Judging where to end a game

[kitsubasa]

I've been trying to finish up one of my projects over the last few weeks, but I'm having a bit of trouble deciding whether I've closed the story off properly.

Basically: there are six endings to the game, and I tried to make all of them the same length/depth so none would seem weighted over the others. However, in the process of writing things out, one ending (where the protagonists learn the most about each other and have the cleanest resolution to their relationship) has come out feeling like the 'main' end. I'm happy with that, but what I'm not happy with is how abrupt it feels. In trying to keep it the same length as the others, I think I've made it feel too short for everything that happens in it.

... But, here's the problem. When I've tried to extend it (and I've tried a few different extensions), it feels like length for the sake of length. The action feels contrived, the characters feel like they're being stretched too thin. My favourite extension does have a couple of worthwhile new scenes, but it still felt too pointless on the whole.

In a case where you feel you're either coming up too short or too long, which side is it better to err on? Is it worse to have an ending that leaves you unfulfilled, or keeps you stuck around for longer than you need to be?

Does anyone have any recommendations for deciding the best place/pace to wrap up a game?




And, just for a bit of clarification on what I'm actually writing...

-There are two characters involved, let's call them Bob and Steve
-In the main end, Steve asks Bob for a favour
-Steve worries his favour won't be granted, and leaves to avoid disappointment
-Bob sorts things out as asked
-Bob gets into trouble after fixing things up
-Steve discovers his favour was granted, and returns to rescue Bob from trouble as thanks

Right now, my beta players have said Steve rescuing Bob is too abrupt, so I'm not the only one who thinks it's a problem. Buuut... detailing the process would take a while and be a bit of a change of tone from the rest of the story, so including it is tricky. Hmmm!

[RotGtIE]

Pacing is brutal. So far I'm squeaking by on the same method of interrogation that I've been relying on since the beginning. If I feel like a segment or transition is too long or short, I have to ask myself why I feel that way before I can start coming up with possibilities to explore. The more answers I come up with, the more questions I wind up asking until that one original question has sprouted a monstrous tree which threatens to buckle under its own weight - when I reach that point, I can be relatively certain that the answer I need lies somewhere among the limbs.

Usually, I find that "too short" is always the more urgent issue to tackle than "too long," because you can always make cuts when you have too much content, but trying to jam more content in after having botched the job the first time around is asking for trouble. Also, being able to never stop writing is a huge boon, because it's much easier to throw away crappy work when you know you can replace anything you must part with almost as quickly as you toss it. One of the worst writing habits I have ever seen is the refusal of a writer to let go of something they have written, because they value the time and effort they spent on it too much, and trick themselves into thinking their work is irreplaceable once produced. It isn't. Crumple up another page, toss it in the bin, and start over again as many times as you have to. The power is in your ability to write not in what you have written. If you have to discard something, or a lot of things, to make room for a rewrite, don't shy away from it.

As endings I prefer as a reader, I always prefer "too long" to "too short," perhaps unsurprisingly. I consider epilogues to be all but mandatory, and I would rather enjoy a bit too much closure than not quite enough.

As for how to better tell whether your pace is working or not, I try to always make sure that all of my outlined scenes have an explicitly stated purpose in the outline itself. If I am about to write a scene which is introducing a character, I make sure to have a paragraph in the outline detailing who that character is, what the reader is expected to know about them and what they can expect to learn in this scene, why it is important to introduce this character, what details will be shown to the reader and what will be hidden, and how this information being presented at this time in this way should be expected to impact the story and the pace of the narrative. Once I have the purpose well established, it's a lot easier to then outline the summary of the scene itself, and from that summary, the scene easily sprouts, even if I wind up discarding elements of the outline in order to preserve the integrity of the purpose of the scene. Though I used character introductions as my example, this sort of purpose-driven story outlining has been working very well for me in all of the scenes I've been writing, primarily because it has just enough rigidity to give me a good guide to work off of, while retaining enough flexibility to allow me to go off the rails for the betterment of the narrative. It keeps the intended pacing intact while allowing me the freedom to make up shit as needed to tie it all together.

...I rewrote this post three times now, and I'm not sure I'm any closer to being helpful than when I had started. I suppose I'll just have to throw this up against the wall and see what sticks. Here's hoping!

[SundownKid]

I don't think it's a question of short or long, but more about the fact that it's short because it would be too contrived if it was long. Maybe the problem is that it's not interesting enough for you to want to write. You could try adding some twists to the true ending that will keep the reader guessing and make getting the true ending more worth it.

[kitsubasa]

I don't think it's a question of short or long, but more about the fact that it's short because it would be too contrived if it was long. Maybe the problem is that it's not interesting enough for you to want to write. You could try adding some twists to the true ending that will keep the reader guessing and make getting the true ending more worth it.

One of the extensions I tested out for it involved some other twists being incorporated, but they ended up feeling cheap as well. To give a rough recap of the extensions I've tried...

-A straight transfer from telling -> showing that Steve rescued Bob.
-A longer version that included a few setbacks, but all their solutions felt too easy because I was trying to avoid running too long (Steve needs help with the rescue, has trouble finding it, decides to ask the antagonist-- we'll call them John-- they argue a bit then agree to work together, everything plays out successfully)
-A lengthy expansion that includes multiple setbacks, ultimately changing the ending from good to bittersweet. This extension provides major issues for Steve in the long run (substantial injuries, etc), while also adding depth to the relationship between John and Steve who haven't really interacted much before (John mostly stands in Bob's way, not Steve's)

The first was boring, the second felt half-baked, and the third... might be the way to take it. I've been shying away from it to avoid needless length, but as RotGtIE mentions, too long is probably better than too short, especially since I'm interested in depicting a proper conversation between John+Steve.

Which leaves my main concerns at making the ending fit the tone and style of the rest of the story, since the lead-up to it is mostly a cosy, conversational story, and the ending itself would have to have more emphasis on the characters doing stuff than talking about stuff. Hmm. Time to brainstorm.