Ava Bosses: Witch Concepts

My third task in this series was to design the game's final boss. From my own experience, the final boss of a game should be memorable, even a little theatrical. Something that just looks a grade tougher than everything else you've encountered. Going by the design document I had to follow the appearance was based off of the idea of a witch or sorceress type character.

I've always been a fan of the evil counterpart showdown, so this one was pretty much a backwards version of the main protagonist Ava. There's always something a little unsettling about having to fight someone who looks a lot like you... The boss has multiple phases (what final boss doesn't?): the first can be damaged through a jump attack, and the second form repels jumps through the shape of the hat, so all of the concepts follow this trend in some way.

Personal favorite. Still trying to play up the magical/witch side, but also veering more in the direction of a malevolent doll since she can turn living things into stuffed toys. Looks more like a stage magician than your typical witch actually... Instead of repelling jumps through a conveniently placed spiky thing, here we have the hat come to life.

Something a bit more subtle. The game's backgrounds are so colorful that I thought a grayscale character might really stand out. More toying around with a few deliberate shapes/colors rather than piling on the details.

Of course only one was chosen but I had a lot of fun with these. I can remember the days when I would dream of having the chance to design boss characters like those I would see at the end of RPGs or adventure games. This project may not be the next million-selling hit by any means, but I'm grateful I was given the opportunity to contribute so much in terms of the character styles and visual artwork.

In a bit we'll look at the witch as she'll be implemented into the final game. You cannot grasp the true form!