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[Droqen]

What defines a boss fight?

For me (and perhaps others) the first thing that comes to mind is 'a fight with a boss must be difficult; if so much effort is going into one challenge, it must be especially challenging!' but recently I got to thinking about this, and... why are boss fights hard?

What makes a boss fight fun and memorable? because really, that's the most important thing, isn't it? Do you actually want to make a boss that's so difficult that certain players get stuck and inevitably give up, and remember as "that boss was a bitch to beat", or... would you rather use all this power at your game-making hands to make a truly unique and satisfying experience?

That's the first post I've made in a while here and I mean it!

1. Do you tend to think of a "boss fight" as something that must be more challenging than everything preceding it?

2. If designing a boss in the past, would you have focused your energies on designing a very difficult (if still somewhat interesting) challenge?

3. If you answered 'yes' to 2, will you create boss fights in the future for the purpose of providing a sparkling and different challenge, or will you continue making them intensely difficult encounters? Whatever your answer, why?

[baconman]

1. I believe it should fit it's place in the sequence of events. If a "boss fight" is the conclusion to a level, it should usually be the most challenging element of it, lest it serve a particular function (ala MegaMan). It doesn't necessarily have to be the hardest part, but it should fit either a purpose like that, or be in a proper drama dynamic. If it's not the "climax" of the level, it shouldn't be placed as one. In something like a fighting game or RPG however? It absolutely should be. Even though it rarely ever is.

2. I think something that defines a boss is it's uniqueness in general. Unlike most generically produced character-drones, boss characters are designed to be a unique character, with a distinctive personality and dynamic about them; that you will generally only encounter a few times a game. Toughness may be one of these assets sometimes, but it's not always a defining characteristic; in fact, making them all like that will make each of them seem more stale. For example, in spite of his total ineptness, anybody who's seen half a season of DragonBall Z will instantly recognize the name "Rakuum."

3. A boss encounter also usually changes the tone and flow of the entire game in some way. While the dynamic between the protagonist and the boss should change with each boss character somewhat, there should also be enough familar "process" of dealing with most of them. Fortress bosses in MegaMan games are often very different than Robot Masters, but each has a similar approach to it: the gate, the lifebars, the battle. The fortress battles just seem to incorporate more platforming mini-game elements in the bosses than the regular ones. KoF bosses are more also illustrate a great power-dynamic shift as compared to taking on other teams.

[Medevenx]

Boss fights in Megaman games made us of "attack patterns" so bosses didn't go all out on you by running right at you and using all their attacks in cheap ways. A technique they did to make boss fights more challenging was when the bosses reach 40% health, they will pull out completely new attacks from their arsenal, these will be much harder to dodge and a lot stronger. Also giving some bosses different stage layouts will make it a unique experience. Like how there were magma hazards in Magma Dragoon's boss stage in Megaman X4 and how there are walls/no walls in some boss fights.

[JMickle]

the final boss from iji was the best designed boss i've seen; he grew stronger over time, usually to a strength you dont even get to see if you defeat him quickly enough, and all of his attacks are dodgeable; and thanks to the resonance reflector you can use some of them against him. It was pure great design and as such is one of the most fun boss fights you can find.

[C.A. Sinner]

I think a boss fight should always change up/subvert the standard gameplay a bit. I doesn't even have to be a "puzzle boss" or a "minigame boss", even though though I like those two, it's enough if it forces the player to use the game's standard mechanics in different ways.

Two types of boss design I don't like are:

1.The rest of the level design is neglected in favor of the bosses, a common problem of "run'n'gun" games and shmups. It's great to have good boss fights, but that's not an excuse for everything else to feel like filler.
2.The bosses are stronger versions of regular enemies. This is very common for modern action games with "dynamic" enemy AI.

[Mikademus]

There was this roguelike game at assembly pt II where the boss fight of the level was literary interpreted as simply the chief of the bad guys and a relatively normal person. This thwarted the expectations of most commentators in a negative way, iirc, so I think it is safe to say that at the very least a "boss fight" should be more challenging than a normal battle.

