About the ending (amongst other things)
I’m still processing the massive amount of feedback I’ve received from those of you who have played Dreamfall: The Longest Journey, so it’ll be a little while longer before I can gather my thoughts and post something meaningful to wrap it all up. It’s really amazing and heartening, however, to see that the response so far has been overwhelmingly positive – particulary in regards to the story (with some possible reservations; see below) and the characters. Even those who aren’t completely happy with the game have had an emotional response to it (4/10). Love it or…not, you can’t help feeling something. The game stirs emotions. Strong ones. Which is great, and totally in line with what we set out to do.
Yesterday marked my going-back-to-work-proper-after-finishing-Dreamfall …day, so I’m finally getting back into my regular routine again, and I’ll be more, um, regular with my posts from now until – well, until E3, which is the week after next, actually. Wheee! I’ve been busy with interviews this week, from my virgin breakfast TV appearance on Monday – live TV sounds a bit intimidating, but it turned out to be jolly good fun – to my very first live radio show this morning. (‘Live’ being this week’s theme, then.) Throw in another radio show today, a taped TV appearance last week, and various newspaper and website interviews – it’s been pretty busy, and I’m starting to strongly dislike the sound of my own voice. And there’s more to come. But it’s all good fun, to be honest. I love speaking about the game and spreading the word, and it’s not every year I get to shout from the rooftops about a new release. Or every other year.
(In fact, it’s been a while. Too bloody long. The next game is definitely not going to take three years to make.)
Right then, enough jabbering, and on to the reason most of you are reading this post:
The ending.
(Ahem.)
I’m not going to discuss any particulars at this stage, because it’s too early, and part of the fun (and/or frustration) is figuring out what it all means, discussing it with other players, arguing, screaming, shouting, kicking, laughing, crying – cursing my name. We’ve certainly encouraged conversation and stirred up some controversy, haven’t we? I will talk about a couple of things, however – after the jump. So do not continue reading unless you’ve played through the game, all right? I wouldn’t want to spoil anything for anyone.
Are we alone now? Good. Take your clothes off– Wait, no, wrong forum.
First off – and sorry for being cryptic – but Dreamfall (the game) finishes the story of Dreamfall (the game). It may not seem like that to everyone who’s played it, at least for the time being, but it does. Dreamfall’s story is a story about faith and the story of Faith. It’s about a little girl who needs to let go, and it’s about three people’s journeys – both physical and metaphysical – and those journeys do reach an end. It may not wrap up everything (or, you know, much at all), but it does wrap up some things, the most important things (as far as this game is concerned), and that was the point of this (part of the) story.
(Feel free to scream at me now for being a) complicated, b) obtuse, or c) cryptic – but do read the rest of this post before commenting on it. Please.)
Secondly, Dreamfall was from day one designed as the first part of a two-part story…and also the middle part of a trilogy. (Which again is part of a larger saga. Phew. No wonder people are getting confused. I’m getting a headache myself.) There are lots of unanswered questions because the story isn’t over. Yet. I know exactly where it’s going and how it will end, and I know how the next game plays out, chapter by chapter. It’s been planned from the get-go. We’re not making this up as we go along. Promise. I hated that about The X-Files. I felt so cheated when I realised that the writers had no idea where the show was heading. Betrayed, even. The thing I love about Lost is that I have faith in the writers. They’ve told me they know where it’s going, that there’s a Plan, and I trust them. I can deal with the frustrations and the cliffhangers and the cryptic clues because I know there’s a point to it all, and that it (probably? hopefully?) won’t disappoint. So try and trust me on this: this story has an ending. I know what it is. It hasn’t been told yet.
Because, yes, the story will be completed. If, for some reason (the collapse of Western civilisation, for example) I don’t get to make an interactive (emphasis on ‘interactive’) sequel, I will do everything I can to complete the story in some other way – be it through the pages of a comic book, a novel, a serial on my website – or, if all else fails, just sending out my super-secret story notes to anyone who’s remotely interested. I know that it would be horribly, incredibly, unbelievably frustrating to never find out how it all ends, and I’ll work hard to make sure that no one who’s invested in Dreamfall (or The Longest Journey) will be cheated out of a proper conclusion – to this part of the saga, at least.
Of course, at this point I trust that I’ll be able to make Dreamfall 2 (the game!) soon(ish), at which point the story will be wrapped up, most of your questions answered, and everyone (hopefully) satisfied. Or at least sated. You see, it could be that some questions aren’t supposed to have answers – and even if they do (and they do), you’re not supposed to know them.
After all, don’t forget what Cortez said in The Longest Journey:
“You see, señorita, mystery is important. To know everything, to know the whole truth, is dull. There is no magic in that. Magic is not knowing, magic is wondering about what and how and where.”
I just finished Dreamfall and I am actually scrachting the wood of my desk with my fingernails. OMG, that ending has KILLED me. I love the story, so so much that I don’t know what I’m gonna do until the next game is released.
The first game was so cool. I cried when crow appeared at the end, so his appearance at Dreamfall was such a pleasant surprise!! I hope that in the third game it appears also!
Dying in thirst for more TLJ…
Lyd.
I’ll keep it short and sweet. My problem with Dreamfall is that it was labeled as a “game.” Games feature heavily on gameplay, but the gameplay in Dreamfall did make it more like interactive fiction, not a game. Additionally, calling something a game implies some level of completion, even if there is a follow up, but there is no completion here. If I had known that this was “part one of a two-part interactive work of fiction” I would not have purchased it as it currently is.
