Staff roll and credits, which one goes first?

After the final cutscene in any given game, what goes first? The staff roll (characters shown in the game) or the credits?

I was wondering about this for a while, and I recalled some games which have the staff roll go first, and then show the credits, then I came up it might be the right choice, but why it should be this way?

What is a staff role? I know you said characters shown in the game, but that doesn't make sense, unless everyone who worked on the game with you appears as a character (and in that case they would go first, and then credits for everyone whose resources/scripts you're using)

I, too, don't understand why you are thinking of listing all your characters.  The only times I can think of where the characters are shown at the end is with their character art and a list of 'their' achievements i.e. the number of enemies killed with magic/physical; the number of quests they've participated in; the number of times they've been defeated etc.  A simple roll call is unlikely to grab the player's attention.

Staff roll = credits. Just a fancy word. :)

No, it's not, because the OP specifically asked whether the staff roll should come before or after the credits.


"Do credits go before or after credits" doesn't make sense, so "staff roll" must be something a bit different. Also consider the apparent explanation that "staff roll" is the "characters shown in the game". Does staff mean party members, or people who worked on the game?

Taken from Wikipedia :)

Obviously if the OP is asking about which one comes first, then the OP does not believe they are the same thing, at least in his own context.


How about we let the OP answer and explain what he means by both terms, rather than assuming he's using the wikipedia definition?

I think the OP means a CAST ROLL. I had one in my game, because the characters are such an important part of it, and it was like giving them all one final nod as they struck cute poses, etc...

Final Fantasy VI does this in more detail, featuring each character in their own scene and playing their theme song. I think it's a really nice touch.

As far as I've observed, if there's a cast roll, it usually always precedes the actual credits.

If that's the case then yes, it would go first, and credits would go last.


Like in a movie or tv series, the actors are listed first, and then the crew who worked behind the scenes.

Credits always come after everything, except if there's a post-credit scene.

That is brilliant. I think I'll use that idea myself! BD

Hello, guys, sorry for all the confusion. I meant cast roll as Solo said, it's that "Staff roll" was the term I had when I started the topic.

The cast roll shows the characters (NPCs, party members, enemies maybe)that are part of the game. A good example of cast roll are Donkey Kong Country or Earthbound, which shows the characters a last time before the credits.

I'm thinking that the OP is thinking of treating the people actively working on the game, and people whom he used resources/scripts from separately. Which frankly I think the OP should put them in the same listing, broken up only by category, on what they helped with, opposed to making two separate long lists(one for the people activily working on that specific game, and one for just contributors).

To OP: Oh ok, I don't really see the point in having a section show off the char, unless you also had a full cast of Voice Actors(which I doubt it) to tie to all those char.

I'm disagreeing with several entirely valid opinions when I say this, but I would try to post the credits before whatever cool ending bonus you have planned.  It feels like a nice little extra touch when done this way, and if the game is meant to be played through multiple times, it gives the player a reason to pay attention while the credits are rolling.  Star Fox 64 is a good example, with the "Invoice" for your total hits being displayed after the credits roll, with an Easter-Egg voice clip if you did well enough.

If you're willing to put in a bit more effort, you could even show the cast (or whatever sequence you want) at the same time the credits roll, which is always nice.  Or go all-out and make the credits sequence itself "playable" (a la Super Smash Bros. or Super Monkey Ball), if you can make it fit with your game's theme.

That would be neat. I love bonuses after the game is over. Plus, when some games use really sad tearjerking music it's nice to end on a happier note...