How to make more people to watch the credits?

Ahh credits! A long boring wall of names that may or may not have contributed to the product. In all seriousness, a credits scene is something to be respected. Great products are made by real people who have sacrificed a significant portion of their life to launch a product that others can take pleasure in. That is why we have to pay our respects by at least watching the credits. But the format of a black screen where a wall of white words slowing going up the screen is hardly engaging. In order to encourage the viewers to watch the credits and acknowledge the work, the credits screen needs to be engaging and fun. In other words, a little more entertainment value must be provided so that they will watch them. The traditional way of doing it is providing sneak peeks for sequels like how Marvel movies do. But not many movies or games can afford that luxury. There are creative examples in the gaming industry that I will provide below which encourages more people to watch the credits but at a low cost. 

Mass Effect 2: On the surface you may think this credit scene isn’t particularly special. The background music is pretty good but you don’t see why I think this is special. It’s because of that particular soundtrack that this credits scene is special. You see, this soundtrack which is named ‘Suicide Mission’ was played at the height of the final mission of the game when everything you have accumulated come together to defeat a formidable foe. In other words, it has a huge emotional significance in the game. When it is replayed in the credits scene without the in-game sound effects and dialogue, the players appreciate the gesture and listen to it again. This little move didn’t cost anything to the developers but got the job done of making more people to watch the credits. 

Dragon Age Inquisition: This is the credits scene from the trespasser DLC of Dragon Age Inquisition. Again it is not very special on the surface. Skip to around 2:20 and you will hear a secret dialogue from Cassandra Pentaghast who is one of the fan favorite characters in the game. She is a tough woman who considers herself as the warrior of truth and she doesn’t allow anyone to double guess her. In the course of the game, the players learn that she is pretty much a kind and romantic woman inside all that armor. It is rare to see her real personality in the game which is why this dialogue is significant. Basically she was reading a book which summarized the major events of the game. How she recreated the different accents of other characters in the game made this a treat for everyone who have come to appreciate her personality. Providing a short dialogue from a fan-favorite character making fun of other characters in the game/movie/series is more than enough to encourage more people to watch the credits. 

Portal: The developers of portal created a funny song which is sung by the main antagonist of the game, GLaDOS. In the game GLaDOS is a supercomputer that has complete control over the facility that the player was trapped in. With her soothing and emotionally detached voice, she throws various insults and sarcasm throughout the game. Her annoying insults act as punishment when the player fails to solve the puzzles. After destroying her at the end of the game, her end-credits song highly suggest she is very much alive. Sometimes, it’s ok not to take things seriously. A funny song from the main villain is enticing enough for me to keep watching the credits. Imagine Loki singing a song to suggest that he has taken over the throne of Asgard at the end of the second Thor movie. EVERYONE would watch that.

Flower: Finally, Flower is a beautiful game developed by thatgamecompany. Some people considers it more than a game. It is a piece of art. In the game, the player controls the wind which carries the flower pellets from the environment. The more flowers you pick up with the wind, the more lively the environment changes. So for the credits scene, the team has decided to add a bonus level in which the names who are worthy of credit are visible on top of the flowers the players must go and collect. It almost feels like physically shaking each of their hand and acknowledging their effort. A trail of flower pellets at the end is the visual representation of all the love and effort they have put into this incredible journey. I am grateful for that. That’s the feeling that credits should produce, gratefulness.