Some time ago I sent an Email to Tom Fulp about how it would be cool to have a competition for the people of Newgrounds to design their own boss the Behemoth game, Ye old Sidescroller (as it is currently known, to my knowledge) with the idea of a prize being having your boss in the game. Unfortunately he never replied, or indeed probably never read it due to the masses of Emails he probably has.
So now, ages later and bored stiff, I have decided to set up a topic about it anyway. It will be nice to see other people's creative minds at work. And who knows, the best boss may even appear in the game if this topic gains enough interest.
Remember when designing to list what it looks like, what attacks it will have and detailed descriptions of them and weak point or areas when they are vulnerable. Due to the fact barely any of us know what kind of ways the protagonists can attack it may just be best to make sure the weak point can be damaged by a simple sword swipe.
And remember, that the entire game (or the general majority, ya never know) is set in the Medieval times, so a huge great big robot, as cool as they are, would just be out of context. And if you’re going to do something stereotypical, make sure it stands out from the rest. If you’re going to do a dragon, then what defines it from all the other people who suggest a dragon?
Also, though not required, (good) pictures can bring your idea to life and make it easier for us to realize what it may look like and the areas of attack and weak point. I suck at drawing so I’ll try describe it the best I can.
Try to stick to bosses for a standard level, but if you feel it would only work in a certain context (lava world for example) then state what the level should be like.
I’ll start off to get things going:
Level: Standard, players are mounted on horseback in this level and charge through several places, such as a market (and go through and spoil a jousting competition whilst there at it)
Boss: Blimpmaster 1000
This boss is, as the name suggests, a huge blimp which dominates the top 3rd of the screen, the fight is divided into 2 stages, the first begins on horseback with the aim being the down the blimp. Throughout this first stage the players are chasing the blimp, which has a top that looks like a circus big top tent, with patches all over it, the base of it looking like an oversized wicker basket with a roof and little slit windows. Inside is a mad goblin-like alchemist, working on a wheel at the front of the blimp and brewing up potions, meanwhile in the back is his pet monkey who throws explosive potions there are a few archers in the middle of the blimp. During the first stage, the knights are chasing the blimp through an abandoned siege; there are various siege weapons like catapults dotted about.
The attacks include:
Monkey Missile: The monkey throws explosive potions at a player directly, giving the player little time to dodge them, fires only one at a time and when the player is in front of the back of the blimp.
Monkey Mortar: The monkey throws explosive potions behind the blimp in a random fashion. Whilst easier to see where they are going to land there are a lot more of them than Monkey Mortars.
Archer Strike: Archers fire arrows at players if they are in range, they do little damage but stun the player, leaving them vulnerable to a Monkey Mortar.
Firebomb: The goblin tosses a potion out of his window, causing the area around the blast to catch fire, which can be jumped over.
Due to it being in the air, the blimp cannot be directly destroyed. Instead the players must slash the strings on catapults they pass during the fight to fire rocks at the blimp’s balloon. They must be triggered from 3 spots, behind the blimp, the middle of the blimp and at the front of the blimp. Each time it successfully hits a patch will rip off, after the 3rd patch is hit, the blimp disappears off screen to the right (it’s gone on ahead). The knights then come across the town that the siege weapons were pointing at, they dismount the horses (for the first time in the level, I think the level should start with the knights breaking out of a stable on horseback, then throughout the level they are permanently moving right) and walk into the town on foot. There they encounter the blimp, which has crashed in the middle of the town.
Stage 2 of the boss starts with the goblin alchemist forcing a potion down his monkey’s throat. This causes it to grow, a lot. It becomes a near screen-filler in size. The goblin hangs on the back whilst the archers mount on his shoulders and head.
The attacks include:
Stomp: The monkey slams his foot down, stunning nearby players and leaving them open to attack, mashing of buttons reduces the stun duration.
Squish: The monkey has a short burst of speed toward the spot of the targeted player and slams his foot on the location, twisting it as if squishing it like a bug.
Swipe: The monkey uses his tail to do a 360 degree turn which can be avoided by jumping.
Arrow Volley: Ever 10 seconds, the archers on the top of the monkey fire a volley of arrows at one of the players.
Healing Potion: The goblin jumps off the monkey to apply a healing potion, during this attack, there is a constant stream of arrows from the archers.
Firebomb: Same as in stage one, the goblin tosses a Molotov at a player, the radius of the fire is ratioed to the goblins health, the less health the bigger the fire radius, the fire lingers for about a second.
Beserker Potion: This attack occurs once the goblin is killed, with his final breath his throws an orange potion at his monkey, enraging the beast so much he eats his archers and the goblins body, the monkey gains extra health, damage and speed.
The key to defeating this is to learn the pattern and wear the monkey down. Slashing any spot multiple times will have the monkey kneel over in pain, causing the goblin to retreat from his hiding spot to heal him, then you have a chance to strike the goblin. Repeat until the goblin is dead, then it’s just a matter of picking the right moments, and utilsing scenery to pick the right moment to hit the enraged giant monkey. Then the boss will die.
That’s the sort of detail you should aim for.
