Archive: 5 posts

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What makes a good boss battle for you? Does it have to be challenging, long, artistic or what? Do you even include them in your level? Got any examples of a good boss battle (It doesn't have to from LBP)?

2011-04-13 14:30:00 Author: CYBERSNAKE Posts: 280

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Good boss battles are all about being the climax of the level, and conveying that to your audience. If it's a good boss fight, you should never have to tell your player it's the last boss fight. By the end, they should know they're done with the level, cuz nothing is going to top that. What makes them that way? First, the boss should be imposing and threatening to the player. Usually that's conveyed through size; making the boss much bigger than the player. But there are other ways to do that, such as giving them a deadly weapon or machine, or giving them powers, or having them protected by many other enemies or weapons. Another important thing to me is that defeating a boss should require a culmination of everything you've learned in your level. For example, if your player controls a sackbot that learns new abilities throughout the game, they should have to use them all in some way or another to defeat the boss. If it's a platformer, then perhaps introducing a new method of beating a boss is appropriate, such as the grappling hook or grabinators. Finally, another fun boss trick is to fight them in stages. It's often fun to beat a boss, thinking they're defeated, then have them come back for one final attack. It gives the player a further sense of accomplishment by making the boss seem even more determined take down the player, even if their plot has already been foiled. Any combination of these things creates a good boss-atmosphere to me. A lot of what makes a boss fight great is the way you build towards it through the rest of the level as well. I do like the occasional surprise boss, but when you're foreshadowing the boss fight throughout the game, that imposing presence I mentioned before becomes more prominent. There's no real formula for a boss, but that's a good thing; a cookie-cutter boss is just another enemy or obstacle. You need to craft the boss to make them work.

2011-04-13 16:29:00 Author: nextlevel88 Posts: 149

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I agree with the above statement

2011-04-13 23:11:00 Author: vanok Posts: 63

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Everything nextlevel said plus one thing: Pattern. If you've been gaming for a long time, you'll be well familiar with the concept of an attack pattern. I simply can't abide boss fights which have no apparent pattern to follow and take advantage of. To me, a boss attack pattern should morph and increase in difficulty throughout the fight, allowing the player to strategise their attacks and dodges to the best effect. A randomly set up fight just doesn't feel as satisfying. Apart from that, just sheer epicness. It's a huge requirement

2011-04-13 23:25:00 Author: rialrees Posts: 1015

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As long as it has no unfair deaths, I don't hate it. nextlevel summed it up very nicely.

2011-04-14 05:22:00 Author: midnight_heist Posts: 2513

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