The traditional way to finish a game is to put a big boss fight at the end. This isn’t really appropriate for a lot of games — it makes no sense to end a stealth game or a puzzle-heavy game with a big battle.
Here are 5 ways to end a game without a big fight — I’m sure you can think of more:
- End with a big puzzle with randomly changing conditions that the player must constantly adapt to
- Put time pressure on normally slower paced gameplay — end with a race or a timer to reach an objective
- Instead of fighting the boss, have the player create an elaborate trap to dispatch him — make the player feel clever rather than powerful
- End with a major dilemma: “Be good or evil?”, “Capture the criminal or save your girlfriend?”, “Keep on your initial side, or join the rebels you were originally fighting?”…
- Give the player a single hit point: he must play perfectly to succeed