Boss Breakdown: The Importance of a Good Bad Guy

Boss battles. Just the thought and bring back memories of the epic fights you had with some of the games most terrifying (or not so terrifying) entities. There's something special about a boss battle that can't be replicated in a normal grunt, but of course, that's the way its supposed to be. But a boss can't just be a mostrosity with a scythe or a lightning speed beast with razor fangs, there is a lot that goes into the creation of a boss.

At no point during a game does a designer want the player to say "Screw this game, I can't get past this part, I quit.", but at the same time, a designer certainly doesn't want a player to be bored out of their mind with an overly simple game. This very concept applies to all aspects of a game, including bosses. Let's take King Koopa (or more recently, Bowser) from Super Mario Bros. for example. If you haven't played game, a screenshot of the arena is below. The axe on the right of the screen can be touched to drop the bridge and l send Bowser to his doom. Mario can also shoot several fireballs at his foe to take him out, although this method requires that Mario has a Fire Flower.

Although it may not seem like it, this design is fantastic. Bowser is far enough from Mario that the player doesn't die upon entering the battle. The spacing allows the player to see Bowser's fire and dodge it appropriately. The sharp fangs and spiky shell indicate to anyone that this dude isn't here to sell Girl Scout cookies, and the axe the right, although not shown, is blinking, driving the player's attention to it. To get to the axe, the player must jump over Bowser, and Bowser is just the right height to allow this manuever with a little room for the player to jump a bit early or late.

But what if the designers didn't plan this so well? If Bowser was too big, the player wouldn't be able to reach the other side, making the battle impossible to win for players without a fire flower. If the flame was slightly lower, the player wouldn't be able to duck. If the stage was too small, there would little room and time for dodging attacks. If the axe was on the left, there would be no boss battle since the player would win upon entering.

It is incredibly vital for a designer to be able to realize what they are doing when designing a boss. Without the ability to see what the player can do, what goals need to be achieved, and how an obstacle is designed an implmented, a boss can wind up being a terrible experience for the player. If a player has to rely on a strategy guide and cheat codes to beat any part of a game, then the game might not be worth playing at all. The tiny pixel sized changes the designer makes can make a boss memorable or regrettable.