Level Up.pdf

Why Not to Create the World’s Greatest Boss Battle 327
(chasing each other?), on top of vehicles (like the moving train in Uncharted
2: Among Thieves or hopping from car to car as in Wet), or while piloting
vehicles? (Maybe they are vehicles!) Just be careful as scrolling boss fights
require as much work, if not more than a full level.
Another variation is the puzzle boss: a boss that is actually invulnerable
and cannot be defeated by a direct assault by the player. Instead of
fighting, the player has to survive the boss ’ attacks long enough to use
objects in the level that will defeat it. Spidey can ’ t actually hurt the Rhino
boss in Spider- Man 2 (Activision, 2004) but if Spidey can trick the Rhino into
smashing into electrified machinery, he can defeat him. The most obvious
(and hilarious) example of a puzzle boss is in You Have To Burn The Rope
( http://www.youhavetoburntherope.net ) where the Grinning Colossus can
only be defeated by … well, I ’ ll let you guess how to beat this one 20 .
Why Not to Create the World ’ s Greatest
Boss Battle
Some designers believe that boss fights are too “ old school ” ; that they grind
game progression to a halt; that the time and effort to create bosses with
their non - reusable artwork, hard - coded behaviors, and unique animations
just isn ’ t worth the production cost. They create a skill gateway; whenever
someone has told me that they ’ ve quit playing a game, it was usually
because a boss was too hard.
An alternative to these problems can be found in turning the boss fight on
its head. Instead of making it about a big creature, make it about big drama.
20 Spoiler alert: you have to burn the rope.