The boss battle is an awe-inspiring gameplay culmination that evaluates and breaks acquired skills, reveals more of the story, and serves as a major, memorable test of strength for the player.

In this GDC 2018 session, Untame's (known for the puzzle-platformer Mushroom 11) Itay Keren discusses the various aspects that make a well-designed, effective and memorable boss battle.

Through providing a retrospective of classic to modern game moments, Keren discusses the design fundamentals of boss battles while evoking memories of players' favorite video game encounters.

It's an insightful talk that's still worth watching, so developers shouldn't miss the opportunity to do so now that it's freely available on the official GDC YouTube channel!

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its accompanying YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC or VRDC already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.

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