Whats your opinion on bad endings?

[teacup]

Originally my game was going to be all rainbows and sunshine and happiness, but I decided recently to incorporate bad endings into it.
So now I'm wondering --
-If you are playing a game with multiple endings, do you go for 100% completion and try to get every ending, including the bad ones?
-Do you try to avoid the bad ends? If so, what if the bad ending will give you a new CG - would you go for it then?
-If you get a bad ending on your first run, does it discourage you from replaying the game?
-Do you think bad ends are necessary, or do you hate them?
And any other opinions you have on bad endings will be helpful

[dstarsboy]

Bad endings are poopy, I just hate playing a VN for 2-3 hours or whatever and then end up with a bad ending, which seems to happen to me every time on my first play through. Going back and zooming through and getting additional endings after that is a bit of a let down and not as much fun as the original play through.

Also, bad endings don't really allow you to be "you" when it comes to decision making.

For example: If there's a nerdy girl I'm trying to impress and these options come up.

A) Go to school and study and be a big nerd
B) Volunteer and rescue puppies at the clinic
C) Hang out with your friends on the beach

I "know" that I must choose option A in order to even have a chance with the nerdy girl, even though I personally would rather do either of the other 2. I'm so scared of getting a bad ending that I just play through the game like a robot and pretend to be someone I'm not so I can score points.

[LateWhiteRabbit]

I like "bad" endings if they are interesting. I definitely want to see a unique CG for each ending, even bad ones.

- Bad endings are fine as long as they flow naturally from my decisions and I can see how my choices brought them about
- Bad endings can potentially make a story even better or more poignant. Take "Romeo and Juliet" for example. If it were a VN, then a double suicide over mis-communication would definitely be a bad ending, but dramatically it is very powerful and is the only way that the two rival families begin to bury their rivalry and come to peace with each other. A "good" ending might be Juliet's plan working perfectly and her and Romeo running off into the sunset to be happy newly-weds and live happily ever after. BUT in that ending, the Capulets and Montagues would have continued to war with one another and tear apart Verona, maybe even WORSE than before, as each side blames the other for their heir "absconding " with the other.

With that example, hopefully you can see that "bad endings" should contribute to the story and be just as interesting as "good endings". That is what will get people playing the game again. If each ending, good or bad, does something very interesting with the story, or shines a light on certain characters' motivations that we would not otherwise be seen. "Bad endings" should NOT just be dead ends that mean the player failed. They should be dramatic and interesting ends to the story in their own right, just maybe not the optimal end that a player may have wanted.

[pondrthis]

I love bad endings, and I always get them. 100% completion includes bad endings to me.

Make your bad endings worth reading. I like getting bad endings, but I don't like reading ANYTHING that's pointless. Adding CGs gives it a point. Making the ending interesting is even better. For example, say you're a made man in the mafia and you decide to get close to a sweet, innocent girl. If you choose to continue down your dark path, she stays with you and ends up kinda slutty, uneducated, and addicted to drugs. You wonder how things could have gone differently for a second before the game closes. Another good one is violence in a generally nonviolent game.

I guess I like really, really bad endings if I'm going to see a bad ending at all. The ones that just say "she dumped you, you suck, game over" are boring and rarely worth my time.

Still, I don't like it when bad endings are forced. The only bad ending that belongs in a typical romance is the "you didn't impress anyone, you go home lonely" bad ending. If a love interest or two has a problem which you fail to help solve, then maybe those fit in there too. Obviously things are different in a life-or-death drama.

[papillon]

Also, bad endings don't really allow you to be "you" when it comes to decision making.

Not having bad endings doesn't allow you to be 'you' either, if the real you is someone that the character simply wouldn't be interested in. You could just read a KN and be guaranteed to get the only available ending, if you're worried. Not to mention that 'bad end' doesn't always equate to 'not getting the girl/guy', you can have a successful romance and still get a very bad end.

That said, I do dislike games where there is only one right way to win a character, unless there's a VERY GOOD REASON why that character is so hard to get hold of. One minor decision should not bring the path crashing down on you. It's perfectly reasonable that you have to show an interest in a character's likes in order to get their attention, but you should not have to robotically choose the ObviousCharacterAOption from a list every five minutes in order to proceed.

