The Outros

[pcj]

Well, do you have any ideas for the ending then?

[olzen]

Not apart from the one we had until now. But to stir it all up a bit, allow me to say that I was always quite the skeptic about Vohaul turning nice...

[Datadog]

It's not that he has to become a cliched "over-the-top" nice guy. It's better to imagine him as a former villain whose mind has been freed of all anxiety. He's been given a new lease on life with a conscience to guide him.

I like pcj's thought that both endings can lead to alternate outcomes for the SQ universe. They each ultimately end in victory for Roger, but in one ending, Vohaul continues to be his immortal enemy, and in another, chooses to be an ally.

So in the first ending, we can close it off with the glowing red eye. No problem there. We just need to figure out how it leads up to that point; as in, what manages to bring Vohaul back to life? What vital plot point could we have missed out on that will come back to haunt us at this point? This could be a good chance to pull a nice twist of an ending.

I feel we can do something great with both endings. If written properly, both endings can still fit perfectly into the style of the game without missing a beat. I think it's more important we try to have as much fun with these as we can.

[Datadog]

Still having trouble with coming up with a "glowing red eye" ending. How much do you really want one of these, Olzen? We should at least come up with several possible outcomes before deciding on one. There may be a million better ways to end it than with just a scary eye. Vohaul hasn't been threatening enough throughout the course of this game to take just his eye seriously.

Maybe we should all write down different endings for both sides of the story and pick out the elements from the ones we like the most? I think we could stitch together some awesome ideas. Just scramble together a bunch of ideas for endings - happy endings, sad endings, surprise endings, scary endings, killing-spree endings, musical number endings, retarded endings, and even endings that make absolutely no sense. I think we should go nuts on these.

[mjomble]

Hmm, perhaps we could even work more than two different endings into the final game if we get good enough ideas.

[Datadog]

Well, M:I-2 had close to 20 other endings that I never bothered to make. I think our two alternate endings should suffice though.

I just think if we throw enough ideas out there, something will eventually come together, so we shouldn't get hung up on trying to make one thing work if there's other possibilities.

In the realm of "musical" ideas that'll get canned, I spent three minutes today listening to Prince's "Crazy" on the radio and imagined a montage of all the characters dancing to it during the credits of the happy ending. That being said - CANNED! Let us never speak of this again.

EDIT: While trying to come up with a "glowing eye" ending, it reminded me of the ending of "The One" where we see Jet Li battling prisoners on top of the pyramid with Papa Roach playing in the background and him shouting "I WILL BE THE ONE!" Might be funny if that was Vohaul, but it wouldn't make a lick of sense. I'll try to come up with less plagarization on my next set of ideas.

[pcj]

I'll try to come up with less plagarization on my next set of ideas.

On the other hand, we could have Roger remove the hamster and leave, thinking everything was all right, they go to Radon and fetch the Mallard, as they start to leave the surface we cut back to the moon.

Vohaul's eye glows red. The computer shows:

"BACKUP SYSTEM ONLINE."

Zoom in on the wheel in Vohaul; on the other side of the wheel (it's a double residency hamster apartment apparently) we see another hamster in bed, yawning and stretching as it wakes up and gets on the wheel.

The scientist, still there, sees what happens.

"Oh my..."

Vohaul's fist reaches out to choke the scientist, the chair shoots up to another level, inside a ship.

Vohaul pursues the Mallard, somehow gets distracted, drives into a freighter hauling manure.

Vohaul's ship plows right into the freighter, giving Roger and Bea the chance to escape.

Close on Vohaul, covered in manure:

"Manure! I hate manure!" (a la Biff Tannen)

THE END

[olzen]

Still having trouble with coming up with a "glowing red eye" ending. How much do you really want one of these, Olzen?

It wasn't my idea as much as pcj's and I doubt any of us never meant it to be more than a cool visual to end the game with. It'd just signify that Vohaul has gone bad again. Nothing more than that and looking pretty good.

Well, as for the endings that have been suggested now, I'm really not sure. But I still think the current one where Vohaul is sitting in front of the TV works nicely. Remember how utterly ticked-off he gets when Roger appears on the TV in that SQ2 comic? I mean, he's more pissed in that comic panel than he is in any of the games. Now, if that could make him go crazy like that, it could probably trigger his old persona to come back.

Suppose we look at this from a schizophrenia-like perspective? Vohaul's old personality has not been "killed", but supressed. Not that we're gonna show Vohaul talking to himself like Gollum, but the scientist could try to mention (while Roger and Bea are walking away) that it is possible that, after a shock related to his past, the old Vohaul can overtake the new one. We wouldn't hear the scientist's full message, but we'd realize what he tried to say when Vohaul worked out the name "Roger Wilco" in front of the TV.

[mjomble]

But I still think the current one where Vohaul is sitting in front of the TV works nicely.

Did I miss something?

[olzen]

Yes. This.

(fade to black and fade in)

VOHAUL is sitting in front of a TV

ANNOUNCER ON TV (unseen, just a voice): "And now, we present - the timeless intergalactic war classic, 'The Space Elevator On Planet Qai'!"

(sounds of explosions and shots)

MALE VOICE: "Ahh! They're charging in! They're charging in! Perimeter defense has fallen!"

MALE VOICE #2: "Get a hold of yourself, lad! Gather your forces and charge! Over and out."

MALE VOICE: "Yes, sir. Roger, wilco."

VOHAUL springs to life as if some life-changing realization has just come upon him.

VOHAUL: "Roger... wilco... roger... wilco..."

(beat)

VOHAUL: "Roger Wilco."

(fade to black - on the black screen, VOHAUL's eye appears, glowing red)

VOHAUL (off-screen): "Now I remember..."

[Datadog]

But at this point, he already has a bad case of schizophrenia going on in his head. The whole point of that last chapter is to stop it.

I'd sooner imagine Never Kenezer going through a Gollum-like state.

[mjomble]

As far as suggesting random ideas for endings goes, one of them could have all the detonite in the moon exploding.

Not sure how it'd be written in, but it'd probably look awesome. (and be a pain to animate, so it probably won't go in)

[Datadog]

I was thinking about that too. It'd be cool if shortly after you left, Vohaul woke up long enough to press the "blow up the moon" button, destroying the entire universe.

But it wouldn't be possible, because they didn't set the charges yet.

Animating it wouldn't be so bad, though. With my Particle Illusion program, I can pull off some pretty crazy explosions.

[mjomble]

But it wouldn't be possible, because they didn't set the charges yet.

Well, technically, since they're setting the charges for safe remote detonation, it might be possible to set off a less controlled chain reaction with a smaller explosion at some critical spot or something.

And Vohaul could have some sort of a 'Plan B' button.

[pcj]

But it wouldn't be possible, because they didn't set the charges yet.

Well, technically, since they're setting the charges for safe remote detonation, it might be possible to set off a less controlled chain reaction with a smaller explosion at some critical spot or something.

And Vohaul could have some sort of a 'Plan B' button.

Kind of like Armageddon!