User blog:Tecku/TT: Zomboss and Originality

A continuation of "TT: Giga Gargantuar"

Welcome back! As many of you guys know, the Frostbite Caves Zomboss is quite different from the others. This is interesting, as the other Zomboss battles have been pretty much the same. But why are the Zomboss battles so similar?

Tecku Talks About: Zomboss and Originality

Overall, the Dr. Zomboss fights hold a fairly straightforward system. Each level takes place on a special delivery level, where your goal is to destroy Dr. Zomboss's machine. Dr. Zomboss summons waves of zombies and blasts attacks that hampers your plants. The battle ends when the machine is destoryed, or a zombie reaches your house. However, there is also a new trend developing. Take a look at what each fight does and you might see it:

- The PvZ1 battle has the fireball and iceball mechanic.

- The Egypt fight has nothing unique, but it is the first one in the game.

- The Pirate Seas has an Imp Cannon attack.

- The Wild West uses rail carts

- The Far Future uses power tiles.

- The Dark Ages has a boosted Magnet-Shroom that can attract the dragon's nose ring.

- Big Wave Beach has an inhaling blade attack that can be countered by placing a Tangle Kelp in front of the machine.

- Frostbite Caves has Zomboss encase himself in ice, require the player to break through the ice to damage him. Zombies only appear as the ice is broken.

That's right. Each Zomboss fight is more original that it's predecessor. Tihs may not be saying much, but considering how restrictive the Zomboss style is, its alright. But how can it be made more original? Well, here are a few ideas:

1) Zomboss has new attacks that don't rely on simply hampering the plants, and puts less focus on the zombies waves. These attacks could be countered with certains plants, and would make the game focus on what each plant does.

For instance, suppose Zomboss had a game-ending bomb on a timer. The timer could be temporarily disabled with E.M.Peach, but would require the player to try and finish the round as quickly as possible. This get the player to think about what each plant does, and how it might help defeat the boss.

2) Levels with styles other than special delivery mechanics. Making a boss with a locked and loaded, last stand, or even a regular level mechanic would be a welcome change of pace.

3) A boss other than a basic Zomboss machine. This would be trickier, as PvZ is all about the core mechanic of dealing damage against zombies, but it could be done. For instance, suppose three zombies got mecha-suits. These zombies would then attack the plants together. The player would have to juggle three zombies and try to knock them back, while trying to take down all three. This would give the game a low more personality, while still keeping true to the basic format.

All in all, making a unique boss in a game such as this can't be easy. But it is certainly possible. I look forward to seeing what the game developers can do!