still a sense of satisfaction.

Unrealistic Twist Ending: Detective X realizes he is a ghost and the corpse was his. Now that he's solved his own murder, he can pass on to whatever comes after. The revelation that Detective X is a ghost changes the framing of the story. Detective X is sadly dead now. Many scenes might be read differently, but the initial problem has still been solved.

--

In the case of How I Met Your Mother, a GOOD twist ending would have been that the mother passed away. This was alluded to a couple times in the series, and many of the episode morals talk about appreciating the time you have. The moral we could have walked away with is that life is short but still beautiful, and love lasts even after death.

A BAD twist ending is that Ted then goes to hook up with Robin. By doing that, the writers effectively erased the entire point of the series. We were built up to believe in this mystery woman, only to be told she wasn't that great anyway.

[Coren]

I have a personal fondness for twist endings. Especially cruel ones. But they have to make sense with the context of the story, be adequately foreshadowed, and not destroy the entire point of the story. Here're two examples of what one should or should not do for twist endings, from my tumblr rant on Cruel Twist Endings (and what exactly is the line between it being a Diabolus Ex Machina and a good cruel twist ending).

A good cruel twist ending:
Bob, a hero, sets off on his journey to slay the greatest menace of the lands, Emperor Evulz. On his way, he meets a girl named Alice who joins him in his journey. He falls in love with her. Blinded by hatred for Evulz and love for Alice, Bob fails to notice that there is something wrong about Alice. Finally, in the dungeon, Bob slays the Emperor - and when he is celebrating, Alice betrays him and murders him, cackling evilly and taking over the Emperor’s seat. Turns out all along, she was trying to pit both of them against each other so that she can reap the spoils. Bob’s death was not only because of his carelessness, but because of how he’s been blinded by his emotions, resulting in his tunnel-vision and ultimate failure. Cruel Twist Ending.

One example would be The Witch's House.

Throughout the entire story, we were blind to the main character's clear faults and cruelty, dismissing it as another horror game gimmick. Then at the end - bam. Your main character was the villain all along. It was a beautiful ride.

A bad twist ending:
Bob, a hero, sets off on his journey to slay the greatest menace of the lands, Emperor Evulz. On his way, he meets a girl named Alice who joins him in his journey. He falls in love with her. Finally, in the dungeon, Bob slays the Emperor. Bob and Alice celebrate, and are married. Two days later, Bob gets knocked down by a truck. Cruel Twist Ending.

A prime example would be Mad Father.

Aya escapes the house. But then in the future she starts making dolls out of people too because she has her dad’s blood in her and thus ends up turning out just like daddy! It is ridiculous because it defeats the entire point of the game and all possible character development which Aya and Maria have gained. It was simply an attempt at making the game seem chilling, the way TWH did, but failed miserably. There was absolutely no foreshadowing that Aya would turn out like that. Throughout the game, she’s been growing stronger and more helpful, and less dependent on her parents. Which is good - and so does Maria, who learns how to live independently of the Doctor and his cruel actions. And then suddenly - WHAM FOR NO PARTICULAR REASON.

[Taleweaver]

This is definitely a Writing thread, so I'm moving it.

[KiloTango]

I think the key thing with twists is they need fit the narrative and rules of story. They might be obtuse, but clues should be there if you really look for them, or at least the concepts the twist relies on should have been introduced in some way, else it just won't be satisfying. The best kinds of twists let you reread the story in a whole new light from the new information you've been given.

This applies to the realism thing as well: throwing in supernatural elements right at the very end with not even an inkling of them before will just feel Deus Ex Machina and cheap. The best twist and and mysteries are the ones the reader figures out just a moment before the characters.

[Eiliya]

Me, I'm a real sucker for twist endings. One of the best I've ever seen is from a movie called The Usual Suspects (go watch it if you're curious, I'm not gonna be able to tell it without ruining it), and I also liked the ending of Code Geass, which in my opinion was a wonderful twister.

I'm also a big sucker for cliffhangers, so if a game (or story) would end in a monstrous plot twister that gave me a gutwrenching cliffhanger as well, I would not be able to stop myself from aquiring the follow up, should it ever come (if it doesn't, I'd go on about how amazing the story, twist and cliffhanger was, and how much I hate the creator for not giving me more).