Disappointed in the ending [spoilers]

[bot]

I gotta say, I really really dug this game. I like the whole style, and it's a got a great flow to it.
You spend the game really trying to make people in this world happy and through that I actually managed to have a really visceral connection to Dropsy.

The whole story is that although Dropsy is this creepy clown thing, he works past the people's preconceived notions of him and with love, they work past that to learn to love Dropsy.

It's actually quite a powerful tale, one that's very counter to the many revenge stories that are in many games.

Towards the end we learn that Dropsy is an alien but don't actually learn who sets the circus blaze. Dropsy never gets to confront that truth whether he accidentaly started or confronting the person who did do it.

At the very end, S-Guy has turned out to be trying to get everyone to hate Dropsy but we never really learn why. Because everyone can see past Dropsy for his looks they love him anyway. This ends with the S-guy confronting Dropsy on some alien otherwold where your only option is to hug the man who has been trying to ruin your life.

Had Dropsy managed to hug him, this would of been a very poignant and memorable ending. You're on a beautiful journey all throughout, on a mission to make everyone happy, because that is what Dropsy is all about. He's love and forgiveness and no matter what someone tries to do, he won't ever stop. But instead Dropsy is unable to complete his mission and falls over, he's then ascended to an alien world... or heaven? It's all confusing and cynical and feels really out of place with the rest of the game.

Dropsy's nightmares are never addressed, if he was in some sort of heaven-scape, it would of hit more if it felt like one of Dropsy's nightmares.

The game managed to build up a lot of emotional ammo that could of been used but it makes a left turn.

Again, I liked the game and I'm only dissapointed int hings that I really enjoy, it had an emotional impact, but the ending is deflating just a bit. It just seems like a weird choice to end it that way.

[Jay Tholen]

I'm sorry that you didn't enjoy the end. :'( It's interesting how varying opinions on it are. Some feel that it was natural, and even guessed many of the bits at the end before they happened. Others found it jarring and sudden. While this is understandable, I wouldn't call the end cynical by any stretch. It wasn't written to subvert the game's gentleness.

I wanted to do a lot of 'show, not tell' in the game. There are answers to the fire and why the S-guy did what he did that can be discovered in the world. The end sequences were planned in 2011, at the beginning of development, and haven't really changed since then. It's all grounded in a bed of lore that I've been nurturing for a while.

[Yohmi]

I would have expected Dropsy's kindness to win over the the entire universe, but it failed… I always thought that guy had bad intentions though, even if his smile at each hug made me doubting. Still, though I can't tell I was disappointed by the ending (except the fact that the ending of a good adventure game is always a sad moment), but I had wished a better ending for Dropsy, not only with his deceased relatives, but in the world who once loved him, hated him, and learned to love him again after so much effort.
Yet, I think Dropsy is closer to art than many games, so in some ways, I don't want to judge much the story, it shouldn't match my expectations in first place, just like I don't go to a museum to see what I want to see from artists, but to let them inspire me. Dropsy did, even if he ended on a throne (which isn't to me a good reward as I don't think he cares much about that, and it reminds me more of Conker's Bad Fur Day, haha :P).
Maybe winning over the bad guy in a final confrontation, and then walking in the world that now always looks like his happy dream world, psychedelic colourful and synced on tune, would have made more sense to me ^^

[bot]

I really appreciate your reply and you guys made a great and memorable game.

I just felt that this was a story about the redemptive power of love. Although the lore is interesting and you guys did a great job showing a story, I felt that core element of Dropsy is more important that the overarching lore of the story. I felt that the lore story that was being told undercut the emotional journey of the game, which was to change the world through small acts of kindness. The ending built on lore that you've been submrged in for years was not as important as the organic sympathy you get from Dropsy.

Dropsy goes around building up goodwill throughout the town and I felt that didn't pay off. Dropsy needed to hug his brother, or at least the fact that he could not hug him needed to be more impactful. That moment was the climax of the game and for Dropsy to just be shot right there and then beamed to a spaceship (or die) felt underwhelming for what the game seemed to be about.

This is just feedback from someone who had a great time playing the game and I wouldn't be giving it if I didn't think it deserved it. I'm of course not saying that the ending should change or needed to change to fit what I want. This is just my feelings on the game.

If you did another Kickstarter I would definately be a backer on another project.

[Walkeriffic]

Interesting impression! Reading in to the presented lore within the game's universe, I felt the ending was extremely natural. Dropsy actually getting S-Man's affection in the end, I think, would have undermined their core differences of character...Dropsy spent his days working hard to help others and show them love and, despite their initial misplaced wariness of him, earns their love in return (hence everyone you aided working together to hide Dropsy's getaway in the ending sequence)... and the S-Man did exactly the opposite. The people in town clearly didn't trust S-Man, and they were right in doing so... so how would that have looked to them if he and Dropsy casually strolled back arm-in-arm after all the atrocities he'd committed? That would have undermined everything, I believe: the town's trust in Dropsy, and S-Man's innate desire for power and unearned respect.

I'm usually very anti-"oh by the way: aliens" types of endings, but there was so much obviously going on behind the scenes and without Dropsy's knowledge of his past in this game, and so much actual alien evidence in-universe that it made sense.

