Anyone else want an unhappy ending?

[gFrohman]

I always thought it would be hilarious if it turned out that G-Man was Gordon's creepy gay stalker...

"Now Dr. Freeman, if you would just...turn around and ... bend over, I will..."

 

[jeepis]

"Turn around, silly pants, I can't wait forever, you know..."

 

[jo291]

I don't want a depressing ending, but I also don't want a candy-coated unicorns happy ending. Somewhere in between would be great; if you had some serious problems taken care of and a lot of good things to look forward to paired up with a lot of other problems still lingering (and perhaps some new issues to take care of), I think that would be most effective (similar to Deus Ex - no matter what end you choose, there's consequences along with good things).

this. also a depresing ending has already happened {ever finished halflife oppising force?shepard is detained for the rest of his existence! just left to sit there and rot.}

 

[jeepis]

You know what? I want cake. I want Half-Life and Portal sort of blend together in the end and I want Gordon to get the cake. It's the least they could give him for saving the f-ing world, right?

 

[gFrohman]

The cake is not a lie.

Alyx: "So, my father's dead, the world's gone to hell, but hey...at least we got this amazing cake, right Gordon?"

Gordon: "..."

Both eat the cake as Kleiner & Magnusson join in...

 

[jeepis]

1. But the cake is made of poison and everyone dies.

2. But the cake is laced with LSD and there's a really ****ing trippy credit sequence.

 

[gFrohman]

It's laced with poisonous-Antlion-grub-essence-laced-LSD so that the Vorts and humans get trippy and die.

 

[jeepis]

You know what would rock? If it turned out that earth is just a combine experiment sort of like in the movie "dark city". The combine just wanted to see the survival instinct in action.

 

[2Fast4U]

You know what would rock? If it turned out that earth is just a combine experiment sort of like in the movie "dark city". The combine just wanted to see the survival instinct in action.

That would suck. And thanks for spoiling the movie.

 

[jeepis]

First of all it would kick ass... Second of all, the only thing I spoiled was that the city is an experiment, nothing more. Those "strangers" are after something other than the survival instinct.
And... How ****ing slow are you if you still haven't seen the movie? FFS, it came out 11 freaking years ago!

 

[Saturos]

Yes, I love un-happy endings where the good guys lose, because good guys winning all the time despite impossible odds is a stupid cliche I'm sick of.

This thread makes the movie "Independence Day" comes to mind.

:|

 

[gFrohman]

Ugh, Independence Day sucked nuts.

I just want to see an ending that doesn't tie all the loose ends.

 

[Hobopro]

Doesn't matter what mood it ends in, as long as the ending is well done.

 

[Nixt]

I want it to be uncertain. I dont want to know if Alyx lives, if G-man lives, if Gordon lives. I want the Combine to be gone. I want for Gordons last act to shut off the Combine from Earth, then something happens like Alyx has to go somewhere else to aid the resistance, and you go with Doctor Kleiner to help him with something and everything goes dark and you cut to Vortigaunts mourning; but you dont know who.

 

[Frits]

Because I'd actually love to see humanities's struggle end in failure. I want the resistance to crumble, morale to be crushed, main characters to sacrifice themselves in vain, Gordon forever forced to live with the fact that he caused a global catastrophe and failed to contain it.

Maybe an idea for a mod? Something like LOTR: Conquest, the evil campaign - playing as the Combine to crush 'em all? Not bad actually, being an übermighty Combine overlord, commanding overly powerful creatures & weapons. Crushing a small number of remaining rebels within seconds, to have a world filled with dirty aliens only to have it taken from your hands by even übermightier Combine overlords...

 

[Frits]

Hm, but I think I'd rather have it end good. And IF Alyx dies that's OK, but only when suddenly an aggressive virus breaks out in a 28-days-kind of way, and Gordon manages to run off in the happy company of an uninfected, dark-haired, All-Star-shoe'd female named Zoey. And after embarking on the last Elven ship, they'll get to roam the Seven Seas for an eternity, or 'till the evil Poseidon eventually passes away, whichever comes 1st.

And then EP4 will probably send us back to the Dark Ages, in which we get to play an early ancestor specialized in unlawfully taking the lives of corrupt politicians.

 

[selizabeth]

I don't want them to - and don't think they will - kill of off Alyx. That would be shocking of course but at this point I don't see it as necessary. With Eli gone I would think Alyx would kind of step up and fill that leadership void along with Gordon.
Besides, Alyx and Gordon are linked... I don't see her dying, unless he goes too.

Other than that I don't know how I'd want it to end. I don't think we'll just see Alyx and Gordon save the entire world, everything goes to sunshine and rainbows, Alyx pops out some Freeman babies and that's the end... but I don't think the ending would be completely bleak either with the human race loosing.

