The "Game Over" Button: How to End a Match Like a Pro

So, you’ve built an insane arena. You’ve rigged traps that make players regret their life choices, set up loot drops that sparkle like a rare skin, and even programmed a respawn system that keeps the chaos going. But here’s the problem: your game never actually ends. Players just wander around forever like NPCs with no main quest.

It’s time to take control. In this tutorial, we’re going to use the End Game device to create a "Chaos Countdown." We’ll set up a timer that, when it hits zero, instantly declares a winner and stops the match. No more endless wandering. Just pure, structured, game-ending glory.

What You'll Learn

• What the End Game Device does: It’s the digital "referee whistle" that blows when the match is over.
• Rounds vs. The Whole Game: The difference between ending one round (like in a battle royale) or shutting down the entire island session.
• Direct Event Binding: How to wire devices together so one action triggers another (like pressing a button to drop a chandelier).
• Win Conditions: How to tell the game who won when the clock runs out.

How It Works

Think of the End Game device as the ultimate authority. In Fortnite, you know how the storm shrinks until only one person is left? Or how a match ends when the timer hits 0:00 in a Duos Scrims match? That’s the End Game device doing its job behind the scenes.

In UEFN (Unreal Editor for Fortnite), you can place this device and tell it exactly when to stop the party.

Key Concepts (Translated from "Dev Speak" to "Gamer Speak")

1. The End Game Device: This is the boss. It doesn’t do much on its own. It just waits for a signal. Think of it like a Bomb Timer. It’s sitting there, ticking away, but it won’t explode until someone cuts the right wire (or in our case, receives a signal from another device).
2. Direct Event Binding: This is the wiring. Imagine you have a Button and a Prop Mover. If you want the door to open when you press the button, you "bind" them. You connect the output of the button to the input of the door. Here, we’ll connect a Timer to the End Game device.
3. Round vs. Game:
   • End Round: Like finishing a round in Rocket League or Valorant. The match resets, but the session (the lobby) stays open. Players can respawn and play again immediately.
   • End Game: Like the "Victory Royale" screen. The session closes. If you want to play again, you have to restart the island from the main menu.
4. Win Condition: This is the rulebook. Who wins? Team Red? Team Blue? Everyone? The End Game device needs to know this so it can display the correct "Winner" screen.

The Scenario: The "Last Stand" Trap

We are building a simple arena where two teams fight. We want the match to automatically end after 5 minutes. If Team Blue has more eliminations (or just wins by default, for simplicity) when the timer hits zero, Team Blue wins.

We don’t need complex code yet. We just need to wire the Timer device to the End Game device.

Let's Build It

We aren’t writing a novel of code here. We’re using the visual device system, but to understand how Verse powers this, let’s look at the logic. In Verse, devices are like Components attached to Entities. The "Entity" is the island, and the "Component" is the End Game device sitting on it.

Here is the conceptual Verse logic for how we’d set this up if we were doing it purely in code (though in UEFN, you mostly use the UI, this helps you understand the structure):

# This is a simplified conceptual representation of the End Game logic.
# In real UEFN, you drag and drop devices, but this shows the relationships.

end_game_device := End_Game()

# 1. Set the scope: Do we end just this round, or the whole game?
# Think of this like choosing between "Restart Match" or "Return to Lobby"
end_game_device.Set_End_Scope(End_Scope::Round)

# 2. Define the winner.
# If the timer runs out, who takes the trophy?
# Let's say Team 1 (Blue) wins by default if time runs out.
end_game_device.Set_Winner(Team::Team1)

# 3. The Trigger.
# We need to connect this to a Timer.
# In Verse, this is an "Event." An event is like a "Ping" on the minimap.
# When the Timer fires, it pings the End Game device.

# This is the "Binding" part.
# When Timer_Device.Timer_Ends_Event fires, call end_game_device.End()
Timer_Device.Timer_Ends_Event.OnEvent += func(event: Timer_Ends_Event_Data):
    end_game_device.End()

How to Build This in UEFN (No Code Required)

While the code above shows the logic, here is how you actually build it in the editor using devices:

1. Place the End Game Device:

   • Press Tab to open the Creative Menu.
   • Go to Devices > Gameplay.
   • Search for End Game and place it anywhere (hide it under a rock if you want).
   • Name it: Right-click it and rename it to Chaos_End_Game. This makes it easier to find later.

2. Configure the End Game Device:

   • Click on the device to open its properties.
   • Activate When Receiving From: Leave this blank for now. We will wire it.
   • End Type: Choose End Round. (This lets players keep playing in the same session).
   • Winner: Select Team 1 (or Team 2, whichever you want to win by default).

3. Place a Timer Device:

   • Go to Devices > Gameplay > Timer.
   • Place it near the End Game device.
   • Set Time Limit to 5:00 (5 minutes).
   • Set Loop to False (we only want it to count down once).

4. Wire Them Together (Direct Event Binding):

   • Click the Timer device.
   • In the properties, look for On Timer Ends.
   • Click the little plus icon or the "Bind" button.
   • Select the End Game device.
   • Choose the action End.
   • Boom. You have just created a circuit. When the timer hits zero, it sends a signal to the End Game device, which triggers the end screen.

5. Test It:

   • Play the island.
   • Watch the timer.
   • At 0:00, the game should snap to the "Team 1 Wins" screen.

Try It Yourself

You’ve got the basic "Time Out" working. Now, let’s make it more interesting.

Challenge: Modify your island so that the End Game device only triggers if a player steps on a specific Trigger Volume (like a pressure plate) before the timer runs out. If the timer runs out first, Team 2 wins. If the player steps on the plate, Team 1 wins.

Hint: You’ll need to add a Button device or use the Trigger Volume’s "On Enter" event. You’ll need to bind two different events to the End Game device:

1. Timer Ends -> End Game (Winner: Team 2)
2. Trigger Enter -> End Game (Winner: Team 1)

Note: In UEFN, you might need to use a Switch device or a Logic Gate if you want to prevent both from firing, but for now, just try binding both events to the End Game device and see what happens when you test it!

Recap

• The End Game device is the referee. It doesn’t start the game; it ends it.
• You can choose to End Round (reset match) or End Game (close session).
• You determine the Winner directly in the device settings.
• Direct Event Binding is how you connect devices (like Timer -> End Game) so they talk to each other.

Now go forth and end your games with style. No more endless loops. Just crisp, clean, victory-screen glory.

References

• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/using-end-game-devices-in-fortnite-creative
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite-creative/using-end-game-devices-in-fortnite-creative
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite-creative/shooting-gallery-in-fortnite-creative
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/objective-devices-design-examples-in-fortnite
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/ascender-device-design-examples-in-fortnite-creative