--- 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 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 --- # Secret early ending id: game-mechanics--gm-secret-early-ending type: mechanic key: mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-secret-early-ending lang: en status: active url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-secret-early-ending/ An unusual early choice ends the story before its main route. ## At a glance ![Far Cry 4: Pagan Min returns to the hero who stayed in the dining room.](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/world-secret-early-ending.webp) [Far Cry 4](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/secret-early-ending) · 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. [Source recording](https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/webm/far_cry_4_alternate_ending.webm), 4.75 s 1. A character’s return after waiting - Make the alternative outcome understandable and preserve main-route progress. - [Far Cry 4](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/secret-early-ending) ## How it works An unusual early choice ends the story before its main route. ## Variants ### How the technique works - An unusual early choice ends the story before its main route. ## Context and limits 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. ## Connected materials ## Sources and 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. - [Game Mechanics: Secret early ending](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/secret-early-ending) (id: source-0c93f1710ea1bea2) - [Far Cry 4 (2014)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/secret-early-ending/game/far-cry-4) (id: source-814bb5b87282bddd) - [Far Cry 5 (2018)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/secret-early-ending/game/far-cry-5) (id: source-1dd2967ca69fba66) - [Far Cry 6 (2023)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/secret-early-ending/game/far-cry-6) (id: source-519469c9072fd0d1) CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors