Post-games

[Amethyst]

before anything, please be assured that this topic is not about, and not likely to affect Reborn's post-game. much of that is already written as necessitated. whatever is said here, i've got 50 bajillion legendaries to account for because gamefreak won't fucking stop making them and some reason so there's really no getting around that. 

but this is not about that.

 

my answer to the question is a definite 'no.' i can barely be counted upon to finish a game most of the time, let alone go above and beyond the call of duty black ops edition for post games. and if i do finish a game, even if it's a game i really enjoyed, i just. i do not care. i cannot care. even if i am having so much fun playing the main game and i think yeah, i'm gonna do all the post-game stuff!!! i just lose all motivation to play when i beat the main storyline.

(it is especially silly when i sometimes stop playing games outright because i dont want them to be over yet because i was enjoying them so much. this is what post-game is for. still, she does not care.)

cuz for me it's all about the story. that's my focus with games, i suppose. no story no life

 

but i don't know if this is just me or if this is actually a more common sentiment. so. poll. do you care? or are there certain things that make you care? does it depend on the game? tell me your secrets. 

 

[Wolfox]

Postgame I don't really care too much about personally. I will play it if I really like the game but other than that not really. completion and sidequests... that's a whole nother thing entirely (never got tested for OCD, but I think Autism can do the exact same thing when it comes to games...) still dreading the day I start a game like Skyrim when it comes to that. I will most likely lose my mind trying to do everything and missing just tiny pieces to the puzzles

[Marcello]

I've always been one that, if I enjoy a game, I will play it to absolute death and do everything I can and replay and I'll eventually burn out and lose interest but that's usually well into postgame. I always enjoy doing such extra things, often just as a way to see the limit as you take the game's system's to their extremes and it's the best chance to play about with really high level customisation and explore things to their fullest potentials so

 

Yeah, I like postgame stuff a lot in most games.

[J-Awesome_One]

You should have put another result that says "Depends" because that's me. Like for example, Pokémon Red/Blue. After you become Champion, your only objective is to catch all the Pokémon and go after the Legendary Mewtwo. (Not too sure if anyone counts that as post game but I do so moving on.) Idc for that much. But when you go to Gold/Silver/Crystal, you get to go to a "new" Region and compete in their league and that's exciting and that makes me care. To make a long story short, if it has a story to it then I usually care about it. Even if it's stupid. Then I care for it. If I find it boring and not worth it, don't care for it.

[-Vergil]

If I had to say, I'd prolly say yes but only if theres some backstory involved that would usually be kept under wraps, like some past events of a certain character or a conclusion of an event that was started in the main story but left optional/post-game stuff. Other than that, I guess i don't care about post-game stuff if its just for the hell of it

[Eviora]

I guess I'd have to go with "Depends" as well. However, I used to almost always do post-game content. Now I find myself less interested in it, especially in RPGs.

 

I guess what it depends on is what I'm playing the game for in the first place. If it was story, some half-assed extension with gameplay attached probably won't tempt me. But if I was playing for gameplay (like I tend to in Mario games, for instance,) the postgame is more likely to interest me.

[FairFamily]

Well post-game is a weird place for me. I mean if there are unfinished businesses like some character sidequest I might do them but to me they aren't really post-game. Post-game is where the story ends to me not where the credits role. So if some follow up events are still happening it isn't post-game. For games like skyrim where main story is relative it might be when a character finishes the tale of the character I had setup.

 

With that in mind I just lose all interest in postgame over time. It just becomes grindy over time since to me the character has no goals left and I probably found something online . Yeah I might do a few things after the main game ends but it dies out easily. In the past I did more but in that time I couldn't appreciate story in games as well as I do now. I might do a new playthrought though if the games is replayable enough.

[jadipiii]

In general the only post-games that I've played are ones that have a story relating to the main game, or where the post game sheds light on some previously unexplored part of the main story e.g. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon; If the post-game consists of mostly random side quests/upgrading a character and lacks a cohesive plot, then I'm much less likely to put effort towards it. I like learning about the story more than just playing for the sake of playing.

[Godot]

I am not sure how to answer this...

 

A. You have games like Horizon, Zelda, or Final Fantasy where the post game can be a blast and bring more challenge than the main game.  That is hit or miss.

 

B. You also have games like Destiny, Pokémon, or most competitive games where the story part is more of a chore or grind to unlock stuff or unlock the full game.  That tends to suck.

 

C. You have games like Persona, Zero Escape, and Crono Trigger where there is no post game and re-expieriencing the game with prior knowledge or carried over progress to get alternate endings or cover routes you couldn’t before and that’s great.

 

D. You also have games like Danganronpa or Phoenix Wright where you can really only expierience the game once.  And the post game is forced and unenjoyable.

 

so in result, can I pick the third option, it depends?

[CrossImpact]

well, I guess Pokémon in itself is a bit of an exception for post-game, since a whole lot of competitive stuff is locked until then and there are all the legendaries.
I'll be perfectly fine with Victini, of course.

imo post-game is used best anyway for events exactly like that, legendary encounters / raid bosses for co-op / whatever the analogy for each respective game.
OR another possibility is: more personal interaction with characters, shining more light on their traits, funny scenes with hindsight-remarks to the story etc!

if you count DLC as post-game, if we look at Borderlands, hell yeah, new fun stories!!! naturally they are carried by the game and its characters.
Skyrim DLCs? didn't bother.

new unlocked difficulties? -mostly- no (Fire Emblem for instance, really cba, opposed to MGS1-3 which I played like 20+ times on different difficulties)
collectables / achievements: get me out of here

Danganronpa... well the school mode is super boring since you need to do it more than once to unlock all the report cards, but in itself it was fun.
still have to do SDR2 ones!


in general I'm totally a fan of linear storylines and all the awesomeness happening inside of that (MGS helloooooooo not MGS V get out of here)
it's so good to raise the hope and make the protagonist(s) succeed
and then it's so despair-inducing once everything comes to a close, and you can't play as them anymore and even if you do, you already know everything that happens.
I remember crying as a small kid when stories in games were over... but the pain was necessary.
so uh...

post game YES: more fun / adventures / interaction / information with important characters! ; difficult encounters depending on the game
post game NO: everything else. let go, let it end beautifully, or gruesomely, but let it end well. everything has an end. only sausage has two.

[Zargerth]

That really depends on the game. In Zelda -games I tend to collect all Heart Pieces/Containers (does that count?) but other than that I don't really bother - I have found half of all the Koroks in Breath of the Wild and got really sick of it. In Monster Hunter games, however, I continue doing quests quite a lot despite "finishing the story line" (as in after defeating Dire Miralis, or Daora Kushala in 4U etc).

 

I'm not as much of a completionist as I used to be (not that I ever actually were one), so I voted No. If I'm not interested in the post-game content, I won't bother with it.

 

 

[Candy]

I've so far always stopped playing Pokemon games once I entered the Hall of Fame

I'm plot-driven, so once the "bad guys" are beaten, and my main aim as protagonist - that is, to become the regional champion - has been accomplished, I just lost interest in pursuing anything further than that. It's even the case that I didn't know my games had a feature called "post game" until fairly recently. Even knowing that, though, I still never played them haha!

[Alistair]

Rather simple in my case. If I'm sufficiently interested in a game to actually finish it, then chances are, I'm sufficiently interested to do the postgame too. Ofc sometimes it's just not that compelling and I don't actually do everything, or even try to. But when I like a game, and there's postgame content, I'm generally happy to do it. Pokémon games are a good example. I love the postgame for Pearl/Diamond for instance.

If the postgame adds some character backstory or things like that, it's even better.

 

So, my answer is yes.

[Tringus]

When I was a young boy, yes, I would beat the post-games of any Pokemon game I could play.  But ever since Black 2, I just could not be able to do that.  I think it is because at that point, I started doing written playthroughs, and just could not find the time to do them.  And I LOVED doing them.  I still have yet to battle Colress one last time, and do Looker's story, and the Delta Episode and catching legendaries in general.  To be honest, it almost makes me kinda want to stop doing written playthroughs, and only do those for fangames, such as Reborn and Rejuvenation, but even then, I still feel behind.  Of course, since Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are the last Pokemon games for 3DS, it kinda makes me compelled to give up on the written stories.  I might make a thread about my thoughts later on, but it's just something I've noticed.

 

Now games like Elder Scrolls (Skyrim and Oblivion in particular), I could just play the post-games for HOURS ON END.  I raged SO BADLY when Sheogorath said I hadn't spoken to both priests, even though I did.  And he kept saying that until I decided to pretty much restart my save file, and do Oblivion all over again (Well, I restarted to when I was level 9, but still).  And even playing Skyrim to this day is still fun.

 

Elder Scrolls Online, on the other hand, I just beat it and didn't bother with the rest of the story.  Just did PvP until I got Emperor, and now I'm currently just focusing on my builds for my characters.

 

With games like GTA V, I didn't even bother with the story, just went straight to Online.  Same with Call of Duty.

[Ice Cream Sand Witch]

A game having a lot of postgame content is a positive for me. Although similar to FairFamily, if a game still has story-related events after the credits scene, I consider those events afterward to be the end of the story rather than the credits. For example with GSC/HGSS, a lot of people call Kanto postgame, but I see Kanto as the second half of the story. To me, the end of GSC/HGSS's story is defeating Red. With Pokemon specifically, things I'd consider postgame are: the repeatable rival/Gym Leader/E4/etc. rematches, battle facilities, and unlocking of National Dex with more species of Pokemon showing up in the region (which usually comes with a few new areas to explore). 

