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

Mike Melanson mike at multimedia.cx
Tue Sep 28 21:55:04 EDT 2010

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EGM once ran a humorous timeline of video game history. It started at
something like 500 B.C. with David defeating Goliath in history's first
recorded boss battle.

:)

--
-Mike Melanson

On 09/27/2010 01:06 PM, Andrew Armstrong wrote:

> 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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>>

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