Sunday, March 19, 2023
Final Destination
Controlling
how your game ends is crucial to the impression of it the player
walks away with. This is an especially pressing issue for games with
any kind of choice system which provides the option of alternative
endings. If not handled correctly this can cause the narrative to
come across as inconclusive and lacking a coherent identity. Something to tie the events of the
game together is needed to ensure the player in clear as to the
intent of the story. For visual novels this manifests in the True
Ending which gives developers an immediately recognisable tool with
which to create their branching narrative without having to worry
about issues relating to interpretation. This is one of visual novel’s
most well known features, outside of perhaps the Bad End, and has shaped how they form their structure and mechanical
elements. However, is this a deserved reputation or have people
merely become too intrenched in what is familiar to see the clear
weaknesses in this method? Let’s meet our inevitable fate and see
what the True Ending has to offer.
What Is A True Ending?
For
the sake of this argument the True Ending will be defined as the
primary ending to a route shown through the structure of the route
itself and through the finality of its presentation. At first this
might seem like a fairly simple definition, but it is in its
interaction with other ending types and the overall structure of a
visual novel that it becomes muddier. The first thing many people do
is place in it a contrasting position to the Bad End, but this is
more than a bit misleading. It assumes that a True Ending needs to be
positive in nature in order to be the opposite force and this is
simply not correct for many True Endings. Their ability to be flexible
is one their greatest strengths and this includes being bittersweet or
tragic in nature. By the same measure they are sometimes confused
with Good Endings under the false assumption that the True Ending has
to be happy. The only defining element that binds all True Endings
together is their role as a conclusion to a route’s narrative.
Another confusing interaction is with the True Route which is a
technique many visual novels also utilise and can make for a lot of
head scatting for an outside observer. Put simply a True Route
concludes the game while a True Ending only concludes a route,
through a True Ending can conclude the final route of the game but it generally
plays second fiddle to the force provided to the narrative by a True
Route.
Providing Resolution
At
its core a True Ending is primarily interested in giving closure to a
narrative. This is a complicated task as tying all the parts of route
into a whole that leaves the player satisfied requires finesse. One
of the main ways it has to achieve this aim
is through the route’s focus character. Since the whole route
revolves around this character the player’s eyes will be on them
and they will likely have a great investment in this character’s
struggles. As such a True Ending can frame itself through this
character by linking its events to the end of their character arc in
way that suits the overall themes of the story. This might seem like
something an ending of any story should do, but the way it commits
to it is different as it has an eye to how this individual route fits
into the puzzle of the visual novel’s totality.
Commonly this
manifests as the ending leaving enough space in the character’s
personality for growth in later routes while also not undercutting
their resolution in the route itself. A good example of this is how
G-senjou
no Maou handles
its character route endings in relation to the narrative’s
progress. Each True Ending is paired up with a Bad End to ensure it
has the highest impact through showing the failure of the character
arc and how it relates to it success. There is an effort to never
make the True Endings too happy in order for the character’s
victories to come across as hard won. It also allow for later routes to
provide them with a different type of resolution which does not come
across as hollow by comparison to the character’s own route. What
results is a controlled establishing and fulfillment of character
resolution on the character route level and within the context of the
complete game.
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| Impact is something True Endings thrive on |
The
other important manner in which True Endings present resolution is
through the use of the route as a marker within the visual novel’s
overall plot. A route can assume a role as within the narrative both
in terms of plot development and the message of the game. The True
Ending of a route can leverage this through line to highlight itself
as tying up this element of the game so it can be clearly burned into
the player’s mind. When presenting an aspect of the plot, the True
Ending can provide a moment of clarity for the player and tie up that
part of the story so it does not have to be constantly reinforced,
while also giving the ending a sense of satisfaction. On the other
side, we have the message the game is trying to present and how an
individual route plays into that idea. A True Ending can piggyback on
the part of the message contained it its route by making this its
core driving force in contrast to the other endings. It acts as a
resolution to this element and this reflects back onto the ending,
giving it a sense of closure and connection to the game as a whole.
Flexibility With Tone
Of
all the way to end a route there are none as flexible as the True
Ending and this is due to its ability to shift dynamically to fit the needs
of both the route and the game overall. As has been alluded to
before, one of the most noticeable ways it achieves this is through its ability to set the expectation for the ending in a way that does not
demand the ending be neither happy or sad, but simply satisfying. In
having this player expectation a developer can use True Ending to
present what they want without worrying about disappointing the
player and potentially losing their interest in the rest of the game.
