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#1 Post by **sake-bento** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 1:59 am

So I've noticed that most VNs with multiple endings will inform you of the ending you got when you finish playing the game, usually with a number and a simple title. Do people like this system? When I first played a VN and got all sorts of different endings with different labels, I thought it was really strange. It didn't make much sense to me. I understand that it might be good for listing which ends you've gotten so far, but I assume that each ending would be different enough that you won't confuse two endings. Is this really a system that people prefer, or is it just in place because of convention?

JQuartz · #2 Post by **JQuartz** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 2:21 am

sake-bento wrote:Is this really a system that people prefer, or is it just in place because of convention?

I don't if people actually prefer this or not but I prefer it since the title increases the information of the ending. Something like lengthening the ending.

Samu-kun · #3 Post by **Samu-kun** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 2:49 am

I prefer to have the information just to know how many different endings there are. I don't want to quit playing the game until I've seen them all, unless it's a really terrible game.

I don't really have an opinion on ending titles, but overall, I think having them is better for the sake of communication between the fans. I can just say I got "The Bloody Conclusion" instead of "that one ending where Sekai gets stabbed by Kotonoha and Makoto is like o_O."

chronoluminaire · #4 Post by **chronoluminaire** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 6:38 am

I personally prefer it if endings are given either a name or a number, and possibly both. Different schemes can be things like (made-up example):

Ending 2

Ending 2 of 14

"Zutto Isshoni"

Ending 2 of 14: "Zutto Isshoni"

Yurika Best Ending

"Zutto Isshoni": Yurika Best Ending

Ending 2: Yurika Best Ending

Ending 2 of 14: Yurika Best Ending

Ending 2: "Zutto Isshoni" - Yurika Best Ending

Ending 2 of 14: "Zutto Isshoni" - Yurika Best Ending

Out of these kinds of thing, I generally prefer those with at least "Ending 2 of 14".

Jake · #5 Post by **Jake** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 6:51 am

Samu-kun wrote:I prefer to have the information just to know how many different endings there are.

I don't really have an opinion on ending titles, but overall, I think having them is better for the sake of communication between the fans.

Having just deliberated with myself as to whether or not to label the endings in Each Uisge, I have to say these are the exact reasons I went with the "Ending x/y: Descriptive Title" approach. Particularly with Each Uisge the story only completes on the final ending, so it's more important to me than it would usually be that the reader actually knows how many there are and sees them all... and if discussing endings in public, it's less likely to give bits away to people who haven't seen those endings yet if just the names are mentioned. Not to mention that I can remember what happens in "Bait and Switch" a lot more readily than I can remember that that particular ending is number 2.

I think it depends, for me, how the author expects (or prefers) the reader to play the VN. For some stories, I would prefer the reader to play through a single time, and just leave it with the one ending they saw (for example, a story which hinges heavily on moral choices, or one which has a surprise twist near the end which changes the context of the rest of the story such that it isn't the same reading it a second time), in which case I wouldn't bother telling them how many there were or numbering them or anything, because that kind of thing allows the reader to see or guess how many endings they haven't seen, and encourages them to ending-hunt. For other stories, I would like the reader to explore the options fully (such as with Each Uisge), so I'd number them and tell the reader how many there are, specifically to encourage them to read them all.

Vatina · #6 Post by **Vatina** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 7:06 am

I'm with using ending names too. I've tried playing games without them before, where I was left thinking "so... did I 'win'? Can it get better?"

The ending names in my own game are pretty unimaginative. I haven't used numbers, but there is an "endings" screen that shows how many people have gotten - so they can see how many endings there are there.

Adorya · #7 Post by **Adorya** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 8:31 am

I prefer subtle hint when completely finishing a game, such as a new background at the game main menu or a 100% full CG list.

I don't mind x/y system but it remind me too much of the now classic "achievement" system for (hardcore)gamer, which I find some rather ridiculous and time sinker.

Mirena · #8 Post by **Mirena** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 9:27 am

Generally, if I like a game I like to see all of it. And because of that I think it's nice with numbered endings of the kind "x of y endings". That way it's easier to keep track of how many of them I've seen.

Or you could make an "endings" gallery where a picture shows up for every completed ending. :p That way you wouldn't need to number them.

As for titles I think they're nice. Hey, I mean anything is better than "good ending" or "bad ending" and the worst offender "true ending". I don't see any point in making an ending "true" in a branching visual novel. It's nice to be able to go with the one you prefer and pretend that's how it ended, not having forced down your throat that it's "false". As for good and bad, those can be subjective so I don't like them either.

LVUER · #9 Post by **LVUER** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 6:20 pm

I don't really care about ending title or what-so-ever. The most important thing is to list all the ending, and of course, a list of all events/CG (if there is no ending event, then ending is counted as one event, if each character has a fixed 1 or 2 endings).

This is so that I know how many more ending (or stuff) that I must unlocked/haven't see. After all, playing VN is all about unlocking all the good stuff (CG, events, endings, etc).

The title ending is good, for poetic and aesthetic purpose I guess, in the end, it's up to the creator.

EwanG · #10 Post by **EwanG** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 9:08 pm

Well, in that same vein, I've often wondered if I should offer a walkthrough so folks could go through and make sure they hit all the endings? I have to develop them to give to testers anyway, but wasn't sure if that would take away too much of the mystery. For example in the most recent game, one of the young ladies has 3 endings of her own, as well as the generic "you avoided making any choices" ending. Not sure how many folks will realize that without a guide.

Just curious...

papillon · #11 Post by **papillon** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 9:47 pm

For example in the most recent game, one of the young ladies has 3 endings of her own, as well as the generic "you avoided making any choices" ending. Not sure how many folks will realize that without a guide.

And considering how many people will BITCH if they've paid for a game and can't figure out the endings (or think the game has less content than it does), this is generally bad. Yes, provide a walkthrough, people dont have to use it if they don't want to!

From discussions I've had, most players will play through once without looking at guides, but a large proportion of players expects a walkthrough to materialise after they've found one or two endings so they can go through and pick up the points they missed.

LVUER · #12 Post by **LVUER** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 12:03 am

EwanG wrote:Well, in that same vein, I've often wondered if I should offer a walkthrough so folks could go through and make sure they hit all the endings? I have to develop them to give to testers anyway, but wasn't sure if that would take away too much of the mystery. For example in the most recent game, one of the young ladies has 3 endings of her own, as well as the generic "you avoided making any choices" ending. Not sure how many folks will realize that without a guide.

Just curious...

If the endings are that hard to acquire, then perhaps you should. I think most VN could be finished by saving, loading, and just pick all choice combination possible. If that still fail, then walkthrough is truly needed.

Wintermoon · #13 Post by **Wintermoon** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 12:20 am

LVUER wrote:I think most VN could be finished by saving, loading, and just pick all choice combination possible.

You do realize that a VN with 16 choices per route would have at least 65536 different combinations, right?

Samu-kun · #14 Post by **Samu-kun** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 12:53 am

*face palm*
It's called merging branches, man. Have you played a visual novel before???

#15 Post by **PyTom** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 1:06 am

Samu-kun wrote:*face palm*
It's called merging branches, man. Have you played a visual novel before???

Sure. But if each of those choices is important, and you have to make the right decision on each choice to get the best ending, and there's only one way to get that best ending, then a sufficiently unlucky guy might try 65535 bad combinations before he gets a good one.

(And is it sad that when I saw "merging branches", my first thought was "Since when does Samu-kun use a distributed version control system?")

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