Revised justification of final boss

Reflecting on the feedback provided from Sprint 2 regarding the justification of the Final Boss existence, we continued exploring the notion of introducing an antagonist in the final act of the game. The insights point to the need to have the final boss for the following reasons:

1. Our user group requires resolution, or a conclusion in a form of the main evil in the end of the game. This was evident from the research and interviews conducted in Sprint 2 where users expressed the need for "an evil entity that wreaks havoc".
2. Final boss is part of the main storyline. Insights from additional research into persona needs conducted in Sprint 3 suggest that our user group likes "to play the game with an interesting story". Depriving gamers from the concept of a final boss can break the story and cause an unnecessary frustration and damage the gaming experience.
3. "Typhon" is a part of an endless mode game - new experience which is unlocked only when the player completes the game in the normal mode. Prior to accessing the endless mode player needs to engage with a story, understand game mechanics, get familiarized with the interface, and ultimately feel victorious by defeating "Typhon". Only then the player can try his or her skills in the new game mode. Consequently, final boss is the last piece that acts as a gateway to a completely new game mode filled with memorable and joyful gaming experiences. For the reasons above we decided to continue working on the concept of a final boss during Sprint 3.

Justification for animating the final boss

Before designing the animations, user interviews were completed to identify whether animating the final boss would enhance users' gaming experience.

Goal of user testing

User interviews were completed to find out if the boss enemy is currently identifiable in the game and whether our emotional goal relating to the final boss - as outlined in our studio’s game design document - is being met. This goal is:

“After players successfully reach the final stage of the game and the final boss surfaces out of the water, players will feel nervous and [increased] pressure as the fate of Atlantis will entirely depend on whether they successfully defend against the final boss.”

Because we want users to feel nervous and increased pressure from the final boss appearing out of the water, it is important that the boss enemy’s appearance and movements signal fear, danger and a clear threat to users. If not, our game will not be achieving our emotional goals. It is also important to have a clear final boss so the user needs, as outlined above, can be met. This includes the fact users require a conclusion in the form of a main evil at the end and like games with interesting stories such as the existence of the final boss "Typhon".

Summary of user testing

The user testing concluded that users did not perceive this character as the "final boss enemy" in the game, rather as just a general enemy. Both interviewees were quickly and decisively able to identify the character as a general enemy, largely because it behaves like an enemy and spawns at night:

• "Definitely feels like an enemy character because it comes out at night..." ~ Interviewee 1
• "Considering it comes out at night, it's an enemy" ~ Interviewee 2

However, both interviewees strongly felt that this character's size relative to the crab enemy and the main character was far too small and as a result thought the character was "not really scar[y]" and "[not] hard to beat". Interviewee 1 noted that the main character's axe weapon is "nearly the same size as [this character]", indicating that this character is not intimidating, and interviewee 2 states that this character "almost looks cute... because of its size compared to the crab". This character's size was evidently the main contributing factor as to why users do not immediately recognise it as the final boss enemy and/or as the most powerful enemy. Other contributing factors to why users did not perceive this enemy as the boss/most powerful enemy included the fact that the crab enemy seemed "angrier" by comparison and the fact that this character had no evident special powers. Both interviewees recommended adding an animation with flames as they associate smoke and fire with "danger" and believe flames would make this character seem "more evil". Other animations users suggested included: power zapping from its "spiky tail"; enhancing its angry facial expressions to make the character more intimidating; and flapping its wings as they believe it would "help assert its presence".

This being said, both interviewees agreed that the actual design of this character, ignoring its current scale, looks "intimidating" and "evil". Interviewee 2 particularly liked the 2 different heads and the trident as "these features make the character look very evil". The results from the previous sprint's user testing on an individual image of the main boss also confirms that, when isolated from the game, users can identify the character as the boss enemy.

Improvements to be made: From the interviewees' answers, it is clear that the enemy needs to be increased in size so it is at least as large as the main character. The reason for this is to increase the clarity of the boss enemy's design and to help ensure it appears more powerful than the crab and eel enemies, who will be comparatively smaller. It was concluded that implementing animations to increase its presence and showcase its powers will also help ensure users view this character as the boss enemy and associate danger and fear with it (hence achieving our emotional goal).