Why Ron,why? A big thank you and a small complaint

Hi guys,I’m new here,but since last night I felt I had to make an account and post this.If you haven’t finished the game stop reading now!

sigh Why Ron,why David? :slight_smile: It was a flawless,beautiful,epic masterpiece.For me at least,I loved the game,the characters,the humor,the voice acting.Especially Ransome’s and Willie’s voice acting were top!
It was around 3:00 am yesterday that I finally finished the game and got devastated by the ending.
Well it was more than disappointing,the ending,that breaking of the fourth wall became so much it got annoying.Someone might say “Relax dude,it’s just a game,you’re taking it too serious”,but like some guy wrote on steam I think,it’s because I too invested emotionally in the story and the characters.
I loved this wonderful journey in T-Park,the mystery,the humor,the …everything.Then it’s as if nothing really mattered,nothing had a meaning.
Now I know you don’t have to care about it,Ron or David or anyone reading it,I just felt I wanted to let you know,to tell you about it,my humble opinion.
And to also truly thank you for making this gem of a tribute to the 80s and early 90s era and the classic adventure games.Also thank you for the amazing Collector’s Edition,it gave me the chance to experience how it was to have an old-school CE adventure game box(never had one since I didn’t own a PC back then and I was like 8-9 when the MI series were coming out).I loved the Collector’s Edition and the whole thing,I have to say it again.Even the inventory items were beautiful and cool(Polaroid being my favorite one).

That’s why I’m like “Darn it Ron,why did you guys have to do that ending!Arghhh!” It hit me so hard last night sigh Anyway :smiley: Maybe we could kinda fix it with a sequel? Maybe? Just a thought,I mean come on.Ray,Reyes,Delores and beeping Ransome back again?

Anyway,if you’ve read so far I appreciate your patience.

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Monkey Island 2 is also notorious for its controversial ending, so I think a part is “ how can we top that?”. Or just all of Ron games have weird endings.
That doesn’t mean the game can’t become a favourite for lots of people - despite them having different kind of ending in mind.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the game (both good an bad!). Welcome to the forum& stick around.

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Back then it would have been the regular edition, but yeah, the box and its contents are brilliant :slight_smile:.

Thank you Sushi.Oh the game is a favorite of mine already,I loved let’s say 95% of it,it was the end plot twist and ending that was completely sour to me and made me sad,I wanted this to go somewhere.To have a …well let’s say “normal” ending.It did feel like everything the characters did and the entire adventure was just for nothing,totally pointless.Darn it Ron! :laughing:
I’d love to see a sequel though.Or at least a cameo of Ray and Reyes and Delores in a future adventure maybe.I got to love these pixels.

I also found the ending a major “huh, what just happened?” thing. It did shed a different light on everything you did in the game rather than making it pointless. I am OK with the feeling of not getting the end you were expecting. It is the feeling of loneliness and sadness for the characters you are left with after completing that was disturbing. Still, that a game can achieve that is because of its strong storytelling, just like any good book doesn’t need a happy and/or the predictable ending and it is the 500 or whatever pages that come before the last 10 that make it a good or a bad story (regardless of the ending).

Talking about those, I had a similar sour taste in my mouth after finishing Loom, Full Throttle and The Dig. On the other hand, the story in each of those is more interesting than your average happy-ending XYZ Quest or other run-off-the-mill adventure game story.

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I for one thought the TWP ending was great.

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Me too. The ending expanded beyond the game, and hopefully makes us consider our own place in the universe. One of my favorite theories is that, if there ever will be enough computing power to simulate whole universe, and there will be at least two simultaneous simulations running at the same time, the chances are greater that we are actually part of a simulation, than really existing in flesh.

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Why “simulating”? It is a fact that THERE IS at least enough computing power -somewhere- to CONCEIVE the universe. Since (as far as we know) the universe exists. Unless it is not all inside your head. Which means YOU have the computing power to conceive (or simulate, there’s no difference) EVERYTHING. From oceans to algebra, from WWII to sexual deviances. Including your body and your brain itself, since probably the substrate of such an immense computing power resides somewhere else. But where? In which one of the infinite upper or lower levels? What if our galaxy is just a wirl inside the cappuccino of some upper being, and all the history of humanity develops from the moment the coffee is poured to the doom of the digestion? We live until the upper being is turning his spoon in the cup, then we die. So, behold and worship the Supreme Spoon, and forget about everything else!

