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"Anatomy of a Boss"

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Mon 31/12/01 at 11:28
Regular
Posts: 787
The Scene: You’re chasing 006 around the Cradle. He is relentless in his cerebral plan. His guards are no matches for you – but he is seemingly inhuman. He unloads a bullet from his gun and it penetrates your flesh. In a flurry of blood, the screen fades – you are clinically dead. When the screen re-appears, you are at the foot of the Cradle, Glock 47 in hand 006 and is escaping.

Some bosses are devilishly difficult – to the point where you’ve tried so hard and got so far, but he just keeps being that bit more slippery than yourself. The fatigue really sets in when you have all the guns, you’ve killed everything else in your path and the last boss has little to or null health. One silly mistake and it’s over – you’re dead. Half Life is an example that really fixes in my head – when you’re fighting the last boss and you have all your weapons – nothing will take that beast down! Then, the same formula is repeated for 20 minutes straight and his health goes no-where. One false move and it’s over – back to the drawing board. The Final Fantasy series is like this – not in that the bosses are difficult, but if you are a novice player, it can take up to half an hour to win the final battle. You can learn more about your enemy though – if you take them apart and examine them piece-by-piece. This analysis may give you a better understanding of the evils you have to face and may even help in conquering them.

Strength: “The state, property, or quality of being strong.” Some say that strength is the key element to success, especially in a real fight – but I talk on the contrary. Strength means absolutely nothing…especially if you have a Rocket Launcher! Just look at Half Life – you’re fighting a mega-creature, who if offered the chance one-on-one, would probably squash you in three seconds flat. With weapons, it’s a different story – you could unload several hundred bullets into the monster and become the victor. Anyone who says that strength is a factor is bit of a hypocrite. On the other hand, in a fight against another human (Goldeneye), strength will play a part.

Toughness: “Able to withstand great strain without tearing or breaking; strong and resilient.” In games, the toughness of your character varies, from the uncanny toughness of Max Payne to the gentleness of Banjo Kazooie. Then again, Banjo is the baddest bear you’ll ever see! I think toughness really is a big factor in the outcome of a game. Toughness will depend on whether you are alive or taking a dirt nap. If you are not tough enough, you will not be able to go on and you will be defeated. You should be able to battle through the preliminary enemies with ease, but as the game progresses, you will have to crank up the testosterone and open up a can of…you know what.

Speed: “The rate or a measure of the rate of motion.” Speed is important when battling a 30-feet high megalithic creature – if you are fast, you may be able to pick it off with little shots here and there but if you are slow, there is little or no hope for you. It is difficult to compare the speed of a giant to your everyday character, as what is slow to a human may be roadrunner speed to a giant. For instance, because a giant has massive legs, it can walk at least 10 feet at a time, where a human can do 4 at most. A giant has the advantage seemingly in most aspects, but it depends which angle you look at it from.

Recovery: “The act, process, duration, or an instance of recovering.” What would a character be without recovery? A character would be nothing without recovery…well, actually they would be a jelly-like slump on the floor but they won’t know the difference. As your energy depletes, so does your recovery and so you take longer to get back up – a mistake, which the enemy can capitalize on. If you are weak enough, as soon as you recover, you will be knocked down again and this will keep happening until you are no more. I can only give one piece of simply advice – make sure that your health is high and take ever opportunity possible at picking off the enemy. The preliminary enemy normally has less-than-average recovery and so can be beaten very easily, whereas the bosses tend to have matching or higher recovery rates. This is not only true for boss-based games, but for sport too. Check out any Boxing or wrestling game – as the fight progresses, your health will slide down and your character will get puffed out. I have to admit – games are getting more realistic!

Charisma: Charisma is the most misunderstood of all of the factors – in that people tend to believe that everyone advocates the good guy – I take this with a pinch of salt. There are some people out there (granted, a minority) who support the villain and would rather take his place in the game than the good guy – this is why the Grand Theft Auto games sell so many copies – because it’s a novelty to play the bad guy…and splattering someone over your windshield probably has it’s say too! People also seem to overlook the in-game charisma that can “virtually” fuel the villain. After all – Bowser is just a few million lines of code anyway, that anyone could destroy with a small proverbial barge pole. In games you have the advantage charisma-wise, with in-game characters cheering you on, your friends offering support and the emotion, the will to win. No computer can generate those feelings of emotion – well, not yet anyway.

These “properties” of Strength, Toughess, Speed, Recovery and Charisma go beyond the foolish labels of man and machine – but into the forsaken lines of evolution. If you read over what I have written above a few times, you can really get in the skin of your worst enemy, be it human or machine – it doesn’t matter. When you’re fighting that almighty foe, remember the aforementioned text and use it as a guide. I hope I have helped you in your battles with your inner foe.
Tue 01/01/02 at 21:01
Posts: 0
DAY-US EX
Tue 01/01/02 at 20:55
Regular
"Sally On Weekdays!"
Posts: 378
[wEiRd KiD] wrote:
> Nice post Mark...another GAD win me thinks ...theres no stopping you winning
> loads more with the writing talent you have..keep up the good work ,will look
> forward to reading more of your work. Oh and Happy New Year mate

> Dave :D

Cheers Dave and Happy New Year back! Thanks for all the kind comments! Mark.
Tue 01/01/02 at 20:49
Regular
""
Posts: 2,925
Tiltawhirl wrote:
> And Mystique swallows

and Neo-Genetic spits! He he. That's my revenge. Sibling rivalry
Tue 01/01/02 at 20:42
Posts: 0
Nice post Mark...another GAD win me thinks ...theres no stopping you winning loads more with the writing talent you have..keep up the good work ,will look forward to reading more of your work. Oh and Happy New Year mate
Dave :D
Tue 01/01/02 at 20:09
Regular
Posts: 4,142
Tiltawhirl wrote:
> What's TSQ?

Total Spamming sQuad
Tue 01/01/02 at 14:52
Regular
"everyone says it"
Posts: 14,738
Mate, that was a very good topic. :-)

Well done.
Tue 01/01/02 at 14:52
Regular
Posts: 21,800
And Mystique swallows
Tue 01/01/02 at 14:51
Regular
Posts: 18,775
Tiltawhirl
sucks...
Tue 01/01/02 at 14:48
Regular
Posts: 21,800
What's TSQ?
Tue 01/01/02 at 14:36
Regular
Posts: 4,142
Or†ega wrote:
> I think we need to bring back TSQ.

Then everybody can get all thier
> spam-e-ness out of thier system...

NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

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