 

[Big_Odessa]

It's laced with poisonous-Antlion-grub-essence-laced-LSD so that the Vorts and humans get trippy and die.

if i had to choose which way i would die i would chose that for sho





i want the game to end with us not knowing who g-man is. i would rather have that over the whole gman=gordan theory. i want it to end with another choice for gordan that the gman offers.

 

[jeepis]

EP3 ends with a "yes, Dr. Freeman, I'm giving you a choice. I REAL choice this time. You actually have a say in this."

EP4 (just for the sake of joke, since HL3 will start a new story arch.) starts with "ahahaha, holy shit, you actually believed me! Idiot!"

 

[Jokko88]

I think that in the very last Half-Life game, which may/may not be HL2:EP3, Gordon should sacrifice himself for humanity. But the player should have to take the choice. Maybe a false choice like HL1, didn't really like the Fallout 3 approach.

 

[6umm]

Gordan losing is the only unhappy ending.
Gordan can never lose.

 

[jeepis]

Every time you write "Gordan", Gordon dies a bit on the inside...

 

[robsters]

think of GordOn to help u remember how to spell

 

[That One Guy]

Something bittersweet. Something that doesn't end with a fade to black, maybe something blunt and sudden.

Judging by the concept art, by the time Gordon and Alyx make it to the Borealis, its too late and its already begun its assimilation by the Combine. The entire arctic is lit up like a war zone. Gordon and Alyx are shot down. Gordon survives the crash, and since he and Alyx's beings are connected (Which would raise the question: If Alyx dies, wouldn't Gordon die too?). You begin the game in the helicopter with all your weapons, but after the crash they are lost.

You crash somewhere far from the site of the research/battle, and the first few chapters of the game are you and Alyx making your way to the Borealis through Combine checkpoints, etc. When you regroup with the Rebels a full-fledged assault on the Borealis ensues. The Borealis is probably being used by the Combine to make contact with their homeworld since its the only source of enough power that the Citadel had. You fight Advisors, and kill them indirectly using technology aboard the vessel.

You are teleported with the remaining Advisor(s) to the other side. You fight the remaining Advisor(s) on the other side, but cannot return to Earth... Yet.

The G-Man approaches you and Alyx, because you are both intertwined in one consiousness. He gives you a choice akin to the ending of Half-Life 1. Either he leaves you to die on the Combine Overworld (the game would end should you choose this of course), or you return to Earth to continue fighting there but are once again enslaved to him. Despite the choice you make Alyx dies by the G-Mans hand, and thusly Gordon must too, eventually.

Despite what happens, the only way for Gordon to be finally free of the G-Man is to die. If Gordon dies, Alyx dies and vice versa.

I know it sounds like a crappy way to end it with the G-Man living and the protagonists dying, but what if the G-Man is Half-Life's amalgamation of the Devil? A constant tormentor of the human race that cannot actually be killed? Considering how personal this game is with Gordon I imagine this ending could be considered bittersweet and not crappy, because Gordon is finally liberated. Perhaps the Vortigaunts could retrieve Gordon's consciousness from the Vortessence? I could see it happening, what about you?

 

[gFrohman]

I dunno - I didn't think that the fact that Gordon & Alyx's Vortessences are weaved together meant that if one dies, the other dies. We don't know enough about the Vortessence to make that call imo. Plus, as the player, I wouldn't want to die if it meant Alyx's death as well - I'd want to find a way around that. What would be more interesting imo would be for Gordon (the player) to seek another choice, a third option (basically giving the G-Man the middle finger and saying "I'm not playing by your rules anymore") - that would be more interesting to me, but it would difficult to execute I would think gameplay-wise.

 

[Hobopro]

On second thought, a happy ending would be quite typical and cheesy in a way.
A sad ending could be more appropriate.

 

[robsters]

probably be a cliff hanger type ending again i hope there will be a half life 3 its annoying its taking years to tell this story of half life

 

[ríomhaire]

If the game starts with a helicopter crash I will be so incredibly disappointed I will have to pause the game and breath deeply for several seconds before resuming.

 

[jeepis]

That's what you do when you're INCREDIBLY DISAPPOINTED? I smash shit when I'm INCREDIBLY DISAPPOINTED...

 

[morgs]

If the game starts with a helicopter crash I will be so incredibly disappointed I will have to pause the game and breath deeply for several seconds before resuming.

lol, I don't think that'll happen considering Ep1/2 started with a crash/explosion.

Back on topic though, I would like to see the G-man crumble, and the combine eradicated, but leave the human race in the struggle to rebuild and recover.