As I see it, there seems to be a few stereotypical forms boss fights tent to take
* The boss fight is a normal battle, with normal game mechanics, but harder. This seems to be common in wrpgs.
* The boss fight is special in that it breaks with the normal or introduces new game mechanics, a diversion of sorts; for instance by introducing quick time events in a game otherwise not using it. Seems quite common in most genres, but I see it quite frequently in action-oriented jrpgs (Dark Cloud) and action fighters (God of War).
* The boss fight uses the same mechanics but requires a trick to complete it, f.i. a certain skill must be employed or a certain pattern must be discerned and exploited. Prevalent in all genres (Mega Man was mentioned above), and bullet hell games have gone one step further and based their entire mechanics on pattern recognition.

[Richard Kain]

Personally, I like boss fights where the play mechanics aren't changed, but the boss encourages the player to use them in ways they might not have thought of. This can be implemented in any number of ways. Sometimes environmental hazards or changes are introduced. A common tactic is to give the boss specific weak points that the player will need to figure out how to hit.

The real point of the boss fight is to provide an appealing change to the pace of the game at regular intervals. Any game where the exact same actions are performed over and over becomes dull. Boss battles "shake things up." Here's a list of some of the games that I feel implement boss battles well...

Super Metroid (Kraid, Ridley, the Crocomire, Mother Brain)
MetalStorm (level 5 boss, though every boss is a good example of boss variety)
StarFox
Mike Tyson's Punch Out (King Hippo, Don Flamenco, Bald Bull, the whole game is boss fights)
Zelda: A Link to the Past (most Zelda games are strong in the boss area)
Castlevania: The whole series (there is usually one or two standouts in every Castlevania game)

I've noticed a dearth of good boss encounters in recent years. I think this is because of the more story-feuled nature that gaming has followed since the adoption of disc-based media. Bosses are all about gameplay, and mixing gameplay up. Designers who are too concerned about story neglect gameplay. It's also worth noting that some play type genres don't really lend themselves well to boss encounters. I rarely ever see first person shooters with memorable "bosses."

[Ben_Hurr]

Personally, the only boss fights I don't like are 'puzzle bosses', where once you figure out their trick they're ridiculously easy to defeat.  Most modern Legend of Zelda bosses fall into this category unfortunately. ):

[Xion]

I prefer bosses to be interesting to fight rather than difficult, though difficulty is somewhat implied in being interesting, since if it's interesting it won't necessarily be easy. I actually like the zelda bosses for their memorizable patterns, where part of the fun is figuring out how to beat them and once you do, if you're good enough, you can crush it easily. Those are the kinds of bosses I like; difficult when introduced, easy once known (but still requiring skill). I really hate "bosses" where all you have to do is just shoot/strike them repeatedly like any other enemy while avoiding whatever they throw at you. I prefer it when bosses have periods of vulnerability rather than just being constantly vulnerable.

[Adamski]

Noitu Love 2 is the king of Indie game Boss Fight content IMO 

[Blindsight]

What defines a boss fight?

For me it would be a climax to the increasing intensity of the gameplay.

What makes a boss fight fun and memorable? because really, that's the most important thing, isn't it? Do you actually want to make a boss that's so difficult that certain players get stuck and inevitably give up, and remember as "that boss was a bitch to beat", or... would you rather use all this power at your game-making hands to make a truly unique and satisfying experience?

I would prefer it to be memorable, in the best ways possible. The same types of things aren't going to be memorable to all players. Some will respond to a sinister, difficult boss that pull so punches, giving the satisfaction of taking him down. Others will prefer a surprising;y humorous moment with the boss that makes you laugh unexpectedly. It really varies as to what makes it satisfying based on the game type and the player type - which may or may not be aligned.

1. Do you tend to think of a "boss fight" as something that must be more challenging than everything preceding it?

Simply...Yes. Though that doesn't mean harder to beat. It could mean simply that it challenges you to think different about the game, the enemy, your player, or your tactics. Psycho Mantis from MGS is a good example of this. While he was a 'boss' and it took longer to beat him than a regular minion, it wasn't his durability or damage dealing capabilities that made the encounter interesting. You had to change something about the way you were playing the game.

