I feel hardly anyone posts often here, being that they're focused on a lot, so I think I should do a bit of something for time to time talking.

Hmm...

I do have something to discuss for those wanting to pass the time.

Well, I've spent a bit of time, and maybe saw a few step-by-step guides on designing and implementing bosses in video games, but there's a few things hardly people discuss.

For one, people always talk about those, but hardly, people talk about other boss types, such as mini-bosses, very hardly discussed, I think, and I've seen some games that have them, even those with their own battle themes, such as Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Blaster Master Zero 1 & 2, and Sonic Mania.

What people say mini-bosses are often stronger versions of certain enemies, I saw other games that did have original unique minibosses separate from those that are what I've said, even having their own attack patterns to make them distinguishable and stand out from the enemy bestiary. This kinda annoys me to think nobody often discusses the steps on how to design and implement mini-bosses, or, for different terms, mid-bosses, sub-bosses, or even medium bosses & half-bosses(rarely used, I think), and how they're placed in levels before the main or major bosses, the end-of-level bosses that are more stronger and powerful than mini-bosses, in terms of attack patterns, tactics, and health amounts and/or hits to defeat.

Since Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and in certain later games onward, I've had a very strong belief in myself that in video games, levels, or worlds, should have at least an established minimum requirement of one mini-boss before facing the major boss in them, though I also feel and believe there should also be a penultimate boss, then the final boss, fought nearly or immediately after that boss' defeat in the final level. I've had my expectations set on those, and have seen not many that met such expectations, that of which slightly disappoints me.

If anyone would like to refer such a guide on that for their projects, should they wish to do it, maybe this guide I have just made myself here might help out. If other guides are in need of updating to accommodate that information, please do so.

1. - Use any form of creation processes to create any miniboss you wish to create and implement. Be it from pen, pencil, & paper, or a digital art drawing program(though, in my perspective, it is best to purchase one with perpetual licenses(those you can keep forever), because subscription-based services are not well-suited for anything you would want to have such a program, no matter their differences are, in terms of features & efficiency)

2. - The mini-bosses' battle themes should be their own, separate from the major bosses'. Even if certain levels have more than one, fought in part of a level and at the midway point of one at the same time, have different battle themes to stand them out a bit more from those minibosses in the levels' midway points.

3. - Seek and utilize references for forms of inspiration to their creation, but make them feel unique and distinguishable to stand them out.

4. - If you feel there should be more than one in certain levels, even though the structure in prior levels have the mini-boss in the middle of a level and major boss at the end of a level, have a structure to stand them out, such as in the case of a temple level, for example, with a midway point that has the player to defeat each miniboss in each chamber, regardless of whatever order they choose, before progressing through farther.

5. - Making them(or any other boss) just larger enemies, be it double or triple in size, or whatever duplicates you think of as one, its really lacking in variety and uniqueness across bosses. Even having one that's always recurring, with very little new patterns that are fought over and over again, regardless of whatever anyone places them to make the same one tougher in later levels, that really takes away vitality from them.

6. - If you wish to make them into pixel art and have them animated and/or have their segments created, there's Pro Motion NG, Aseprite, or maybe GIMP. For 3D, perhaps Blender.

7. - If you wish, for a final mini-boss(that is to say, that one before going against the penultimate boss, or in unique cases, final, and even extra penultimate boss in the final and extra stages, respectively), have its, or their own, unique theme to solidify its own standing from all prior minibosses.

8. - Have their defeats/defeat animations distinguished and unique, to stand out from others, that is to say, not have them all follow the same or over-dramatic and/or far less dramatic processes, such as the case of Blaster Master Zero 2 that had all bosses explode for a few seconds before being gone in a oversized, recycled, recolored explosion with the screen going through the white fade in and out for such final explosions. Also, not all explosions have to be centered on whatever weak points they have. They should also be centered on all their segments, and/or their entire bodies, too.

So, anyone would like to maybe do a few discussions, please do.