Bad ends should provide more information about the story and should generally not insult the player. Some people writing games (more common in arcade games) like to do a lot of "LOL U SUK" to people who fail. This is not fun. Unless the player did something truly horrible and it was obvious when they made the choice that it was horrible, don't pick on the player!

It also sucks to play through a game trying to be nice to everyone and then get a 'loser' ending because you failed to devote 100% of your resources to one goal. If you were clearly playing to be friends with everyone, give them a happy "you are friends with everyone" ending, not a "you end up alone because you couldn't choose, U SUK".

I like bad ends because I like games with plot, not just slice-of-life romances, and meaningful plots and threats usually require the possibility of failure. But I'll only intentionally seek out bad ends that are interesting.

[Tachyglossus]

I like bad endings because I like there to be natural consequences to my actions, even ones I had not anticipated. I like to know that I can fail so that my successes are more meaningful, even within the constraints of the game. Now if there is no Good endings, but rather a mix of devastating and bittersweet endings, that would upset a lot of people I imagine... which means... I MUST do that!

Also, as previously stated, forced bad endings aren't really attractive to me, but a 'bad' ending that seems to fit with your decisions or the characters that it involves are just great.

[Mirage]

-If you are playing a game with multiple endings, do you go for 100% completion and try to get every ending, including the bad ones?
This really depends. Let's say if I like the story and the characters, chances are I will try to get everything. However, most Otome Games I have played focused on characters rather than story. This comes with a price... let's say if I dislike 1 of the obtainable guys, I will less likely attempt to get all endings. And to be honest, I have never played an Otome Game that can make me like every guy.

-Do you try to avoid the bad ends? If so, what if the bad ending will give you a new CG - would you go for it then?
I usually just play and see what ending I get on my first playthrough. It doesn't matter if it's a good end or a bad end. But I do notice that once I gotten a good end, I less likely will go and pursue the bad end. (Unless there's some incentive, new CG is a pretty good incentive.)

-If you get a bad ending on your first run, does it discourage you from replaying the game?
No. I usually will keep on playing until I get a good end.

-Do you think bad ends are necessary, or do you hate them?
I think they are necessary. If not, you might as well make a kinetic novel. Bad ends make you think twice before you make a choice and give some kind of challenge to the player.

[Snowflower]

The bad endings don't necessarily mean the MC doesn't get the boy. It can be anything from the "bad love" to death to "getting the wrong boy" and etc.

-If you are playing a game with multiple endings, do you go for 100% completion and try to get every ending, including the bad ones?
I always aim for the 100% completion. Not only am I a CG freak, but also a reading freak. But when I go on different routes & the plot is pretty much the same with solely different ending... I just exit the game. It's redundant.

-Do you try to avoid the bad ends? If so, what if the bad ending will give you a new CG - would you go for it then?
Nah. Some bad endings aren't that bad. It's more like a neutral ending where the plot if actually realistic. I would just be disappointed that I didn't get the good ending, & try again.

-If you get a bad ending on your first run, does it discourage you from replaying the game?
I ALWAYS end up getting the bad ones first... I guess I don't have that much luck in "good endings". But again, that doesn't discourage me from completing the game, whether it has a CG or not.

-Do you think bad ends are necessary, or do you hate them?
Yes... What fun is it to play a game where everything leads to solely the good endings? BO-RING~

[LVUER]

1.If you are playing a game with multiple endings, do you go for 100% completion and try to get every ending, including the bad ones?
100% completion. If that thing is listed in gallery or extra, I will get it. If not, then I won't... though that simply because I don't know the existence of those things (like bad endings). In good game, I even simply try all choice combination just to see if there's any changes in dialogues.

2.Do you try to avoid the bad ends? If so, what if the bad ending will give you a new CG - would you go for it then?
Generally, I will avoid bad endings. Since that means game over, right? Or meaning you load previous save and choose some other choices to keep continuing the story. Though the biggest reason is simply because I don't know the existence of bad endings, so I'm not purposely chase after the bad ending.

