I was happy with DX1's ending I guess, where the end boss is essentially Walton Simons... then you've got an entire base after him to fight.

 

It's hard though, because I some games can't pull off no boss. They feel anticlimactic; like something is missing.

DX1 only has an end boss if you want to achieve the Illuminati ending. I ended up not having a good enough electronics skill and going for the Helios / Dark Age endings.

I hate end bosses. They make me want to kill them!

That is usually the point.

New script for gorth.c

 

#include <brain.h>

void main() {
 struct Thought *NewIdea;
 NewIdea = Think();
 Post(NewIdea);
}

A dip in the vat would help

 

I hate end bosses. They make me want to kill them!

 

I think my hostility towards the concept stems from my (rather subjective) perceiving it as a lack of creativity if game phases are always ended by throwing in a big baddie which either requires limitless patience or figuring out the correct "ritual" to beat. Not that it isn't appropriate for some situations, but each and every time?!?

 

Look at it this way. You just played 20, 40, 60+ hours just to get to this spot. You probably killed tons of generic enemies using the same exact techniques for 90% of that time. A player has been built up to a point. Sometimes it's the entire point of the adventure. Now that the player is there, does it seem appropriate to throw just one more enemy to be killed the exact same way and call it a conclusion?

So, we add just one more enemy to be killed which is much harder to kill and call it a conclusion?

 

No, I am not satisfied with conventional thinking...

Shouldn't that be:

NewIdea = Think(NewIdea); ?

Otherwise what you think about has no bearing on your thoughts. And really we need a bit of a loop in there to keep the brain going, some threads for multi-tasking... also that whole "think before you post" bit should really move out of main to it's own method. Bwahaha.

[

New script for gorth.c

 

#include <brain.h>

void main() {
 struct Thought *NewIdea;
 NewIdea = Think();
 Post(NewIdea);
}

A dip in the vat would help

 

...We need some kind of nerd attack siren.

 

I agree with Tale that having one more 'apply, rinse, and repeat' bad guy with more hitpoints is no way to provide 'closure'.

 

On the other hand, gazing into the dim recesses of my memory I recall not being too worried by boss battles at first. They just get old fast.

Shouldn't that be:

NewIdea = Think(NewIdea); ?

Otherwise what you think about has no bearing on your thoughts. And really we need a bit of a loop in there to keep the brain going, some threads for multi-tasking... also that whole "think before you post" bit should really move out of main to it's own method. Bwahaha.

My thoughts are completely arbitrary and don't need any seed values. It hampers creative thinking

 

My brain is a guy brain though, it doesn't multitask well

 

Maybe a Ctrl-C handler would have been appropriate in a thread about endings...?

 

@Walsingham: I thought Tale was advocating exactly that, add a boss. Make him harder than the previous baddies. Maybe I misunderstood him

So, we add just one more enemy to be killed which is much harder to kill and call it a conclusion?

Add just one more? He was always there! He was the point.

 

In a game that is 90% combat, what other possible note could you end it on other than a piece of harder combat?

So, we add just one more enemy to be killed which is much harder to kill and call it a conclusion?

Add just one more? He was always there! He was the point.

 

In a game that is 90% combat, what other possible note could you end it on other than a piece of harder combat?

 

So you're saying that the only way to finsih a big steak dinner is an even bigger steak?

 

*thinks*

 

Fair enough.

 

Aw man. Now I want a steak.

So you're saying that the only way to finsih a big steak dinner is an even bigger steak?

I wish I knew if you were actually trying to make a point or make a joke. Now I think I know why so many people hate me.

So you're saying that the only way to finsih a big steak dinner is an even bigger steak?

I wish I knew if you were actually trying to make a point or make a joke. Now I think I know why so many people hate YOU.

 

Fixed.

End bosses aren't bad... look at Glados. Though it was mostly another puzzle with slightly mroe danger... IE, rocket drones.

End bosses aren't bad... look at Glados. Though it was mostly another puzzle with slightly mroe danger... IE, rocket drones.

