50 Years of Boss Fights celebrates the history of video game bosses, starting from the first boss in 1974. The book features interviews and insights from the developers who helped to make the bosses as memorable as they are, including those who created the first ever boss, Golden Dragon in D&D, as well as those who worked on Mario 64, DOOM, Bioshock, Star Wars, Half Life and many more. The book is also full of photos showcasing the bosses and how to beat them. This is Daryl’s second book for White Owl, having previously written The Making of Tomb Raider, published in 2021.

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Highlights

• 51 Bosses covered across 50 years since the first ever boss debuted.

• The very first boss features an in-depth interview with its creators, made in 1974

• Photos that highlight the bosses and their different forms

• Most feature interviews with those involved – from Mario to Metal Gear Solid
• Features insights from some about scrapped ideas for bosses

50 Years of Boss Fights celebrates a fading art in modern games. Author Daryl Baxter has written about 51 bosses that have made the greatest impact, ever since the first boss debuted in 1974.

Full of interviews and insights from the developers who helped made the bosses as memorable as they are, includes those who have worked on Mario 64, DOOM, Bioshock, Star Wars, Half Life and many more. Some explained how they came to be, what was scrapped, and, ultimately, if they were happy with them, looking back.

The book goes into detail about the first ever boss from the start, called the Golden Dragon in dnd, which first debuted in 1974. Heralded as the first ever boss in a video game, Daryl spoke to its creators about how it came to be, and how they feel about creating a standard in games.

The book sheds light on what was scrapped in other bosses, and how some bosses were so illegal, they had to be updated in rapid fashion to avoid a potential lawsuit.

Full of photos that showcase how the bosses work and how to beat them, it’s a 50-year record of the best, the most challenging, and the most memorable that you may or may not have beaten so far.

It’s 70,000 words that celebrate the past 50 years of bosses, while giving insight by the developers who helped make them possible.

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About the Author

DARYL BAXTER is a writer and podcaster from Lincoln, where his work has featured in sites such as WIRED, TechRadar, iMore, Radio Times and many more. The author of The Making of Tomb Raider, he’s interested in how games came to be, and what could have been.

He’s interviewed people in the industry such as David Hayter; the voice of Solid Snake, Takashi lizuka, the head of Sonic Team, and plenty more throughout his career so far.