Spoiler:

What color ending was that?DunKalar wrote:They had the same discussion with Mass Effect 3. Everything lies in ruins and Shepard dies. Well, if the Milky Way would not have survivved on it's last breath, the whole story about the reapers attacking and eradicating all live would have not been credible.
I quote this post entirely! I obviously understand giving customers what they desire, but forcing the authors to write happy endings only kills 90% of the motivation to complete the game in my opinion (why should I play it to the end, if I already know what is going to happen?)DunKalar wrote:Wouldn't this make the game boring and strongly reduce the motivation for replay?
I found the end of Loren/Elenor fitting. The game stated that there are two ways for an amazon / queen to die: Step down for her daugther or be killed. So Loren was granted an honorable death in the world of the amazons. It is the way of life she wanted to live.
They had the same discussion with Mass Effect 3. Everything lies in ruins and Shepard dies. Well, if the Milky Way would not have survivved on it's last breath, the whole story about the reapers attacking and eradicating all live would have not been credible.
If thepeople only accept happy endings with their character, I can understand from a business point of view to supply them with it. But it will also limit the writer's freedom for the story. Thus I think you should make the happy ending either very hard to reach or sell it as an "upgrade" for those, who cannot get along with a "not-so-snuggly"-ending.
Kharlene, you are very right about death being a tired trope in lesbian/gay fiction. Jack wrote ideas for some of the epilogues, but I am only to blame for Loren's epilogues. I didn't see it as a bad ending, I'm sorry. I pictured them very old when this happened, it wasn't like 5 years later. It was more like 30+ years. They had a full life together and Loren finally grew weak/old enough to be respectfully challenged. She knew it was going to happen - everyone did - and she made peace with Elenor, arranged for living, etc. ... but you are absolutely right that it completely falls into that ugly trap and I can see why you are upset.Kharlene wrote:Honestly, I'd like a happy ending, too, for a change. >.>
Namely with a lesbian relationship, and here's the reason why--speaking as a lesbian... it's actually a more rare in media from literature, movies, music, and yes even video games for lesbians to have a happy ending than a tragic one. It's a vastly more common of a phenomenon within movies and literature especially for lesbian characters' relationship (though slightly less so (not by much) in the case of male gay characters) to suddenly end tragically whether through break-up, circumstance or death. More often than not within literature it's a tragic death. But, I mean, even Loren 1 ending for Elenor and Loren ends in tragedy, by its end the world is saved and everyone can go home and become family men/women and yet abruptly Loren is challenged and dies. And my reaction as gay woman hoping at last for a happy ending is this:
And I'm like, "Again? AGAIN?!", because it's such a commonality within gay literature/movies for the two women's relationship to end in this manner that it's become a cliche.
This isn't just an observation on my part, in fact, it's observation made by many film and literature critics and researchers that have noticed this as a common trend and theme that has gone on for literal ages even into our current modern, and in many cases disturbingly so. A lot of times when I bring this up, I'll get some hipster telling me that a (paraphrasing) "tragic ending is more unique" to which I always counter, "If that's what's most common, how is it then more unique?". Or they'll tell me that things ending in tragedy is more "interesting". To which I often have to explain to them that when 95% (that's not an exact figure but not much of an exaggerated one) of the media that portrays your sexuality consistently ends terribly for those characters whom share it--how "interesting" it is wanes severely to being "not interesting at all" over the years of your life after seeing it time and again because they being the vast majority (to enormous extents) of options available to you for viewing.
And I know I got all super serious pants here with all of that, but I'm just saying the more "unique" and "interesting" route for a gay relationship, especially a lesbian one... would be for it to be a happy ending, because they are so RARE within gay literature, films, and even games (though in the case of games it's not as bad (not even close to being as bad)). Anyway...
So coming full circle, I'm just hoping for a happy ending for a change... T_T