Maybe GLaDOS is the exception that proves the rule? Sure, if you can make the antagonist someone that interesting and engaging, you care about defeating her, and she works great as an endgame boss. It also helps if you can make the fight more interesting rather than just the same thing again only harder. For me, the problem was more with the rather generic end-of-level bosses you find in some games, where it appears they've been stuck in just because of convention. Perhaps you need something to give you a sense of achievement at finishing a significant new portion of the game, but end-of-level bosses should only be one option out of many, especially in RPGs which aspire to offer more diversity than simply repetitious combat.

End bosses aren't bad... look at Glados. Though it was mostly another puzzle with slightly mroe danger... IE, rocket drones.

Maybe GLaDOS is the exception that proves the rule?

I hope you know what this idiom means.

I hope you know the etymology of "prove".

I hope you know what this idiom means.

I do indeed: The exception proves the rule in cases not excepted. The rule is that generic end-bosses are boring. GLaDOS is not generic and not boring.

I hope you know what this idiom means.

I do indeed: The exception proves the rule in cases not excepted. The rule is that generic end-bosses are boring. GLaDOS is not generic and not boring.

Proves means "tests." The rule is that generic end-bosses are boring. GLaDOS is not generic and boring. GLaDOS tests that rule and shows it to be false. Therefore it is no longer a rule.

GLaDOS tests that rule and shows it to be false.

No it doesn't.

I think Tale is on acid.

Rules don't exist if there are genuine exceptions, unless exceptions are part of the rule. That is, itself, a rule. Not all end bosses are generic and boring (GLaDOS is not alone in that), therefore the rule that they all are is false. There are plenty of interesting end bosses. And there are plenty of poorly designed end bosses.

 

"RPGs which aspire to offer more diversity than simply repetitious combat."

This is another comment I would like to respond to. By simply saying they generally don't. Most CRPGs are 75% combat. There may be one exception to that. The way to keep it from being repetitive is by varying the encounters. Which means make occasionally unique ones, boss fights. Aliens, as a setting, doesn't lend itself happily to avoiding end boss encounters. Movies 2 and 4 have boss fights, movies 1 and 3 have the equivalent of a ritual.

 

I see a lot of threads in this forum that seem to clamor for something different. But often it seems to be in the vein of being different just for the sake of being different. Occasionally with vague support that only demonstrates that the suggester is just generally jaded in regards to gaming. As someone often perceived as a nonconformist, I have little qualm with being different for no other sake. However, as an Alien fan the suggestions I've seen in this forum oft boggle the mind.

Edited December 17, 200718 yr by Tale

"RPGs which aspire to offer more diversity than simply repetitious combat."

This is another comment I would like to respond to. By simply saying they generally don't. Most CRPGs are 75% combat. There may be one exception to that. The way to keep it from being repetitive is by varying the encounters. Which means make occasionally unique ones, boss fights. Aliens, as a setting, doesn't lend itself happily to avoiding end boss encounters. Movies 2 and 4 have boss fights, movies 1 and 3 have the equivalent of a ritual.

Varying encounters is one good way of improving the gaming experience, and some endgame bosses do this, but not all. I don't think that 'the same again but with lots more hit points' counts as varying my game experience much, and end-of-level/chapter bosses are particularly prone to this fault. To repeat my point - better end-of-game and end-of-chapter experiences, please, including both well-crafted 'bosses' and non-boss solutions.

I see a lot of threads in this forum that seem to clamor for something different. But often it seems to be in the vein of being different just for the sake of being different. Occasionally with vague support that only demonstrates that the suggester is just generally jaded in regards to gaming. As someone often perceived as a nonconformist, I have little qualm with being different for no other sake. However, as an Alien fan the suggestions I've seen in this forum oft boggle the mind.

This is a forum for speculation and discussion, for people to bounce ideas around freely and get responses from others. I don't get the slightest sense that anybody here is jaded.