The Forgotten Elements

In single-player games, an introduction sequence is the spark that grabs a player. It is the initial point of contact with the player to demonstrate what the game will be about, to introduce the protagonist, to display the plot, to foreshadow the conflict, among many other things. Often cinematic in nature, with an epic score and elegant cinematography, opening sequences let the player develop and initial reaction to the adventure on which they’re about to embark.

Conversely, an ending sequence to a game is the final flame of excitement. Its equally important task is to sum up all emotions the player experienced throughout the journey. It is a time of reflection, the time to absorb everything, the time when good memories of a game are spawned.

These sound like crucial roles, and they most certainly are. However, they are the forgotten elements of computer games. Elements that are looked over, and regarded by developers as filler; doing so is one of the most lethal decisions made by developers. Game intros and endings are truly essential. The ending sequence, at least, is what the character is striving toward and anticipating the entire length of the game. It is the entire point of the game! Play the game to achieve this ending. Furthermore, the intro does not exist solely to look pretty, it complements the ending; without the intro, the ending seems useless, or vice versa. This applies when either of these isn’t up to par of what they should be. A bad introduction will make the ending the same, and vice versa.

So what factors make a proper introduction and ending sequence? This obviously depends on the games individually, but there are some universal characteristics that should be incorporated in game opening and closing scenes. In intros, the factors that are necessary are somewhat obvious, the introduction of characters, the gameplay mechanic, or the atmosphere of the game.

All of these intros successfully convey either the game’s characters, gameplay mechanic, or atmosphere. Fallout’s focus primarily is setting the scene, the atmosphere, and introducing characters. Thief 2 introduces us the main character and core gameplay mechanics. Deus Ex introduces major plot characters and the game’s atmosphere. As you can see, the games combine elements from all three categories properly.

The ending, as stated previously, must sum up the game’s plot in a way that finalizes the story. Whether it ends wrapped up with a nice bow on it or ends left open for interpretation depends on the game. Nevertheless, a game’s ending needs some conclusion. Gamers’ like to have a closing cutscene of substance.

I highly recommend not viewing these videos if you don’t want the game spoiled, obviously, you’d have to play through the game to understand the ending to the games.

The endings suit their intros quite effectively. Fallout shows the events of the game in relation to the characters first introduced, and the same can be said for Deus Ex and Thief 2. Each ending presents itself in such a way it makes it a unique, artistic style.

A common trend I’ve unfortunately seen on mainstream PC games of the last several years is the lack of commitment to providing a quality intro and outro.

Here are some examples. Because these are fairly recent games, here is the obligatory spoiler warning: don’t watch it if you want to be surprised.

You could argue these are good on the basis of being more cinematic, and resemble that of film. But is that really for the better? Do we want our favorite games to resemble someone else’s favorite movie? Personally, I do not. Another factor contributing to the lasting taste a game leaves with the player are the ending credits. All three of the more modern games listed all have horribly boring credit sequences, while the older have more enjoyable ones. It is hard to exemplify what makes credit sequences interesting, but it is certainly not scrolling white text on a black background.

While each sequence could be further dissected for its quality or inferiority, I’m not going to do that. Just watch them. Your entertainment senses should tell you what is enjoyable and what is not. If you disagree, your entertainment senses are simply out of tune.