Mark hates annoying boss battles. I hate them, too. So why am I promoting Mark's guide to creating a frustrating boss, learned from painful experience? I'm just a masochist, I guess.
(Warning: Metroid: Other M spoilers ahead.)
I really enjoyed Metroid: Other M. The story and voice acting could've used improvement -- why did Samus sound lobotomized? -- but I found the game itself to be an interesting take on the Metroid franchise. The only major issue I had was with the game's boss fights.
Boss fights seem to be less and less prevalent in games today. Other than Metroid: Other M, I can't think of a recent, non-downloadable title that has had them. After playing Other M, I can see why many games avoid them. The challenge of a boss fight can easily create an insurmountable barrier to an easily frustrated gamer. I was close to quitting Other M a few times due to bosses I couldn't beat.
In gaming, there's a fuzzy line between challenging and frustrating. Good games keep you coming back for the challenge, while bad games make you quit in frustration. This line varies from player to player, so what frustrates me may be a fun challenge for someone else.
Regardless, I think Other M features some incredibly annoying bosses. Rather than presenting a challenge, these elements made me feel like Team Ninja, the game's designers, were actively working to piss me off -- which means I'm now an expert in aggravating boss design.
So, game developers, if you want to create your own annoying boss, just follow these simple steps:
Give the boss powerful attacks with long animations.
Although powerful boss moves can be pretty cheap on their own, such move are exponentially more frustrating when the move has a really long animation. Have the boss do something like pick me up, drag me against the wall for 10 seconds, then throw me on the floor. Repeat as needed. Oh, and Make sure I have to watch the entire process every time.
Expect me to do something even though I have no idea I should do it.
Imagine that you've tried to kill a boss countless times before you finally get to the end of the battle. You expect the boss to die when its health bar has been depleted, but instead it starts flashing red. You try shooting them, but none of your regular weapons work. The boss kills you again. After a bit of research online, you find out that you were supposed to shoot the chandelier on the roof to finish the fight.
How were you supposed to know that? Don't bother with any sort of indicator. Just assume the player is psychic, or that they'll randomly shoot everything in the room until they get it right.
For example, at the end of a battle with Mother Brain in Other M, you have to detonate a power bomb in her stomach. If you don't, you will die. However, you haven't yet been authorized (or shown how) to use the power bomb. Kudos for that design, Team Ninja!
Give your boss multiple forms, so it's essentially two or three bosses in one, then restart the player at the beginning of the whole thing if they die.
This wasn’t a huge problem in Other M, but it is something that has caused me to give up on other games. If the entire battle is pretty short, it’s fine to start players from the beginning if they die. But for optimal annoyance, make the boss fight last 15 minutes or more. Then sit back and get satisfaction knowing that you made me throw down my controller, cry a little bit, then never play your game again.
Disadvantage the player in some unexpected way.
If I’ve grown accustomed to using a certain weapon (say, a whip) throughout a game, please force me to use a tiny knife/bat/my fists to beat a certain boss. Why make a boss more challenging when you can simply handicap me?
In Other M, you have to fight a boss while under the effects of extreme gravity:
Even though the fight isn’t that difficult, it’s incredibly annoying to control a main character that moves like a lead tank. Especially when she's been zipping around like super ninja for the rest of the game.
