👹 Bosses are an essential part of sandbox games. Besides providing entertainment, they serve to limit and guide the player's progress along the path envisioned by the developer. Bosses mark key milestones. After defeating a boss, the player receives an important resource or item that expands their capabilities for further exploration of the world. This could be, for example, a new ore used to craft a stronger pickaxe, allowing them to mine resources and blocks that were previously inaccessible. Or sometimes — access to previously locked areas or biomes, unlocked by changing the level layout (a wall, a secret passage) or by using special items (a gate pass, a ship ticket).
📜 To help the player clearly understand the progression logic, upon reaching a certain level, they are given subtle or direct hints in the form of a boss quest, or an item (like a compass) that helps them find the boss. It's important that the boss doesn't just show up on its own before the player — especially a newbie — is ready for it. Therefore, the player usually initiates the boss's appearance themselves, either by crafting a special item or by stepping into a clearly marked arena.
⚙ And now, the development process of Terra Trials has reached its first boss, whom we're currently calling Stonebreaker or Rocky 😉. The boss will reside in a special arena, accessible through a gateway portal. I won't go into the details of its behaviour script here, so that everyone can figure it out for themselves during gameplay. As the very first boss, it's not designed to be a very serious threat. For now, just enjoy the artwork our lead artist has created of it.