The 'Good Ending / Bad Ending' meme format originates from video game culture, where players strive for the most favorable conclusion based on their choices. The meme typically uses contrasting imagery—often bright, happy visuals for the 'Good Ending' and dark, glitchy, or terrifying visuals for the 'Bad Ending.' It gained significant traction on platforms like YouTube and Twitter through the 'Five Nights at Freddy's' and 'Undertale' fandoms before evolving into a general-purpose template for comparing ideal versus catastrophic real-life scenarios. It serves as a creative way to explore the consequences of actions, often accompanied by atmospheric music in video formats to heighten the emotional contrast between the two fates.