Here a copy of my small rant about boss design from bluesky Also a link if you'd rather see it in its original context and presentation https://bsky.app/profile/blackblooms.bsky.social/post/3lhynncijkc2g
Okay, i keep hearing this idea that bosses are supposed to be "the final exam" that tests out your knowledge of the game and its mechanics, but i gotta be honest, i dont think they can or are even supposed to in the great majority of cases. In most games, bosses just dont operate under the same rules as the rest of the game, often invalidating entire mechanics or introducing new ones. Saying they are the final exam is like having to study for your math finals, only for every single questions to actually be about the history of math. I rather think that bosses are supposed to be a shakeup to the formula, to take the game mechanics and put them in a new context to force the players to learn and adapt. They often are difficulty spikes because thats parts of the shakeup where the smooth difficulty curve is replaced with a wall. To give some exemples, bosses in rpg often are immune to status effects despite them being a core mechanics, bosses in beat em up rarely can be juggled, and platforming bosses dont involve all that much platforming. Heck, escape segments and arena brawls often make for a better test of your aptitudes as they do center around the mechanics you have been using in every other levels, but even these i would argue to be introducing elements that simply are not analogous to every other levels by their very nature. Anyway my main point is that a boss is so different from the levels that surround them that the only thing it can test you on is your ability to fight that very boss. Its not a bad thing through. Bosses tend to be the highlight of many games for a reason. They test your ability to learn and adapt. Anyway, that's all just a general observation and not an unbreakable rule. Bosses that do test our knowledge and flexibility with the game mechanics are usually pretty cool (though id argue they still completely change the pace and context of normal gameplay) so if you know any, do share. Ps: you can respond to the rant here if you like, but doing so on bluesky is going to be much easier and effective.