I am afraid that I am both disappointed and I have lost my faith in this franchise. Lack of resolution doesn’t equate to complexity, and an episodic release only pushes this gamer further away.
Hey Ragnar. Just wanted to tell you that I just loved Dreamfall. I have just played through it, and now I’m going to by The longest journey to play that too (I always play games from newest to oldest, I don’t know why =S.. I did the same with Zelda).. Well, anyways.. Dreamfall had especially a good story, and reaally good music! I can’t wait till the next game comes out
!
Heidi.
Hey, i’m another one of the slow types. Just finished Dreamfall 15 minutes ago and i’ve been furiously searching the web to get a clue on the next game in the series… why?
Well, what can i say, i simply loved the ending. I saw all the annoyed people yelling left and right that the ending sucks, but even if it left me *NEEDING* to know what happened, i stepped back and saw that Dreamfall’s ending ties up enough loose ends. As i see it, the game is about Zoe, Stark and Faith, not about April, Kian and Arcadia. The ending, although frustrating, tied up Stark somewhat and left enough work in Arcadia for TLJ3 to cover. I’m extremely pleased and i must say that Dreamfall was one of the few sequels which actually rose up to the expectations.
TLJ was a game that really marked my childhood (in a good way
) and now i’m 10 years later getting as involved in Arcadia and Stark as i was back in grade school – and by the amount of games i play nowadays, that’s something (as in, i haven’t played a game in half a year and stumbled upon Dreamfall by accident).
Don’t know if you’re still checking this topic, but i want you to know that this story, even if i don’t know the ending yet, is one of the most beautiful stories i ever encountered in a movie, book or videogame. Dreamfall is the best example of a game being made for quality, in an age of WoW and 2 FIFA’s a year. Bravo.
[quote]My problem with Dreamfall is that it was labeled as a “game.” Games feature heavily on gameplay, but the gameplay in Dreamfall did make it more like interactive fiction, not a game.[/quote]
I must agree with you about the gameplay, but I’m not frustated at all. Dreamfall was one of the most intense experiences I had in the arts field (included books, movies).
I have to say I have finished this game 3 times…barely…when I started this game I was so excited,so fascinated about everything,the graphics,story,especially the graphics,much better then the first one I can’t comapare lol,well different times…although TLJ a that time had a preety amazing graphic,especially the movie parts,I could comapare it to the graphics we see in games today.It’s the longest adventure game I have ever played,it’s amazing,beyond words,I played it with an obssessesion and finished it in just 4 days,throughtout the game I was captivated,I felt like I was there,adventure games are my favourite,I could comapare TLJ to the Syberia series,Broken Sword was my 1st,but the 4th one a total dissapointment,KOTOR,beautiful,when it didn’t screw up the ending,the problem with games these days it’s that they’re focused more and more on platforms and less on PCs,I mean hello,most ppl that play games have PCs and not platforms,they screwed up with The Force Unleashed too,I can’t imagine playing TLJ on a platform,I think it would be preety hard for me.Back to the game,as most ppl here I agreed that the ending was terrible,it literaly almost made me cry,I mean I got so attached to the characters,especially April,she was my favourite,just to find out she gets killed in the end,Zoe dies too,Kian is taken prisoner and I think also executed,I mean wow,that sucks,all those hours I spent playing this game for nothing,I’m not saying this in a threatening or mean way but more in a desperate way,you better make an ending to this game,for all our sakes.I read in wikipedia about the Kins,and April’s ties to them,the White Kin,her “sister”.It said there the White Kin was dead at the end of TLJ but reborned in her daughter later in Dreamfall,also mentioned April’s ties to the Kins,when she called April her daughter,it might be April has some of the Kins herself,biologically or phisically,seeing as they’re reborned I was wondering and thinking it would make a lot of sense,seeing April’s ties to them that she might also be reborned,well that’s just my theory.As for Zoe,she was not as strong as April,but was somewhat determined and driven by curiosity and the will to save her friend Reza.At the end they show “Reza” her saying that is not really him,and that the real one is dead,so yes except for the fact eveyone good in the game dies lol,Zoe ends up in some kind of imaginary state,place,like the Dreamcore (I thought that was an amazing thing,I drawed it for my school project) that Zoe might also find herself in Arcadia later with April,and they might save Kian or something or maybe he found a way to escape himself.I don’t know,it’s only a theory I am entitled to an oppinion and that’s how I’d like it to be
a nice,good ending where everyone is reborned again,but seeing as I’m a huge April fan,I don’t mind if you’d only bring her to live again 
great work,best adventure game I’ve ever played,you’re a genious,don’t dissapoint us pls!!
Oh,also forgot to add the gameplay was a bit dissapointing too,I really hated the fight scenes,specially the one when Zoe fights with that guy from the apartments,it took me ages to beat him,so either you make a good combat mode or none at all lol,the puzzles also lacked a bit but they were ok.I think you should keep the story as fascinating and deep as the 1st one,the puzzles the same and a better combat mode or like I said none at all.And I meant I barely finished the game not coz of difficulty it was rather easy for me,the ending,I felt the need to play the game again very bad but didn’t want to get to the dissapointing end
that was the hard part