{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-secret-early-ending","type":"mechanic","id":"game-mechanics--gm-secret-early-ending","lang":"en","title":"Secret early ending","summary":"An unusual early choice ends the story before its main route.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-secret-early-ending/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-secret-early-ending.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-secret-early-ending.md","aliases":[],"tags":["Game design techniques","Story"],"sourceIds":["source-0c93f1710ea1bea2","source-814bb5b87282bddd","source-1dd2967ca69fba66","source-519469c9072fd0d1"],"sources":[{"id":"source-0c93f1710ea1bea2","title":"Game Mechanics: Secret early ending","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/secret-early-ending","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-814bb5b87282bddd","title":"Far Cry 4 (2014)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/secret-early-ending/game/far-cry-4","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-1dd2967ca69fba66","title":"Far Cry 5 (2018)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/secret-early-ending/game/far-cry-5","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-519469c9072fd0d1","title":"Far Cry 6 (2023)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/secret-early-ending/game/far-cry-6","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"An unusual early choice ends the story before its main route."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### How the technique works\n\n<a id=\"gm-secret-early-ending-rule\"></a>\n\n- An unusual early choice ends the story before its main route. <a id=\"gm-secret-early-ending-definition\"></a>"},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"All 199 Game Mechanics entries at the check date: player actions, systems, presentation techniques and contested patterns. Entries are grouped by their first source-card category; all categories appear in their descriptions. Definitions use original wording. References link to game-specific galleries; images and videos remain at the source."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"game-mechanics","id":"gm-secret-early-ending","title":"Game design techniques","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/game-mechanics/#gm-secret-early-ending","categoryIds":["gm-category-story"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Secret early ending","description":"An unusual early choice ends the story before its main route.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/world-secret-early-ending.webp","width":600,"height":332,"game":"Far Cry 4","sourceUrl":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/secret-early-ending","originalUrl":"https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/webm/far_cry_4_alternate_ending.webm","sourceFrameSeconds":4.75,"credit":"Ubisoft Montréal; frame from clip via GameMechanics.org","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Source host: GameMechanics.org. Visible source watermarks preserved. All rights reserved; excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"Pagan Min returns to the hero who stayed in the dining room","alt":"Far Cry 4: Pagan Min returns to the hero who stayed in the dining room.","markers":[{"x":56,"y":46,"label":"A character’s return after waiting"}]},"tips":["Make the alternative outcome understandable and preserve main-route progress."],"examples":[{"title":"Far Cry 4","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/secret-early-ending"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Editorial reference index based on the 199 public Game Mechanics pattern pages checked on 2026-10-20. Original concise RU/EN definitions by gamemechanics.pro; pattern names, category associations and game-reference URLs retained from gamemechanics.org. The source gallery includes a film analogy. Linked materials retain their original rights; references are upstream attributions, not independent verification.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/game-mechanics"}}