Who's the Boss?

From Wikipedia:

"In video games, a boss is a particularly large or challenging computer-controlled character who must be defeated at the end of a segment of a game, whether he/she/it be for a level, an episode, or the very end of the game itself (final boss). Bosses appear in many video games, particularly story or level-based first and third-person shooters, platform games, role-playing video games, and most shoot 'em ups. Most games feature multiple bosses, each often more difficult than the last."

When I think back to games I've played in the past, the bosses always seem to stick out more than almost any other element. Sometimes it's because of the buildup of tension leading into the battle: the swell of the musical score as the camera pans around the burning feudal mansion that threatens to engulf both combatants as they duel to the death. Sometimes it's sheer awe, scale, and/or creativity of the foe. We clench the control stick of our R-9A fighter ship with whitened knuckles, staring down the bio-mechanical monstrosity tethered to the wall before us. Often times though, it's because game bosses were total bastards designed to suck quarters from our pockets or hide the fact that the new game we paid $50 for only has 30 minutes of actual content.

I think that when well designed, bosses should act as a test of the abilities that the player has been practising up to that point. One thing that really bothers me is when boss fights throw all that out the window, and force the player to either learn new mechanics on the spot, or engage in a war of attrition by removing functionality. For example, fighting game bosses. Admittedly, I'm very much a scrub when it comes to fighting games. Sure, I can sling fire balls and dragon punches with decent efficiency, but anybody who plays more than once a week is taking me down. I'm not much of a competitive gamer, so I generally like to play through fighting games with each character to see the story bits and unlock things. It pisses me off to no end when I'm managing to hold my own, and then the next enemy is some giant dude that can't be thrown, takes off 75% of your life bar in one hit, and is as easy to hit as a greased up Muhammad Ali.

Another thing I've gotten tired of is when a boss fight becomes a puzzle which it's the player's job to figure out and complete...how many times? Three. It's always three. You know what I mean. Pull that lever to drop the explosive barrel, then lure the tentacle monster over to it, the shoot the barrel once it picks it up. Yeah, then do it two more times. Yawn. It's not that I think having a boss battle as a separate logic test is a horrible idea, it's just been done sooooooo many times. I'm actually surprised when a game only makes me do something once to a boss and calls it a day.

Oh, and if you put an unskippable cutscene right before a particularly challenging boss battle, please hand in your game dev card. Door's that way.

So what are some of your most memorable moments of game bosses? What left a lasting positive impression and made you want more? What drove you insane and made you want to smash your controller?
What can we learn from existing boss designs, and what are effective ways to challenge the player?

 

I'm laughing out loud at this one... "greased up Muhammad Ali."

And the first thing that comes to mind is... Conker's Bad Fur Day: The Great Mighty Poo.

I believe its three times to flush defeat him as well.

He also sings to you.

Boss fights are your moment to shine! You've been practicing and practicing the same skills on all those little grunts/peons and now something that could actually kill you enters the fray and it's love at first sight. As cyborg says in MGS "hurt me more!". We've all got a little masochist in us.

Personally, boss fights are the second most intense experiences in the world... up there with public speaking and opening up bills.

 

lol, definately. There's nothing quite like that feeling after you finally beat a boss. You heart is pounding, your hands are all shaky and sweaty. It's perhaps the most visceral moment a game can give us. I suppose the hard part is knowing where to draw the line when it comes to difficulty.

 

That's when I think you have to hand it over to play testing. I've made bosses that were so hard, it just pissed people off. To me though, I was mad because I knew their secrets and could beat them so easily, it felt like it wasn't a challenge!

 

I think the boss fulfills the role of a good test - it makes you use skills you've gained to that point, but throws in some new uses that you might not have encountered before!

My favorite game is The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for boss fights. I feel like most of the bosses were very-well done in the context they were introduced; for instance, the boss of the tower in the Light World is a giant Moldorb. The dungeon introduces Moldorbs as enemies you can encounter while you're scaling the tower, but this one is special! It also introduces the fact that there are non-lethal pits in dungeons, that drop you to the floor below them. The result is a boss fight that teaches you to apply what you've learned (Moldorbs move in a crescent pattern, you can fall to a lower floor), but also drives home the fact that this super-Moldorb is really frickin' massive, and any contact applies quite a massive knockback.

I feel this relationship of the boss to the dungeon mechanics breaks down later on; some of the Dark World bosses are less memorable, because it feels like the designers had run out of ideas (the ice dungeon in the Dark World which relies on both the Fire and Ice Rods springs to mind immediately. The most that can be said is the Ice Physics are used in the boss fight, but it borders on feeling like fake difficulty since it introduces no real counterplay like the Super Moldorb example above.)

Also, the tuning is important. Boss encounters should feel like you're facing off against something vastly more powerful, but you should have a way to mitigate that tuning somehow, either by your skill, or an in-universe skill or item. I feel like every game I've played where it's possible to out-grind the boss, has failed in designing the boss, and for that matter done a poor job on the greater game. Against a boss, it's acceptable and good if you only win by the skin of your teeth; the Leviathan and Asura fights in Final Fantasy IV were perfect examples of tuning done right, relative to the player's strength.

 

Yeah, and out leveling the bosses is a reality in games where you can level. That's why I like multiple difficulty settings that feature the same boss monsters, but with different tuning, in a game that can be beaten in one long run. There's always a boss that's just right for you.

 

@Aurore isn't the boss? :O

 

@SaraCecilia may be the learner now, but soon she will be the master! Though, yeah, right now @Aurore is totally the master. Thus, boss status.

 

A link to the past is a great example of bosses that incorporate puzzle solving in a natural way.

 

I seem to recall that I'm suppose to acquire an Aurore fang in order to complete my quest to become a wizard. Anyone know where Aurore spawns, in what map? What level do I need to be for this?

 

Moderator Hunter 2: The Wizarding

 

I'm playing Binding of Isaac right now and this is so true. The bosses are all huge jerks and I love it.

 

That sounds hilarious. If I ever finish a game I'm going to binge on games.

 

There's nothing quite like fighting a giant crap laying worm with a fetus growing out of your head.

 

Always thought it was @I am da bawss

 

Thanks, I'm eating a bean burrito then I read this.

 

Just as the prophecy foretold...