The only thing that I think could have made the ending better were if Dropsy had opted to return home after finding out about himself, since he'd grown to love everyone there so deeply... but then, maybe he did? We don't exactly see anything in regards to "after" - It just fades out on his reunion hug with (who I assume to be) his birth mother. Some closure after that point could certainly give even more feels! ;o)

[Iso Koala]

I loved the ending. <3

The dev could have gone for a melodramatic ending where Dropsy dies, and it would have worked too, but I was happy that the ending was happy. All the characters protecting Dropsy at the end was a good touch.

And the frustrated S guy who wanted to kill Dropsy...well, he was his elder brother and wanted to take over the throne by killing his two brothers. The mommy didnt like the plan and never took him back to the ship. Its dropsys Dad`s statue at the end where you meet the S guy, your brother, the last time by the way.

Perfect ending to an absolutely perfect game. Bravo.

[bot]

Walkeriffic: Well Dropsy's whole thing is about forgiveness and love. He helped people who were cruel to him, who hurt him. He overcomes whatever hatred they had for him. It's a really great message for a game to have and I think it needed some payoff in the end. I'm also against the notion that an ending can only be truely appreciated if one found out about obscure hints at lore peppered throughout the game. I mean, I appreciate that stuff as much as anyone, I loved Fez for that reason, but the core experience shouldn't be dependant on it. So to have an ending that didn't have much to do with my core experience and Dropsy's emotional journey and instead relied on knowldge of optional content it was a bit jarring.

Iso: I think the hug at the end of the game would of had more of an impact if the theme of the game was Dropsy's journey to feel like he belonged or needed a family. But I didn't find that. Dropsy had a family, yes one died but he still loved his dad and his dad loved him. Dropsy's ability was to take an environment that was aggresive towards him and build a family around him.

So Dropsy didn't need a world where he belonged or finally have a real mother, he had those.

[Iso Koala]

I can agree with you there, I actually felt a bit sorry for the dad and the dead mother, when the game ended at Dropsy meeting his biological mother. The mother who raised him loved him too and was his mother after all.

[bot]

Yeah, I mean my first reaction was "who is this woman" and then I sort of put it together. But it's not as if Dropsy was lacking for parents. He had a family that loved him already.

[Jay Tholen]

Video Games: There's more to Dropsy's origin and biological family that may have made the ending feel better, but I don't want to spill anything in case I return to this universe again. We really wanted to include the option to teleport back to the gameworld to wrap up any loose ends and see the positive impact you've had - but it proved to be too much work for the time/budget remaining.

I can't fault anyone at all for not liking how it ends. Some of my favorite books veer into territory that I'm not too keen on. Ending the story at all is going to isolate a percentage of players - regardless of what happens with the characters.

[bot]

Ending anything is always difficult and you can never predict how it's is going to be received. Again, I really liked the emotional journey and the character's redemptive motivation of niavely trying to make the world a better place, and accomplsihing that goal through small acts of kindness.

You made a game that's stuck with me days after I finished it so I want to thank you for that.

Thanks also for listening to my feedback. I hope I presented it in a constructive way.

[Jay Tholen]

Oh for sure, it's been fine. :)

[Fishy]

The payoff for the goodwill Dropsy showed to the townspeople is their help during the final chase scene. They distracted the police and guided him to the villain because they cared about him! Even though the villain may be irredeemable, the world is conscious of Dropsy's good influence.

It'd be too much in my opinion, but maybe allies could reiterate "(crowd) or (me) (heart) (dropsy)" during the chase.

This game made me feel really good, Jay!

[Sir Kermitton]

I have similar feelings about the game as the OP. I loved the overall story and theme but the ending felt underwhelming.

It's not so much that you turn out to be an alien or being beamed aboard the ship that kills it for me, but the fact that you're the long lost king of aliens was where I started to say "Ok, this is a bit much."

[Kobe Tyrant]

I played and beat this game within one sitting two days ago. I have to echo Video Game's criticisms. I'm not one that needs plot points spelled out for him, I actually enjoy some ambiguity in my games. Does Dropsy die? Did he really get sent to where he came from? It doesn't matter, what matters is Dropsy's effect on the town and the people around him. He brought joy and happiness to many. Still, I feel like the ending was abrupt, and out of left-field. What about the dream sequences? They were just totally left on the table, even though they hinted at more. There was a lot of hinting towards something more going on within Dropsy's psyche that wasn't explored enough imo. And yes, the story about love and caring for your neighbor didn't have enough of a payoff.
Still Jay, I enjoyed your game very much, and recommend it to friends despite the ending. Keep doing what you're doing.

[mangle fnaf (real) #TransRights]

Originally posted by Jay Tholen:

Video Games: There's more to Dropsy's origin and biological family that may have made the ending feel better, but I don't want to spill anything in case I return to this universe again. We really wanted to include the option to teleport back to the gameworld to wrap up any loose ends and see the positive impact you've had - but it proved to be too much work for the time/budget remaining.

I can't fault anyone at all for not liking how it ends. Some of my favorite books veer into territory that I'm not too keen on. Ending the story at all is going to isolate a percentage of players - regardless of what happens with the characters.

Don't you listen to them! The ending was awesome!