It also results in a wide variety of different ending constructions
even within the same game and helps provide excitement since the
player feels as if they cannot entirely predict how things will pan
out. Fate Stay Night showcases this design philosophy well with its
satisfying but not saccharine endings which play out dramatically
differently to one another. The True Endings of Unlimited Blade Works
and Heaven’s Feel could not be more different from each other in
terms of vision and outcomes, despite still feeling as if they belong
in the same game. This is due to how they take their respective
route’s core ideas and drive them in contrasting directions to
highlight a different angle on the same message. Without the
expectations provided by True Endings, the way they play with events
which do not end entirely happily for those involved might be viewed
as a betrayal of the time the player put into the story.
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| True Endings make the same ingredients sing in different ways |
Providing
satisfaction is not the only way in which player expectations can be
leveraged to the benefit of a True Ending. For internal True
Endings, those that do not conclude the game, there is an
understanding that they are not entirely final in nature and this can be used
to allow for a form of open ending to provide greater route
flexility. This gives space for the ending to shape its own identity
while not being tied to concluding everything it has covered and
avoiding stepping on the toes of what other routes are going to focus
on. In Corpse Party: Book of Shadows can be seen a series of good
examples of how useful this aspect can be. Book of Shadows is a
collection of connected smaller stories which each cover a different
element of the story and world, so there is a lot of overlap between
them as their respective themes and plots intersect. The True Ending
of each story uses the expectations of the player to cleanly conclude
their own narratives and still provide the room for the other stories
to exist and form a whole puzzle together.
All
of this flexility makes the True Ending a wide spread staple of
visual novel narrative construction across all genres. This is due to it ability to change shape meaning that it is not tied to a specific set
of ideas or tones in the way other ending types, such as the Bad End,
are through their focus on achieving a specific effect. The general
applications are so neutral in nature that everything from horror to
action to slice of life uses them in some fashion or another. Even
visual novel spin-offs of other media franchises use it such as with
the True Ending in Date A Live: Arusu Install which fulfils its
most basic function of being a conclusion to the narrative and
providing a definite sense of finality to proceedings. When a tool is
so ubiquitous that even side projects from other mediums are using it,
there is a clear sense that the True Ending is a uniquely powerful
and adaptable framework.
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| Unfortunately you are not the true heroine of this story |
Statement of Themes And Ideas
The
significance a True Ending holds within the structure of the
narrative makes it the prefect framing device for a game’s themes
and core ideas. As the player is expecting a finality to what is
presented to them during a True Ending, they will be paying
heightened attention to what is transpiring and be more susceptible
to any implications or subtleties the developer wants to send their
way. By mixing in themes and ideas from the rest of the game into
this conclusive segment, the player will become more aware of how
these elements have been present throughout the whole experience and
come to understand the point of what the game is saying to them. This
has a tendency of manifesting in visual novels with a single high
impact True Ending such as Steins Gate which has its entire game
structure push the player towards this ending. Its funnelling of the
player gives a focus to the True Ending and makes the process of
helping them understand the themes easier since all its important
ingredients were presented in an obvious line. A True Ending just
allows for these pieces to be brought into the light and Steins Gate
exploits this opportunity to the full extent of its worth.
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| Steins Gates True Ending is masterclass in proper conclusion |
How
a True Ending relates to its fellow endings can be used to create
a thematic contrast in order to allow the message of the visual novel
to spelt out for the player. This generally involves having the True
Ending be connected to choices and outcomes which are fundamentally
different from any of the other endings. The result is a section of
the game that stands separately from the rest and shines a light
onto the problems in the thinking which lead the player to the other
endings. WE KNOW THE DEVIL utilises this method especially well by
having the other endings focus on a single characters struggles in
isolation and having the True Ending showcasing that the solution to
their issues can only be found through all the them facing their
problems together. This contrasts isolation with unity
provides a strong statement about which one the game thinks is the
more compassionate and human path. While this is a particularly
extreme example it nonetheless showcases how the True Ending can be
used as a tool within the framework of other endings.
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| It is amazing how much you can get out of a simple contrast |
Conclusion
There
are few features of a visual novel more memorable than its True
Ending and this is due to how powerful a technique it is for leaving
an impact on the player. Its focus around providing resolution for
characters and plot elements gives it a flexility to imbue these parts
of the narrative with the impact they deserve without causing issues
for any future routes or overarching plot. Not being bound by
expectations of tone lets a True Ending be satisfying for the player
without needing to compromise itself and be suitable for use in any
genre that might need what it offers due to its neutral narrative
nature. On top of this, it offers a chance for the developer to make a
statement about their vision for the ideas and themes of the game due
to the conclusiveness of the True Ending or through its contrast with
all the other endings. Through all these unique features the True
Ending can offer you a chance to shape your visual novel and leave
the player with a powerful memory that will stay with them long after
they have closed the game.