 

[robsters]

lol, I don't think that'll happen considering Ep1/2 started with a crash/explosion.

Back on topic though, I would like to see the G-man crumble, and the combine eradicated, but leave the human race in the struggle to rebuild and recover.

yeah sounds like the best way to end it. wonder if that will be the end of half life :/ mayb there wont be a half life 3 otherwise the story going on forever and to be honest is there anything left to tell once earth is saved from the combine?

 

[barbarbarbarbar]

Actually it would be cool if we had a cliffhanger , but with a hint of what might happen next

 

[MrJenkins01]

I would like the resistance to win, but at a cost, such as a main character dying or something. I don't want a completely unhappy ending but the human race needs to suffer a it before they win. I wouldn't mind a cliff hanger either because that would mean there is a hl3.

 

[Victor2]

There's no unhappy ending fro EP3, I believe this only possible outcome of EP3's plot a bucket full of EPIC WIN.

 

[coldacid]

Gordon, Alyx and Dr Kleiner encounter a transhuman who is ordered to kill them and a bunch of other rebels, but after an impassioned "..." from Gordon, changes his mind (and allegiance) and helps them escape. Then, the four of them use Combine portal technology to visit the many worlds subjugated by the Combine, killing the Advisors on each world and setting them free.

After running into a group of Advisors who are themselves in rebellion against the Combine, and gaining awesome technology from a vort-like race from another galaxy, they ramp up their campaign, defeating Advisor after advisor. The transhuman forces (and other subjugated slaves) begin to rise up as well, and before long, the Combine is defeated.

Then, we find out about the G-Man's true past, and his "cousins" who are worse than the Combine, come to force our galaxy to worship them and defeat the G-Man and his associates. Gordon and friends fight them, eventually using technology long forgotten to defeat them, and are able to convince their commanders in our galaxy that the G-Man's people aren't to be worshipped.

Their job done, the foursome step through yet another portal to explore many new worlds.

...

Wait. I just ripped off SG-1, didn't I.

 

[Eejit]

There's no happy ending,
so they say,
Not for me anyway,
Should I stop pretending?
Take a chance to build a brand new day?

 

[jeepis]

^Gordon says that and then Barney ruins the moment by yelling "Holy ****ING SHIT! YOU CAN TALK!?!"

 

[Au-heppa]

I want an ending where G-man goes evil and starts flying with his briefcase and starts shooting million rockets from his mouth and before Gordon can do any damage to him he has to shoot the briefcase and when he would both it and the G-man would fall but in different locations and G-man would try to find it and if he would he would start flying again and Gordon would have to take the briefcase before he does so with the gravity gun and throw it into one of those Portal fire things. Then G-man would get really really angry and he would start summoning ghosts and the ghosts would look exactly like Gordon's previous enemies but you could see they are ghosts because they would be transparent and they would try to block Gordon's way so that he couldn't shoot G-man but when he would have finally got enough damage he would explode, but then before his last dying breath he would say something like "What have you done, now the other bad guy is coming!"

 

[jet_porkins]

I want another clue as to who the Gman is and what his real mission is. We gain clues in all three of the HL2's, I imagine we will get another one.

It seems to me like both sad and happy endings are becoming cliche in their own way. Whatever it is I want it to be jaw-droppingly epic. Last time I actually dropped my jaw at a game was at the end of Mass Effect when you persuade the (semi)final boss to shoot himself. I was too busy having a blast with the last fight in episode 2 to have any physical reaction other than my child-like giddy grin at the burning, dynamic intensity of tearing down one Strider after another while ripping through packs of hunters.

I'm not sure which effect I prefer, but I want HL2:3 to do do one of those two at the end.

I don't like the word "happy," but I'd be more partial for a positive-leaning ending than negative, similar to a lot of single-storyline trilogies. The first episode gives a sense of triumph, while the second ends on a down note. The conclusion can be a toss-up, but shouldn't have a darker mood than the ending of the second episode. I'm not asking for a Star Wars VI ending, but something that alludes to a sign of victory for the resistance, but allows for thought-provoking questions to resonate with the player.

Something tells me Valve will take the "wtf?" approach and leave the player in a shocked state. Maybe they will end it like they ended HL2, compelling the player to yell "NOOOOOOOOOO!" at the top of his/her lungs. I don't want a repeat of that. Don't get me wrong, HL2's ending was perfect, but I think I've seen enough of that for one series.

 

[amaranth]

I don't like the word "happy ending," but I'd be more partial to a positive-leaning ending than negative...

I'm not asking for a Star Wars VI ending, but something that alludes to a sign of victory for the resistance, but allows for thought-provoking questions to resonate with the player.

This.