 

The kind of postgame events I enjoy doing are sidequests, new areas, and sometimes new game modes and minigames. Of those, I'm most likely to be invested in sidequests and new areas, while minigames in general are hit or miss for me. Some minigames are really fun and could entertain me for a long time, while others I don't really care for. 

[Maelstrom]

It really does depend on the game. As far as canon pokemon games go, I too lose motivation to do post-game stuff. A lot of that stuff is backtracking, or just doing competitive style stuff in battle-towers/trains/etc. Other times its just ludicrous things with Looker, Interpol's daftest agent.

 

A lot of the problem with post-game stuff that I've noticed is that it's usually very vague/open ended and leaves you to discover for yourself by randomly revisiting places you've already tread over hundreds of times before. Some of that is nice sometimes (mostly if it was hinted at early on that you can't go there until X/endgame happens, like Mewtwo and Cerulean Cave), but most of the time linear, directed main stories are nice are because they give you clear goals and destinations to shoot for, encounters to prep for... honestly, the best postgame stuff I'd have to say is stuff that continues the story from the climax that helps tie up lose ends or hints at what's coming next in the series while still providing a challenge. Parts of the stories that you want to find out how it wraps up, but aren't as big and epic as the overarching conclusion of the game's climax. Like, a decent postgame for sun/moon would have had you rooting out the last strongholds of the laughable team skull instead of completely ignoring them to hunt completely absurd and ridiculous 'ultra beasts'.

 

If a game is all wrapped up and finished in all its story lines and tangents, you don't need a post game. But if you wanna provide more challenges and loot that maybe didn't fit in line with the progression of the main story, or tie up the loose ends, the post-game is very important. Like, post-game for a persona game generally doesn't make sense, but it does have a new game+ if you wanna get to things that activities, time, and knowledge did not permit the first time around.

 

You know how some 'based on a true story' movies will have that little captioned slideshow telling how each person ended up after the events of the movie? A good post game is like that. But instead of a slideshow, it's a fulfilling experience that gives the fan closure.

For many a poke fan, post-game content is actually a nuzlocke run. Something to continue the challenge and growth of skills and tactics of the main game. Just keep in mind that most games reward challenge achievers with some kind of mark/emblem/distinctive gear that lets other people see at a glance that they were able to overcome certain challenges and requirements. Games like destiny grant you exotic  or exotic looking gear and weapons, while games like megaman give you a collection of stars at the start screen to tally up your biggest feat completions.

 

Post game is always optional, but many gamers like it more when there is a reason to come back and play a game even after the main story is over.

 

I've a question for you Ame. Imagine you are done with the game, the main story all told and over with. What would be DLC content to you, thinking of it like a commercial game developer? Would you make story segments, reliving the moments that brings to life the backstories of certain reborn characters that were only revealed in exposition in the main game? Playing as them, experiencing the world as them as they live and narrate their lives until they come across that point of no return where they fully become that person that the player meets and interacts with in the main game? What are the possibilities that you see, Ame?

[CURIE]

I mean, Nintendo's little Battle Frontier scandal back in 2014 wouldn't have been such a big deal if the majority of the fans didn't care about the postgame.

[Timber Dragon]

I'll get stoked for it before I finish the game, and then I finish the game and I've either lost steam for it, or the post-game content is either so hard or underwhelming that I stop bothering. That can especially be a problem when the post-game stuff was added for an updated release or remake. Chrono Trigger for the DS comes to mind. Stupid fetch quests...

[SilverAngelus]

I do love a good story, and often I get bored after all the main stuff is done (*cough Pokemon X and Y *cough*) so yes, I do would like a post game, but Ame, if you don't want to create a post game, that's fine by me. I'll respect your decision. But I do want a post game. 

 

Also, hi Evi and Alistair!!!  

[Slicster]

Depends on the subcategory and context of the game.  

 

Game with strategy being the key, I expect to have quality post game content, an example would be RPGs. like Xenoblade

Edited October 26, 2017 by Slicster

[SolTheHoeQween]

If the post-game doesn't have anything to do with the main story whatsoever then I'm uninterested tbh, otherwise I fuccs with it c:

[Amethyst]

3 hours ago, Maelstrom said:

If a game is all wrapped up and finished in all its story lines and tangents, you don't need a post game. But if you wanna provide more challenges and loot that maybe didn't fit in line with the progression of the main story, or tie up the loose ends, the post-game is very important. Like, post-game for a persona game generally doesn't make sense, but it does have a new game+ if you wanna get to things that activities, time, and knowledge did not permit the first time around.

