Talk:Boss (video games)

Load-bearing boss listed at Redirects for discussion

An editor has asked for a discussion to address the redirect Load-bearing boss. Please participate in the redirect discussion if you wish to do so. _signed, Rosguill ^talk 17:29, 20 June 2019 (UTC)

what's going on in the "history" section?

i'm confused at exactly what this part of the article aims to establish. is it trying to document historic usage of the term "boss", noteworthy early video game bosses, or both? while the article begins by trying to trace the origin of the term, it eventually slips into just talking about random early bosses (the 'motherships' are a good example, i'm struggling to see how these particular instances are noteworthy).

i think this could do with being turned into two sections; etymology of the video game 'boss', and the history of boss mechanics. Meikkon (talk) 03:34, 10 December 2022 (UTC)

Agreed; I have extracted the history about the terminology into a dedicated 'Etymology' subsection. Seabass-labrax (talk) 18:00, 16 June 2023 (UTC)

"Guardian", "end-of-level guardian"

I remember these were the terms used in British 8-bit magazines, e.g. for the ZX Spectrum. "Boss" seems to have come later. 2A00:23C5:FE56:6C01:D111:9B27:B214:204B (talk) 11:34, 10 October 2023 (UTC)

"Tank" for minibosses

I have never heard anyone refer to minibosses as tanks, rather one of the following is most common:

• Miniboss
• Midboss
• Sub-boss
• Gatekeeper
• Various military ranks (usually in the context of shooter games)

Never "Tank" though. "Tank" is usually reserved for players or regular enemies that can soak up a lot of damage. If applied to a miniboss, it's usually when discussing its health, where it could be called "Tanky".

Does anyone have a source for this? PLMMJ (talk) 22:58, 19 November 2024 (UTC)