Spiral Knights - OWA Boss

OWA Boss

8 replies [Last post]

Thu, 09/20/2012 - 15:34

Soarel

Note: listen to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7wJ8pE2qKU as you read :)

Remember Sephiroth from FFVII? You know how he goes into that whack-ass angel form after you beat his human form and his "cocoon" form?

And remember how Squeenix always puts something like that in the final bosses of their games?

Yeah.

So as I was fighting Vanaduke the other day, I noticed that in his final "stage" he sort of goes "One-Winged Angel" (OWA).

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OneWingedAngel

The term is named for Sephiroth's theme song, which plays during the "whackass angel" stage.

But it's not a true OWA, because in his final stage, he's just maskless and on fire. Not exactly what I'd call an "intimidating super monster", he's just one angry Vanaduke.

So what I'm suggesting here isn't a full idea, just a concept for a boss in the future. At first, the boss looks small and weak (maybe with the health level of a Big Slime Colony), but after you beat it, it says something about its "true form" and turns into a monstrous, intimidating thing the size of Vanaduke.

Some possible types of boss with this set-up:

-A spiral knight (or at least what looks like a spiral knight), that turns into an angelic, but also intimidating being (Like Sephiroth).

-A recolored Pit Boss that "powers up" into a big, curse-inflicting devilite.

-A Battlepod that rises out of the ground and becomes a mech.

-A weak-ish being watching you from above, that becomes a monster when you solve a puzzle.

Just throwing this out here.

Thu, 09/20/2012 - 15:44

Oatmonster

Lick

No, I don't remember what you are talking about.

I wouldn't call this a suggestion, I would call it half of an idea. Half of an idea who's proprietor is asking the rest of the community to come up with the actually suggestion and details.

I thought you left the forums.

Thu, 09/20/2012 - 15:49

Luguiru

"always puts something like

"always puts something like that in the final bosses of their games"

Using the same gimmick constantly is not a good thing.

Vanaduke is a "big honking monster" against his own will while most other things simply pretend to be smaller for most of the game and only reveal themselves (hopefully without nudity involved) just for the boss fight. Vanaduke does not show up and wave at you before the boss fight. Snarbolax appears before the boss fight but not in a diminished form. This is far too common in games and is a tired and ancient gimmick. Everyone has done it at some point.

From the perspective of a story writer, what makes the unexpected transformation so important to the storyline, if one exists in context? Why does it matter that they were just pretending to be somewhat normal looking? Were we supposed to relate to their character somehow? In the Wakfu series (they have a show), the villain of the first season is an actual character, not just some dragon to fight and defeat. The villain is not just some evil angry face to hate, but an actual person who happens to have intentions which go against that of the protagonist(s); the villain is a villain, not just a plot point. Personally, that is the defining feature of a good antagonist: they could be a real person in the world they exist in. Many games, especially the Zelda series, just have the villain as some big angry monster that has to be killed so everyone else can live happily ever after. What about the villain? Does anyone even care about the battle, or is it just cheering on the heroes? No. That story is boring to me. Nothing is interesting about that. But in stories where that happens, the Zelda series again, the main appeal is in the journey over the result; you get to enjoy the game before fighting the big mean smelly boss. Unfortunately, there are far more stories which simply follow some generic hero until they kill some evil thing somewhere and win everything. No. Never. That is Twilight in game form.

Thu, 09/20/2012 - 16:19

Little-Juances

Actually, Arkus fits into that final fantasy look. He grows spikes from the floor,lightning effects, fools you into death and such.

Thu, 09/20/2012 - 21:03

Soarel

Misunderstanding!

@Luigiru:
I'm not saying the villain is a big angry monster. Apparently, you did not understand what I was saying.

I mean he's a real character with motivations, but in his boss fight he turns into a big monster but just to fight you. Not as if he's just a random monster you have to kill.

Why do I still want it? Because it's pretty damn awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uKyIVQpoh8&feature=related

Here's the original battle against Sephiroth. Starts out as a human, transforms into Safer Sephiroth. The "bizzaro" sephiroth is him while he is transforming.

Is it not epic?

Thu, 09/20/2012 - 21:03

Soarel

Misunderstanding!

@Luigiru:
I'm not saying the villain is a big angry monster. Apparently, you did not understand what I was saying.

I mean he's a real character with motivations, but in his boss fight he turns into a big monster but just to fight you. Not as if he's just a random monster you have to kill.

Why do I still want it? Because it's pretty damn awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uKyIVQpoh8&feature=related

Here's the original battle against Sephiroth. Starts out as a human, transforms into Safer Sephiroth. The "bizzaro" sephiroth is him while he is transforming.

Is it not epic?

Thu, 09/20/2012 - 21:07

Luguiru

You disgust me.

Fri, 09/21/2012 - 03:00

Aureate

Processing Thoughts of You Always

Well, yes, but if a certain idea is used too often then it becomes just another crappy cliche.
The last three ideas you came up with do not fit the original idea that you mentioned. The first does, sort of, but then we already have Arkus, an ex-guardian who decided to go to the graveyard, and then fought other knights in order to be able to stay there.

Creating a boss that has the same sort of attacks and appearance as Sepiroth would come very close to infringing on copyright, if not doing so, and it would also look like a complete ripoff of that particular character.
Personally, I think you're going about this thing backwards, but if you do need some suggestions, I would recommend you potentially use the Alpha Squad, who might be able to fit this role for Spiral Knights and are already integrated into the game's history.

Fri, 09/21/2012 - 13:23

Soarel

I did not say I wanted a rip-off of Sephiroth, I wanted a take on the general idea of the OWA. Not Sephiroth.

As for Arkus, does he turn gigantic and sprout wings when you fight him? No. He looks exactly the same.

An Alpha Squad boss could be cool. You would talk with them in their "regular" form, and then to fight you they would go all Swarm-corrupted, like the Unknown Passage monsters. That would be pretty damn sweet.

As for Luigiru, I give you this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tL0M0LJDKZ8

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