Special case is Radiant Historia. It's a game with lots of bad ending, and all of them being "official ending" since they are listed as events. And to complete all the events, you have to purposely get the bad ending. And since I am a completionist, I get all those bad endings.

And yeah, if a bad ending gives you a new CG, then I will definitely get it, without fail. I remember I was once stuck in a VN where I can't unlock one (only one left from all those CGs!!!) CG of a particular girl. Then I purposely get a bad ending for that girl (for I forget what the reason is). And I was pretty surprised that that CG is for that girl's bad ending.

3.If you get a bad ending on your first run, does it discourage you from replaying the game?
Nope. But don't continuously bombard with me with one same bad ending simply because the choices are all so hard and so obscure that you will need a FAQ to breeze through the game. That will surely discourages me to finish the game. Though if I have the FAQ, I will finish the game.

4.Do you think bad ends are necessary, or do you hate them?
Of course we need them. It's to tell the player that they have choose bad choice and to tell the concept of consequences. I never hate a game that include some bad endings, but I hate a game with ONLY bad endings.

And any other opinions you have on bad endings will be helpful
Make a tasteful bad ending (don't just a text message tells you that "you dead" or "you are stupid") and that have impact on story. Also make variety of bad ending that show why player's choice is wrong/bad.

[Suikama]

I love bad ends that contribute strongly story-wise to get the true end. An example of this is the DS Visual Novel 999. In order to understand what's going on in the true endings you need to experience the bad endings first, then the true ending has so much more meaning. Other examples are Ever 17 and Higurashi. Basically I like bad ends when they are used in such a way to make the reader experience the repeated agony of one of the characters. (Of course you can over do this too like Endless Eight of Haruhi...)

Like anything else, bad ends are a tool rather than a necessity. It's up to the creator to use them in whatever way they want, but there are certain ways of using them to bring out thier maximum potential, and there are ways of using them that bring more harm than good.

[Morgan D]

-If you are playing a game with multiple endings, do you go for 100% completion and try to get every ending, including the bad ones?
Why not? if history I like, I motivate to me to know the novel completely

-Do you try to avoid the bad ends? If so, what if the bad ending will give you a new CG - would you go for it then?
it does not concern much to me. would you go for it then? sure, the gallery at 100% is a challenge for me

-If you get a bad ending on your first run, does it discourage you from replaying the game?
that motivates me to find the wrong answer

-Do you think bad ends are necessary, or do you hate them?
In Horror games are necessary and sim-date games are funny

[Blue Lemma]

I think a well-done bad ending can be pretty cool. It can give you that little shiver down your spine and let your story go dark places it wouldn't touch in a non-bad ending. I'm a fan of those little shivers once in a while

The bad ending actually has to be an ending, though. Like an actual ending with decent effort/stuff happening. No pulling Radiant Historia bad endings (aka game overs).

[LVUER]

Radiant Historia... anyone play it too? ^_^

I remember a LSF game (is it "Text"?)

where the bad ending IS the real ending...

[SilverxBlue]

-If you are playing a game with multiple endings, do you go for 100% completion and try to get every ending, including the bad ones?
I do, even for the bad ones. I always like to see what happens upon varying my answers. In addition, I'm just like Snowflower I'm a big reading freak as well.

-Do you try to avoid the bad ends? If so, what if the bad ending will give you a new CG - would you go for it then?
Not really, but I'm definitely trying to avoid it on my first try but for other tries I'm giving it a go, specially if it has a new CG. (I always get filled up with pride every time I complete the CG gallery of a certain game. )

-If you get a bad ending on your first run, does it discourage you from replaying the game?
No it doesn't. As a matter of fact, it only motivates me to play the game some more.

-Do you think bad ends are necessary, or do you hate them?
I don't find them necessary. However, I don't really hate them. It really depends on how that bad end was written, sometimes I'd end up liking the bad end if it was so tragic, that it made me emotional.

[teacup]

Ooh, thanks for all the answers!
I agree its so frustrating to play a game several hours and get a bad ending XD
But it seems that bad endings can, in a way, be 'good' if they related or expand on the story in some way. I actually never thought about it like that before, so this is very helpful!