Defending Midterms

In a video game some of the most defining moments are the clashes with dramatic and powerful figures that test player skills to their limits. These encounters are extremely unique with the enemy often having a special model and sometimes even their own theme music. These are bosses, one of the most important pieces in video game design.

Bosses can best be thought of as tests or midterm exams. Bosses are much more difficult than everyday assignments (regular enemies) or quizzes (mid-bosses) and are given more of a chance to overcome the player (just as it's much easier to bomb your midterms than it is a regular exam). Bosses also comprise many elements of previous encounters: in the skills required to defeat them, the aesthetics in their design, and in the themes they present (again much like how a midterm is comprised of questions from your previous homework assignments and quizzes). Bosses also provide a place for designers to really show off what they can do.

However, some games ignore bosses or use them improperly. Often games will fail to implement bosses (not knowing how to work them into the narrative or not seeing why they are necessary). These games often suffer, as without boss encounters to test player progress, game difficulty often ramps up excessively or fails to challenge (interest) players. Furthermore, without these extreme encounters, players often begin to get bored of doing the same things over and over again (imagine the most boring job you've ever performed). Some games refuse to use boss encounters because of their genre; a puzzle game that has no boss encounters, because why would a puzzle game have bosses? These are poor design, as even in puzzles players need lulls and highs, here a boss could be a particularly difficult puzzle made of the solutions to multiple previous puzzles.

I present to you as examples three video games and their takes on boss encounters (the videos include the boss encounters).

#1 Fallout 3 - Video Link

- This is the only boss encounter in Fallout 3, and it takes place fairly early within the game. Notice how quickly the encounter ends (despite the fact that the player is playing on the highest difficulty level). Note also that there is no unique music for the encounter. While the enemy model is unique, there are fifteen or so more super mutant behemoths like this within the game (though this is the only one who attacks suddenly and is referenced by other characters within the game). One of Bethesda's largest failings with their open world titles is the lack of bosses. There are simply too few unique enemies, and Fallout 3 is the worst offender. Aside from this beasty, every major enemy encountered in the main storyline is the same as the regular enemies you encounter randomly. The "final boss" of the game is a human who dies in two shots, not exactly the way to put an endcap on your story.

#2 Prince of Persia


Prince of Persia takes the opposite approach from Fallout 3. While Fallout 3 has one, questionable boss encounter, Prince of Persia has only a few fights that aren't boss encounters. Or perhaps I should say that it only has a few fights that aren't with boss characters. You see Prince of Persia has five main enemies (The Hunter, The Alchemist, The Concubine, The Warrior, and one more...)that you fight over the course of the game. You have many fights with each of these bosses, but they are small skirmishes that merely teach you the skills necessary to defeat them in their final boss encounters (much like the quizzes from before). The start of this video is one of the six encounters you have with The Warrior, and you can already see how much more developed an encounter this than Fallout 3 and it's super mutant behemoth. Note how the player must utilize certain strategies, and how much more cinematic the camera angles and arena are. Note (though it is difficult to hear in the video) the music that matches the event so closely. A vast improvement over Fallout 3.

#3 Shadow of The Colossus


This is a special video, as Shadow of the Colossus is not an ordinary game by any means. Shadow of the Colossus has 16 enemies in the entire game, the first being the one shown in the video. Each of these enemies is a full-fledged boss encounter, though each one teaches you something new that must later be applied to the final boss. I included this video not to praise such a strategy, as I feel that normal enemies and mid-bosses are just as important as homework and quizzes, but because it nails exactly what a boss encounter should look and feel like.

Bosses can be a very powerful tool, and can truly define a gaming experience, but when used incorrectly they can vastly weaken what may be a solid experience otherwise.

Audio of the Apocalypse

I realize now that during my discussion of the previous two games (Fallout 3 and Prince of Persia)I have neglected to make any mention of the music. I consider this to be a grave offense, as nothing truly shapes a video game experience as much as its music does.

Fallout 3 presents its music in two forms: its original compositions which consist mainly of brooding background songs, or two in-game radio stations that play violin music and 50's era tunes (Butcher Pete) respectively. While the original compositions mesh well with the game I soon turned to the radio stations, as the game was lonely and devastated enough without similar music. The radios on the other hand were soon replaced by iTunes being run in the background. While the songs were engaging enough (I especially enjoyed the juxtaposition of upbeat 50's tunes while blowing apart super mutants), there simply weren't enough songs for the game. Including original compositions I would estimate that there were roughly 50 songs in the game, a respectable number normally, but not wen over half of those songs weren't made for the game itself. The problem is that songs written for video games have much more to do with classical compositions than more modern tunes. You can sit down and enjoy listening to a new pop song, but you can't listen to it over and over again, as it simply isn't designed to be repeated in rapid succession.

A further strike against Fallout 3 is the mind-boggling decision not to give easy access for players to make their own radio station. Previous Bethesda games have made it extremely easy for players to add their own music to the game, and I cannot figure out why they did not continue to do so, especially when there is a radio station system within the game. I mean, what's the point to having radio stations at all when there are only two of them?

With all of these musical woes we also see the narrative being weakened as well. With no music directly tied to the narrative (there are no boss songs, no theme song for the main quest, etc...), and with music playing that often undermines the gravity of scenes within the game, it is no small wonder that players find themselves very distanced from their avatars and the events within the game. Fallout 3 attempts to engage the player by tying an emotional connection to them with their avatar's father, yet many players couldn't care less for him (even if he is voiced by Liam Nieson). Had there been some musical themes (perhaps one of loss that could be tied to the world and the players search for their father, and one for their father himself) I may have formed more of an attachment to the character.

It seems that as Bethesda becomes better and better and making large, free-roaming worlds, they have been getting worse at constructing an interesting and engaging narrative. As Morrowind's music stands unforgettable in my mind, and Oblivion's title theme gets my heart pumping, Fallout 3's music is as dry and forgettable as the wasteland it contains within.