2. If designing a boss in the past, would you have focused your energies on designing a very difficult (if still somewhat interesting) challenge?

Interesting first, then challenging as above. Change it up. Break up the same 'ol gameplay. Make the game fresh again.

3. ...Whatever your answer, why?

Because I like games to evoke nimbleness in a player. I feel like you can challenge them at the same thing all day, and it will just get boring. Some people feed off of the same things continually increasing in difficulty over and over. For me however, adapting is the challenge and that's where the sense of accomplishment happens.

I'd rather be able to beat a game mentally by recognizing tactics and 'out playing' the game rather than being able to weave my player within one pixel of 10 different objects flying at me.

[jpgray]

1. Do you tend to think of a "boss fight" as something that must be more challenging than everything preceding it?

No, but there should at least be some memorable quality to it.  The final "boss" in Out of this World featured Lester crawling toward a lever, Earthbound had the Clumsy Robot--there are a lot of options out there to distinguish a boss other than challenge.

2. If designing a boss in the past, would you have focused your energies on designing a very difficult (if still somewhat interesting) challenge?

In the past?  You mean arcade-style?  In that case, at the bare minimum a boss needs to be "bigger" and have some sort of dramatic entrance--a brief pause, some animated challenge (perhaps as an "ENEMY" life-bar fills), and then the fight.  :-D  Notice most of this is all about distinguishing the boss from your average mook, and not necessarily about challenge.

3. If you answered 'yes' to 2, will you create boss fights in the future for the purpose of providing a sparkling and different challenge, or will you continue making them intensely difficult encounters? Whatever your answer, why?

Because a boss doesn't need to be challenging so much as memorable, distinguished from rote encounters, and useful to the pacing and flow of the game.  Challenge may be a part of this, but it doesn't need to be.

What makes a boss fight fun and memorable?

I think that most of what amps the fun factor is the fresh content or gameplay that distinguishes a boss fight from average fights against average enemies.  The Battletoads level one boss was easy as pie, but memorable--switch to 2nd-person view, throw rocks, dodge crosshairs, only see the leg of the thing, etc.  At a certain point of difficulty, any mook can be memorable--the red devils (Firebrands) in Ghosts 'n' Goblins are one example, or the dwarf hunchbacks in Castlevania.  But I think the best bosses have more than challenge going for them.

[hmm]

Off the top of my head, the most memorable/enjoyable boss fights i've encountered are those in the Metal Gear Solid games, Shadow of the Colossus and maybe Demon's Souls.

In the MGS the bosses are strongly tied to the story and you get to see them/hear about them long before you face them, which allows time for you to become a bit scared of them. Then the actual fights are that cross between puzzle solving and skill.

Shadow of the Colossus, the bosses were the only enemy. Again it was a cross between figuring out the puzzle and using your skill to bring them down. They were also the centre of the entire gameplay experience and story and everytime you brought one down it was a huge achievement.

Demon's Souls has a similar combination of puzzle solving and skill. Though sometimes it was just a case of remembering patterns and attacking relentlessly, the bosses looked different enough to other enemies and each had a backstory that tied them to the decaying world they lived in.

[frsty13]

I think bosses come down to testing the player's mastery of game mechanics, or in some cases, mastery of understanding game mechanics, or in some cases, both.  I think the ones that really stand out are the ones where the designer has a firm grasp of what the player will find interesting or fun in the rest of the game and gives them a concentrated dose of it.

[Core Xii]

Don't forget the distinction between a boss, a mini-boss and the final boss. These can often be very different in nature; Mini-bosses tend to be just slightly tougher "normal" enemies to break up the repetition a bit, bosses are much harder and longer and more distinct and the final boss is the ultimate challenge in the entire game; The hardest, longest battle often characterized by memorizing sequences, "phases" (boss changes at certain points), taking advantage of all game mechanics, etc.