 

You know how some 'based on a true story' movies will have that little captioned slideshow telling how each person ended up after the events of the movie? A good post game is like that. But instead of a slideshow, it's a fulfilling experience that gives the fan closure.

I like that take a lot. 

3 hours ago, Maelstrom said:

I've a question for you Ame. Imagine you are done with the game, the main story all told and over with. What would be DLC content to you, thinking of it like a commercial game developer? Would you make story segments, reliving the moments that brings to life the backstories of certain reborn characters that were only revealed in exposition in the main game? Playing as them, experiencing the world as them as they live and narrate their lives until they come across that point of no return where they fully become that person that the player meets and interacts with in the main game? What are the possibilities that you see, Ame?

I don't really like to think of that because I think DLC is almost always inherently commercial. I think the DLC's I mind the least are things that change how we experience the game. I think of things like skins in leagues, alternate classes in BL, etc. This is stuff that wouldn't really be practical to produce as an extra feature in main development, but that's cool to have later on, and maybe could only be funded that way. As far as story elements, I think if it's that important to the story, it probably should have just been in the main story anyway. Otherwise we don't need it. It's strange writing. It's commecial writing. I dislike that.

It's not effective for me to talk about my plans for Reborn in this context though... because everyone will see that at some point anyway. Moreover, it's best saved for the time we get to it rather than spilling the beans earlier.

Besides (mostly to a couple others), I explicitly said this is not about Reborn. Just in general. Maybe it informs how I think of post-games in the future, but Reborn's is all but slated as is. Right now I think if I can't be bothered to play them how can I make them? I wonder about that. It feels disingenuine. But Reborn needs it, if nothing else. 

[Maelstrom]

Well, first off, please forgive me for that second train of thought that you've quoted. i've spent too much time playing Destiny and Destiny 2, mulling over things in a way that makes commercial sense. It's a thing hard to get away from or ignore when dealing with developers and the desire to put food on the table.

 

In this case, I was just curious if you were willing to flesh out stories that delved in the beginnings and psyches of certain characters or if it would be too personal to the real life inspirations. I was also trying to feel out how receptive you were to putting all that down to painful detail or if you felt that better left as previously stated. When characters are your own, it's one thing. If they're inspired by others, perhaps it's something... you aren't willing to put into words?

 

Be sure, I was simply trying to tie down certain things to comparable tropes and gaming decisions. I think my general idea was to put you in the mindset that IF you had to make something extra, while appealing to the fanbase, worth their hard earned dollars for something extra or added on... what kind of 'dlc' or postgame story would you pursue? I truly understand how such a line of thinking would be how to exploit the fanbase. But rather than that, my line of thinking is what kind of 'extra' things could you include to fully realize every aspect of the complex human situation you are telling within the Reborn story line in order to perhaps answer questions the fanbase has about certain things within the story line. 

 

Everything about your efforts and all those who have helped you along the way have always come at the price of Free. It's a thing that shouldn't need to be stated, but it is a thing that should be known as the labor of love that it is, not of commercial interest. But sometimes it is a helpful framework to imagine if there was a commercial interest to the continuation or a true conclusion of a game, and to consider what such an interest would entail. Enough for a sequel, or enough for a side campaign to truly find everything in their rightful place. You need not place a value on it, simply ask whether or not there would be an interest in the fuller story of something that might be otherwise an aside from the main adventure.

 

The reason I say dic is because the post-game is stuff that should happen after the game. DLC generally encompasses other parts of the story. Mayhaps one could characterize them as chapters of a prequel? A look at all the characters and events in a way that ties them all together and throws all their plans awry with arrival of the game's protagonist, the player.

In the way that a post-game helps cement the conclusion... the dlc or prequel side of things would build up the world and characters' actions up to the point of the start of the game. The point where everyone's efforts collide.

 

You've built quite a rich world that only grinding has kept me away from. I only mean to introduce ideas that would surely keep you busy and away from the project you already stated you wish to work on more wholly. Starlight was it?

 

In anything worth doing... there is so much work to be done.

[Amethyst]

I suppose the consideration of their privacy is generally something to keep hold of, but, well, that hasn't stoppped me before. with permission, granted. but whatever.

I don't really like the idea of if I had to do things either because necessity should not drive design. but that's semantics.

yes, i could see it being reasonable to explore past things or tie up loose ends. answering question. i dont think it should exist -just- for that but it can be a goal. 

[Maelstrom]

1. I've edited my post, so I hope you will read what I've added. It's actually quite a bit because when it comes to some things it takes a while to put into adequate words.

 

2. I forgot what I was gonna say but yeah... um... look at #1?