As we all know, most types of video games are nothing without a good plot, a bad guy doing nefarious deeds that plague the whole village/country/world/galaxy and a grand showdown where the bad guy gets booted, you get the answers, the gold and the women. But my question here is this: How do you like your archnemesis and your showdown served for you?
As for the villain: Do you like him as the typical psychotic destroyer of everything in sight (ex. Darth Malak of KotOR)? There's no single villain but a whole organisation that's plotting against the world (ex. The Enclave of Fallout 2)? The villain is an idealist that wants to change the world to his vision no matter what (again, The Enclave, Fallout 2)? Or perhaps, the bad guy is a mysterious figure that threatens the whole world, but almost nothing is said about him before confronting him, and even after that, and nearly all you have are assumptions (ex. Darth Nihilus, KotOR2)? He stays constantly in the shadows, and he is unraveled near the ending, after exposing that the grand evil-doer you were chasing all the time was actually but a pawn in the hands of this one (ex. Makala, Betrayal at Krondor)? Or maybe he is not even a villain so to speak, also a mysterious presence, that even though it doesn't do any harm to the world itself, it has answers you need and nothing will stop you from reaching them (ex. The Transcendent One, PS:T)?
As for the showdown: The typical Hollywood happy ending (as in, you get the money, the women, the world is saved, woohoo!)? A 'tragic irony' that shows that after destroying the villain, an even bigger evil is set upon the land (Diablo I could be an example, I think)? Do you like all the answers given to you on a plate at the end, or do you prefer to have your own assumptions based on the research throughout the game? A happy ending or a bad ending? An open-ending/cliffhanger that leaves place for assumptions/sequels or a definite ending? Do you prefer to kick the boss's arse (as in most of the games) or have an epic and long dialogue that lets you totally avoid combat (again, PS:T)?
Those are only some example I could think of, I guess there are lots of others, feel free to post yours.
Anyway, my favourite bosses are these 'mysterious' ones. Those that seem to appear out of nowhere and cause menace upon unsuspecting people. They have a lot of backstory behind them, and it is only up to you find it through long and careful research. Mysterious bosses are a lot more interesting to work against and uncover their motives than the 'psychotic destroyers' which I find to be shallow.
My favourite endings are also those that leave a lot of loose ends, they don't tell you everything, and leave a lot of place for future continuations. Finding out informations yourself and using them to interpret the ending is a lot more immersive and 'personal' than getting all the answers from the boss.
As for the villain: Do you like him as the typical psychotic destroyer of everything in sight (ex. Darth Malak of KotOR)? There's no single villain but a whole organisation that's plotting against the world (ex. The Enclave of Fallout 2)? The villain is an idealist that wants to change the world to his vision no matter what (again, The Enclave, Fallout 2)? Or perhaps, the bad guy is a mysterious figure that threatens the whole world, but almost nothing is said about him before confronting him, and even after that, and nearly all you have are assumptions (ex. Darth Nihilus, KotOR2)? He stays constantly in the shadows, and he is unraveled near the ending, after exposing that the grand evil-doer you were chasing all the time was actually but a pawn in the hands of this one (ex. Makala, Betrayal at Krondor)? Or maybe he is not even a villain so to speak, also a mysterious presence, that even though it doesn't do any harm to the world itself, it has answers you need and nothing will stop you from reaching them (ex. The Transcendent One, PS:T)?
As for the showdown: The typical Hollywood happy ending (as in, you get the money, the women, the world is saved, woohoo!)? A 'tragic irony' that shows that after destroying the villain, an even bigger evil is set upon the land (Diablo I could be an example, I think)? Do you like all the answers given to you on a plate at the end, or do you prefer to have your own assumptions based on the research throughout the game? A happy ending or a bad ending? An open-ending/cliffhanger that leaves place for assumptions/sequels or a definite ending? Do you prefer to kick the boss's arse (as in most of the games) or have an epic and long dialogue that lets you totally avoid combat (again, PS:T)?
Those are only some example I could think of, I guess there are lots of others, feel free to post yours.
Anyway, my favourite bosses are these 'mysterious' ones. Those that seem to appear out of nowhere and cause menace upon unsuspecting people. They have a lot of backstory behind them, and it is only up to you find it through long and careful research. Mysterious bosses are a lot more interesting to work against and uncover their motives than the 'psychotic destroyers' which I find to be shallow.
My favourite endings are also those that leave a lot of loose ends, they don't tell you everything, and leave a lot of place for future continuations. Finding out informations yourself and using them to interpret the ending is a lot more immersive and 'personal' than getting all the answers from the boss.
