When a player is easily progressing through the game and starts to adapt to the hostile environment, then it means the player is succeeding, but it cannot be made to easy for the player. Challenges and obstacles are put in front of the player and the player decides whether or not they have the ability to overcome those obstacles and if they do then how to overcome those obstacles. A player is given enough information and tools in order to properly progress, but it all depends on how the player decides to manipulate the data in order to progress. When progressing through levels or exploring the world map of a videogame, a player is less constrained in some areas as opposed to others. However, there comes a time when a player is placed to confront a challenge that only be done in the way the designers of the level engineered it. Most games often incorporate boss fights as a way to test the player’s skill and see if the player is progressing properly. It also serves as a reminded to all the tools the player possesses in his or her own arsenal. It is at this stage of a game that a player often has to experience some sort of frustration or sense of defeat because the player is put in an unfamiliar situation. Minutes ago a player might have been swiftly dealing with enemies that almost amount to nothing compared to the player, but once the bar is raised higher the player needs to take a step back and figure out the new features that have just been incorporated into the game. One example of how players are sometimes exposed to bosses or higher tier enemies, but don’t have to fight them yet is in the Bioshock videogame franchise. The boss or stronger enemy in this videogame is referred to as “Big Daddy” which already sets an atmosphere around the enemy. Throughout both games, but mostly in the first instalment, the player sees the destruction, savagery and brutality that a Big Daddy is capable of, but is never immediately a victim of this. The game hints that at one point the player will have to face this imminent threat in order to progress in the story, however the player is given time to prepare and plan before fighting the enemy. Once the player is successful in defeating one of these bosses, the player knows the new mechanics of how to defeat this specific enemy who was previously considered a boss, but is now viewed as more of potential threat than the other enemies and foes in the game.

(Molina, December 22, 2009)

Developers and programmers are sometimes more inclined to captivate their audience of consumers by giving mass spectacles of boss fights. These often serve as spectacles to those who are viewing the gameplay, but serve as an actual challenge to those who are playing the game. Like in Bioshock, the player decides how to deal with the boss and what items and skill sets are best to use in order to defeat the enemy without dying. It is a combination of both equipment and skills that are used to defeat the boss. A more unforgiving boss fight could be found in the game of Darksouls where boss fights are challenges and meters to see whether or not the player is ready to move forward. In a specific boss fight of this videogame, the player is once again put in a closed environment against not one boss, but two who possess different skill sets. The player sees that there is a heavier enemy who has a harder time moving, but possesses greater strength than his companion. The smaller and more agile of the two bosses is very nimble and can reach the player across great distances as well as attack the player from a distance. The player decides which opponent to defeat first, but this simple decision means that the powers of the defeated boss will transfer to the other one. Although the player goes from fighting two opponents to a single one, the single opponent now possesses the powers of the deceased companion. The boss is a challenge for the player who needs to think of different strategies or simply train harder in order to defeat both foes, but it is also a reminder that one outcome will always lead to another one.

(Hunter, May 6. 2013)

There are other cases in videogames where players are not given a heads up on a potential boss fight and are pushed into a room with a new enemy that the player is forced to figure out. There are certainly hints and tips that the game is sometimes obliged to provide to the player, but this mostly happens when a player constantly fails on performing the same task over and over again. Before the boss fight however, the player is exposed to all sorts of tools, points of interest and critical information which the player is responsible for retaining. The game has already provided the means to progress, but the player has to make the effort of using whatever has been exposed in the game. A good example of how the player must use all tools and methods of defeating an enemy in a single boss fight is in Rocksteady’s second instalment of the Batman Arkham Series: Batman Arkham City. In this boss fight the player is pitted against an archenemy who was working in unison with the character that the player is controlling, who is Batman. In a closed environment, the Batman is supposed to take down a boss with a limited amount of health points; a pretty simple task, but the boss does something that is sometimes forgotten or disregarded in most boss fights: adapt. Once the Batman uses one gadget or uses one mode of taking down the boss, the previously used method is now deemed useless since the boss has learned from his own mistakes. The player is forced to remember all the different types of takedowns and gadgets that the Batman is able to use in order to defeat the boss. The order in which the takedowns are executed does not matter to the progression, but all of these methods must be used in order to progress.

References

Hunter, C. (2013, May 6). The 25 Best Boss Battles Of All Time – 7. Ornstein and Smough. Retrieved from http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2013/05/the-25-best-boss-battles-of-all-time/ornstein-and-smough

Molina, B. (2009, December 22). Taking a closer look at ‘BioShock 2’. Retrieved from http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2009/12/taking-a-closer-look-at-bioshock-2/1#.VnKlqhV97IU