For as long as video games have had stories, video game storytellers have been itching to hint at their endings right out the gates. Some say that effective foreshadowing will help motivate the player to discover the mystery in the story, and to that end, Portal's GLaDOS, Bioshock's Atlas, EarthBound's Buzz Buzz, are characters who obviate piecemeal information that screams to be fitted together. On the other hand, Mass Effect and Ocarina of Time's respective dream sequences hint at events to come by visualizing them. There are other methods too, and they can be as simple as spraypainted text on a wall, or as elaborate as being warped to the final level at the beginning of the game (both are examples from Half-Life and Half-Life 2.)
Foreshadowing plays a vital role in interactive story-telling.
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