Rather than starting with what doesn't work, let's start with something that does work. This is the final battle from Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOC6VB8fweQ
Let's go over what's right about this fight:
1. Epic enemy (Metal Gear Zeke).
2. Ridiculously large numbers to make you feel uber (note the rockets hit for 40K+ damage on Metal Gear Zeke).
3. The fight takes a pretty long time to win (most videos seem to be around 7-10 minute range) so it feels epic, but it's actually very hard to lose since Snake can withstand being crushed by a Metal Gear and as long as you have Rations. Note that they probably paid a lot of money for the song and no matter how good or bad you're at the game, it's hard to see the battle over before one loop of the song finishes. This timing mastery is crucial. In a game like SWTOR or GW2 the fight would either end up with you dead when the song just started, or the boss dead 3 lines into the song.
4. Random cool effects throughout the fight. For example you can actually push Metal Gear Zeke back when it tries to crush you, because Big Boss is just that tough.
5. Plenty of warning time on all major moves and plenty of hiding spaces to avoid them.
In fact, although this is the final battle, it's probably pretty hard to lose it because each time you call for a cardboard box you get 4 more rations. Unless you get hit by the rollerskates repeatedly (that seems to be more damaging than the crush move) or you stood in the middle of 'Vonceremos', you're probably quite capable of trading hits with a Metal Gear toe to toe!
Since Peace Walker is made on PSP we're not exactly talking about cutting edge technology here. This is a well paced fight that is actually quite easy but makes you feel you're super awesome, which is usually a good idea when making a game people will enjoy.
In fact, this is something Metal Gear series always has it right while almost everyone else, and certainly almost every MMORPG besides RIFT, got it wrong. Snake is pretty vulnerable against regular stuff. A single guy with an AK-47 can gun you down in a straight up firefight, but when it comes to boss battles, Snake can take a rocket launcher in the face and only lose 1/5 of his health. Both you and the boss basically have a ridiculous amount of health relative to any normal game that features a life bar, which is why the boss can take time to try its super awesome moves, and even connect quite a few of them without you instantly losing the fight. This doesn't mean the boss has to be easy. This also helps you pace the fight so you don't get the 'you die before the introduction music finishes playing'. I mean that might be kind of cool once, but it's really dumb when you think about it. Now of course long fights means you could also fight a long time and end up losing, and that'd suck, though for the most part the game is tuned to give you a reasonably chance of winning thanks to the magic of rations.
Put it this way, Metal Gear Zeke fight pretty much ensures you'll hear the whole song that Konami paid $ for, while the average story fight in SWTOR or a similarly recent MMORPG would end up with you or the boss dead before the introduction part of Darth Malgus's theme is finished playing because you usually have to drop the boss that fast to win.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOC6VB8fweQ
Let's go over what's right about this fight:
1. Epic enemy (Metal Gear Zeke).
2. Ridiculously large numbers to make you feel uber (note the rockets hit for 40K+ damage on Metal Gear Zeke).
3. The fight takes a pretty long time to win (most videos seem to be around 7-10 minute range) so it feels epic, but it's actually very hard to lose since Snake can withstand being crushed by a Metal Gear and as long as you have Rations. Note that they probably paid a lot of money for the song and no matter how good or bad you're at the game, it's hard to see the battle over before one loop of the song finishes. This timing mastery is crucial. In a game like SWTOR or GW2 the fight would either end up with you dead when the song just started, or the boss dead 3 lines into the song.
4. Random cool effects throughout the fight. For example you can actually push Metal Gear Zeke back when it tries to crush you, because Big Boss is just that tough.
5. Plenty of warning time on all major moves and plenty of hiding spaces to avoid them.
In fact, although this is the final battle, it's probably pretty hard to lose it because each time you call for a cardboard box you get 4 more rations. Unless you get hit by the rollerskates repeatedly (that seems to be more damaging than the crush move) or you stood in the middle of 'Vonceremos', you're probably quite capable of trading hits with a Metal Gear toe to toe!
Since Peace Walker is made on PSP we're not exactly talking about cutting edge technology here. This is a well paced fight that is actually quite easy but makes you feel you're super awesome, which is usually a good idea when making a game people will enjoy.
In fact, this is something Metal Gear series always has it right while almost everyone else, and certainly almost every MMORPG besides RIFT, got it wrong. Snake is pretty vulnerable against regular stuff. A single guy with an AK-47 can gun you down in a straight up firefight, but when it comes to boss battles, Snake can take a rocket launcher in the face and only lose 1/5 of his health. Both you and the boss basically have a ridiculous amount of health relative to any normal game that features a life bar, which is why the boss can take time to try its super awesome moves, and even connect quite a few of them without you instantly losing the fight. This doesn't mean the boss has to be easy. This also helps you pace the fight so you don't get the 'you die before the introduction music finishes playing'. I mean that might be kind of cool once, but it's really dumb when you think about it. Now of course long fights means you could also fight a long time and end up losing, and that'd suck, though for the most part the game is tuned to give you a reasonably chance of winning thanks to the magic of rations.
Put it this way, Metal Gear Zeke fight pretty much ensures you'll hear the whole song that Konami paid $ for, while the average story fight in SWTOR or a similarly recent MMORPG would end up with you or the boss dead before the introduction part of Darth Malgus's theme is finished playing because you usually have to drop the boss that fast to win.
