Posted September 10, 2023 by MCHS productions
#devlog #game design #game dev #platformer #boss design
I'm currently working on the boss levels for my speedrun platformer The Shadow Runner, and I've reached a creative block regarding the second-to-last boss of the game, the boss for the Mines world. All ideas are welcome, so feel free to comment your ideas for a potential Mines boss.
Every world in TSR is comprised of 10 levels, split into 9 main levels and a boss level. Since each level is unlocked consecutively, the boss level is only unlocked after completing every other level in the world.
This is what the level select screen for the bonus themed worlds looks like:
To give an idea of what bosses in The Shadow Runner are like, here are examples of bosses from the other themed worlds:
The Powerplant boss is a one-wheeled robot that aggressively charges at the player. It emits an electricity field which stuns and damages the player if they get too close. Most of the boss' damage comes from the turrets mounted on the ceiling of the arena, but the boss is more than capable of stun-locking the player for a quick death if they're not careful. The player damages the boss by getting it to ram itself into the arena walls.
The final boss of the game is the Factory boss. It is a large computer powered by an ai that oversees the factory. The boss indirectly attacks the player in many ways, and the boss can be damaged by ramming the player character into the buttons on the arena walls.
To make a Mines themed boss, it's important to understand the theming of the Mines. Below are screenshots of levels in the Mines world:
The Mines features environments that are simultaneously open yet claustrophobic. Common enemies/obstacles present in the Mines are:
Although I don't have any exact ideas for what the Mines boss is or will look like, I do have some ideas on the gameplay of the Mines boss.
This is what the Mines boss arena looks like:
The player starts on the bottom left, with spikes rapidly popping up on the floor. The player has 3 seconds to jump onto the smoke platforms, where they must keep moving throughout the entire fight, with smoke platforms disappearing under the player and new ones being made by the machines. The ceiling of the arena has a rail track that extends outside of the arena on both sides. An ideal Mines boss would be a boss that takes advantage of the arena in multiple ways.
The ideas you post don't have to adhere to any ideas I already have, but here are some features I've considered in a potential Mines boss:
Hopefully this is enough information to get you thinking up ideas for potential Mines themed bosses. Any comment is much appreciated :D