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I can definitely see it from both sides - on the one hand the ending was stimulating and quite existentialist - in the end I decided I liked it.

However, it was quite sad, like you were being ripped out of the world by the creators instead of leaving at the end of an amazing story

One thing I guess we can all agree on is that it didn’t affect our enjoyment of the game and the amazing world they created :slight_smile:

Let’s say that after the ending of MI2, it didn’t shock me that much.

The one bit I take away from the ending is: if you create a simulation of the universe, don’t make the off switch accessible from within the simulation! Guess that’s a lesson we all need to learn the hard way … :wink:.

I’m not talking about that part of it. That’s standard contemporary game post-modernism fare. I mean I love the ending. TWP has one of the most satisfyingly executed game endings.

I would’ve been surprised (and possibly disappointed) if there had been a straightforward Terminator-type story ending. That’s not what I expect from Ron Gilbert. I’m mainly referring to how the character’s arcs were finished up and the amazing wireframe world. I’m talking about the ending as a whole, not the ending as a flippant summary.

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Too bad that our world has in itself its own off switch. And it has been triggered, yet.
It is LIFE. I mean, when life started, it had its very end embedded in it. Every living being evolve and tries to drain everything from the environment, until it runs out. Think about a cancer, or a virus, or a parasite: it drains everything from its host, even if it leads, eventually, to the death of both host and guest. Man is for the world what a cancer is for man. It’s all this life stuff which is a big scam. There’s no life without death. Life has always an end embedded in itself.

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Yeah, but it’s not one that shuts off the whole thing, just bits and pieces, and even that mostly happens gradually and not at the flick of finger.

If there was a global kill switch, I’m sure it’ll take no time for some idiot to press it, just to prove that indeed we do live in a simulation! Given that this hasn’t happened yet gives hope that our universe is the real thing … or that they got at least that aspect right :smile:.

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To be honest,I was upset by the end.You might say I’m sentimental,romantic,yes but it really disappointed me.I really wanted to see the “aftermath” of all the characters.Not a hasty last minute happiness that would last a moment.Like some of the people in Thimbleweed Park,I too wanted some closure.
And that plot twist at the end wasn’t a breaking of the fourth wall,that was completely DEMOLISHING the walls.There were no walls left! And it felt kinda…rushed,although I’ve read it was the planned ending,but after all the story building and the mystery and the developing of the protagonists,it’s like…all of a sudden “pop,forget the killer,forget the future of the factory,forget Delores and Ray and Reyes,you’re all living in the Matrix,goodbye”.
Sorry,I mean with truly all respect to the legends who made this game,it felt kinda stupid.It was depressing. :neutral_face::anguished:
However,there could always be a nice sequel ignoring this as…well let’s say “canon”?If there’s even a canon to a comedic adventure game.Anyway.

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Yeah, it was sad to feel like you were being ripped out of the game instead of leaving yourself at the conclusion of a wonderful story.

It’s like being in a bar, having a great time with your friends and then suddenly the music cuts off, the lights go up and the bouncers are pushing you out the door!

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Did you guys by any chance miss the character endings? I know it’s possible to do so if you rush with Delores.

I found the ending quite good. It was pretty melancholic and impactful the first time I experienced it.

It’s good, but not perfect. I kinda wished for a more mystery / Twin Peaks-like story and would have preferred that to the meta simulation thing. But I’m sure if there had been a different, more mysterious & open ending, more to my liking, there would also have been a lot of criticism of it, maybe even more.

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Yeah, the continuity nerds would’ve come out and poked holes everywhere in the plot :smiley:.

Totally agree, though, it’s not the ending I would’ve preferred for the game, but it was nice in its own way - gave you a chance to say goodbye to each character as well, which was a nice touch!

Last minute happiness :frowning: It felt rushed