[game_preservation] Fwd: Re: [GAMESNETWORK] Boss battle first ref

[Andrew Armstrong]

  Thought this was interesting and if anyone wants to pass along some 
gem of knowledge I'll post a reply (or send it to the OP himself).

Some other replies (not below) point to anecdotal evidence only really, 
or the suggestion it was from a specific game, which is unlikely to me!

Andrew

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	Re: [GAMESNETWORK] Boss battle first ref
Date: 	Mon, 27 Sep 2010 20:19:12 +0100
From: 	Andrew Armstrong <andrew at AARMSTRONG.ORG>
Reply-To: 	Games Research Network <GAMESNETWORK at uta.fi>
To: 	GAMESNETWORK at uta.fi



I'm tending to think it wasn't from Videogames originally either; "boss" 
after all is a common enough word well before electronics, it'd not be 
hard to imagine it as a term used in some kind of card games and board 
games; although off the top of my head I'm terrible at the rules for 
early games of this kind.

Perhaps also a military term too? A lot of random things are taken from 
jargon reused elsewhere.

In any case I'd look outside videogames though for the first uses of the 
term. To me it sounds like a pretty natural way of describing something 
shorthand, better then "leader enemy fight" or "bigger monster fight", 
perhaps ask what else did people use to describe such fights /instead/ 
of boss? I'm not that old so I don't have any anecdotes of that kind to 
share!

Andrew

On 27/09/2010 17:43, Claudio Franco wrote:

> I remember using the term 'big boss' when playing Renegade / Target 

> Renegade in ZX Spectrum with my mates - decades ago.

>

> Perhaps it originates ultimately from arcade machines? Possibly very 

> hard to say for sure

>

> Clue:

> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boss_%28video_gaming%29

>

> where it says...

>

> The first interactive game to feature a boss was /dnd 

> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dnd_%28computer_game%29>/, a 1975 

> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1975_in_video_gaming> computer 

> role-playing game 

> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_role-playing_game> for the 

> PLATO system 

> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PLATO_%28computer_system%29>.^[4] 

> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boss_%28video_gaming%29#cite_note-armory-3> 

> ^[5] 

> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boss_%28video_gaming%29#cite_note-uvl-4> 

> One of the earliest dungeon crawls 

> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeon_crawl>, /dnd/ implemented many 

> of the core concepts behind /Dungeons & Dragons 

> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeons_%26_Dragons>/.^[5] 

> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boss_%28video_gaming%29#cite_note-uvl-4> 

> The objective of the game is to retrieve an "Orb" from the bottommost 

> dungeon.^[6] 

> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boss_%28video_gaming%29#cite_note-5> The 

> orb is kept in a treasure room guarded by a high-level 

> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experience_point> enemy named the Gold 

> Dragon. Only by defeating the Dragon can the player claim the orb, 

> complete the game, and be eligible to appear on the high score 

> list.^[4] 

> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boss_%28video_gaming%29#cite_note-armory-3> 

> ^[7] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boss_%28video_gaming%29#cite_note-6>

>

> The first arcade game <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcade_game> to 

> feature a boss was /Phoenix 

> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_%28arcade_game%29>/, a fixed 

> shooter <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoot_%27em_up#Fixed_shooters> 

> developed by Taito <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taito> in 1980 

> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_in_video_gaming>.^[8] 

> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boss_%28video_gaming%29#cite_note-7> 

> /Phoenix/ includes five levels 

> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Level_%28video_games%29> ("Rounds") 

> which pit the player against swarms of alien birds. During the first 

> two Rounds, the player is assaulted by the pigeon-like "Scouts", 

> whereas the more formidable "Soldiers" are introduced in Rounds 3 and 

> 4. On disposing these enemies, a giant mothership 

> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothership> appears in the fifth and 

> final Round.^[9] 

> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boss_%28video_gaming%29#cite_note-ahistory1-8> 

>

>

>

>

> Claudio

>

> Researcher / London Knowledge Lab MA student

>

>

>

>

>

>

> On 27 September 2010 17:32, jparker <jparker at ucalgary.ca 

> <mailto:jparker at ucalgary.ca>> wrote:

>

>     It may be lost in time, but I recall its use in Doom. Any further

>     back?

>

>     J

>

>     Mike Reddy wrote:

>

>         The son of a friend asked me last night if I knew where "boss

>         battle" came from. I vaguely thought of Metal Gear, where the

>         protagonist is called Big Boss, but that can't be right can

>         it? Oh, if only someone on the webnetz could tell me...?

>

>         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boss_battle etc do not give the

>         origins of the term. Is it lost in time?

>

>         \

>

>     \

>     From Hauptmann

>     --------------------------------------------------------------------

>     Electricity is really just organized lightning.  ... G Carlin

>

>     Dr. J. R. Parker,                    Digital Media Laboratory

>     Professor of Play http://www.ucalgary.ca/~jparker

>     <http://www.ucalgary.ca/%7Ejparker>

>     Faculty of Fine Arts                 jparker@ ucalgary.ca

>     <http://ucalgary.ca>

>     University of Calgary                403-220-6784      AB606/AB611

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