How many bosses did you ever really hate? And not because of the camera or special hit points, or unstoppable attacks 
Today I finally finished Wizards & Warriors 3, and I get to fight an evil wizard at the end who supposedly made the place really bad due to him overthrowing the king and sitting on his throne.
The wizard offers me the chance to join with him, but hey, he was an evil bastard (alledgedly) so I decided to fight him, even though I had no real reason to. After the ending I decide to replay to join with him, but he imprisons me instead. Funny thing is, that ending was loads better.
Anyway, it was the first thing he did in the entire game that affected me and it makes me wonder, what's the point of bosses in story driven games if they don't engage the mind?
Sephiroth was the most interesting boss I've ever encountered simply because he made his presence felt throughout the game.
I know it's not easy to implement other than through cutscenes, but if you can get to know a boss first it's so much better. Another boss of a different kind who stands out in my mind in Deus Ex is your boss in UNATCO, Manderley. He was a dirty lying, twofaced scumbag and it was all he more sweet when I could confront him later knowing that I didn't have to kill him. He wasn't a typical game boss but at least I hated him.
It's just so hard to give a toss about enemies in games in general, never mind their evil overlords. I'd love if videogames could make enemies that actually were evil instead of the showoff pretenders they usually are.
Symbolism is underused, the scariest thing on Lord Of The Rings for me was the great fiery eye above the tower, or the raven in the film The Stand.
Personality would help too, I don't expect to meet a Hannibal Lecter anytime soon but Starkweather in Manhunt is a step in the right direction.
So what's your take on the bad guys?
Today I finally finished Wizards & Warriors 3, and I get to fight an evil wizard at the end who supposedly made the place really bad due to him overthrowing the king and sitting on his throne.
The wizard offers me the chance to join with him, but hey, he was an evil bastard (alledgedly) so I decided to fight him, even though I had no real reason to. After the ending I decide to replay to join with him, but he imprisons me instead. Funny thing is, that ending was loads better.
Anyway, it was the first thing he did in the entire game that affected me and it makes me wonder, what's the point of bosses in story driven games if they don't engage the mind?
Sephiroth was the most interesting boss I've ever encountered simply because he made his presence felt throughout the game.
I know it's not easy to implement other than through cutscenes, but if you can get to know a boss first it's so much better. Another boss of a different kind who stands out in my mind in Deus Ex is your boss in UNATCO, Manderley. He was a dirty lying, twofaced scumbag and it was all he more sweet when I could confront him later knowing that I didn't have to kill him. He wasn't a typical game boss but at least I hated him.
It's just so hard to give a toss about enemies in games in general, never mind their evil overlords. I'd love if videogames could make enemies that actually were evil instead of the showoff pretenders they usually are.
Symbolism is underused, the scariest thing on Lord Of The Rings for me was the great fiery eye above the tower, or the raven in the film The Stand.
Personality would help too, I don't expect to meet a Hannibal Lecter anytime soon but Starkweather in Manhunt is a step in the right direction.
So what's your take on the bad guys?
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