To make a boss-rush game with AI, build a complete run with two fights. Give both bosses the same basic rhythm: a warning, one impact, and an opening to strike. Change where the player needs to move to stay safe. Then carry their remaining health into the second fight so the first one still matters.
In this fictional prototype, a maintenance runner fights two machines in a concrete test arena. The Ram marks a straight lane that you escape sideways. The Coil marks a ring that you can escape by stepping inward. The runner uses the same dodge and short-range baton attack in both encounters.
Give the player time to read the attack and answer it
In a test build, treat the warning, damage, and recovery as separate states. When the warning starts, draw the area that will cause damage. Check the player's position once when the warning ends. Then stop the hazard and open the boss to one hit. The warning is the information the player acts on, so the damage area needs to match its visible boundary.
| Boss | Warning | Move to safety | Starting timings |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Ram | A straight strip aimed at where the player stood when the warning began | Step sideways across either long edge. | 0.8-second warning, then 1 second of recovery |
| The Coil | A ring around the machine, with a safe disk in the middle | Step inward from the band to the unmarked floor. | 0.6-second warning, then 1 second of recovery |
The Ram's strip stays fixed after it appears. If it turns with the player, stepping sideways stops being a reliable answer. In the Coil fight, start the player near the inner edge of the danger band for the first cue. That introduces a new direction without demanding a long run just to demonstrate the rule.
The dodge in this design moves the runner a fixed distance. It does not provide temporary invulnerability. Place the Ram and the edges of its strip so a correct sidestep leaves a short route back into baton range. The Coil's safe disk should leave room to turn and strike without crowding the machine. Walk both routes against the one-second opening. If you need the full second just to reach the boss, shorten the return distance before treating missed strikes as a timing problem.
Carry health through a deliberate handoff
Start the run with three health pips. A boss impact costs one pip and two successful baton hits defeat a boss. The baton only deals damage within melee range during recovery, with a limit of one successful hit per recovery. This gives the player a reason to learn the pattern twice.
Defeating the Ram ends its encounter immediately. Clear its timers and warning, then wait for Enter. Leave the current health visible during that break. If a hit took the player from three pips to two, the Coil starts with exactly two. Missing one ring impact leaves one, so the next mistake would end the run. Two legal recovery hits can still defeat the Coil.
At zero player health, end the run and stop combat inputs. At zero Coil health, show victory. Restart should work from either result, from the break, and from either live fight. Return the player to the Ram with three health and clear every previous boss, cue, and timer.
Request the two-fight prototype
SEELE's boss arena maker gives you a prompt-led starting point for a small 3D browser fight. Specify the boss rules and the transitions together, then verify what the build actually does.
Create a two-boss third-person browser game in one industrial test arena.
Use WASD to move, Space to dodge a fixed distance in the held direction,
and left click for a short-range baton attack. The dodge does not grant
invulnerability. Show the controls, health, and current encounter.
Use a high third-person camera that shows the whole danger footprint,
the player, and the safe area for both attacks.
Start with three player health. The Ram marks a straight strip aimed at
the player's location when its warning begins. Keep it fixed for 0.8
seconds, then apply one damage if the player's center is inside.
The Coil marks a ring around itself for 0.6 seconds, with an unmarked
safe disk inside. Start the player on the band close enough to reach that
disk before the first impact. Damage once if their center is in the band.
After each impact, let the boss recover for one second and take up to one
in-range baton hit. Give each boss two health. Space both fights so a
correct dodge leaves enough time to reach melee and attack during recovery.
If the boss is alive after recovery, repeat its attack cycle.
When the Ram dies, clear its hazard and timers and wait for Enter.
Spawn a fresh Coil on Enter and retain the exact remaining player health.
End the run in victory when the Coil dies, or defeat at zero player health.
R from any state resets to the Ram, restores three health, and clears
the prior boss, timers, warning marks, and input state. Skip other enemies,
healing, upgrades, and extra arenas.Check a clean run and a failed run
| Action to try | Expected result |
|---|---|
| Stay in the strip or band until the impact, then repeat from its safe side. | Lose one pip when inside at impact. Lose none on the safe side. |
| Click during a warning, swing out of range, then double-click in range during one recovery. | The first two actions deal no damage. The double-click deals one hit. |
| Take one hit from the Ram, defeat it, and wait through another attack cycle before pressing Enter. | No old attack fires. The Coil begins at full boss health and the runner keeps two pips. |
| Win once, then lose a separate run by taking two Coil hits after entering with two pips. | Each run shows the correct result. Restart restores the Ram and three pips with no leftover hazards. |
Check the Ram and Coil from the same high camera during these runs. If the near edge of the ring drops offscreen, a player may see the warning without knowing whether they are inside it. Fix the camera framing before drawing conclusions about reaction time.
Adjust the second warning with a focused test
Suppose players recognize that the center is safe, start moving inward, and still get caught just before crossing the boundary. Try extending only the Coil's warning from 0.6 to 0.85 seconds. Keep the ring, starting position, movement speed, damage, and recovery fixed. From the same starting position, compare when the player begins to move and whether they cross the line before impact. Run both fights again to check that the change stays with the Coil.
If a player steps outward because they misread the ring, a longer warning can give them more time to make the same mistake. First check that the inner edge contrasts with the unmarked floor and both edges stay in frame.
Frequently asked questions
How many bosses should a first boss rush have?
Start with two. One lets you check combat. A second lets you check whether the player can apply the controls to a different cue and whether the run preserves health correctly. Add another when you have a distinct skill for it to test.
Should the player heal between bosses?
Start by carrying the exact remaining health. That makes the earlier fight matter and gives you a straightforward handoff to verify. Consider a fixed refill later if players understand both patterns and the full run still demands more retries than you want.
Can two bosses use the same attack cycle?
Yes. Give both a warning, an impact, and a recovery, then change the action the player needs to take. A straight strip and a ring can share the same timing logic while giving the player different places to move.
When should I add a practice mode?
Consider it once the main run works and you want players to learn the second fight without clearing the first every time. Make practice start the selected boss cleanly. Keep practice results and starting health separate from the full-run state.
Build the two-fight run
Block out the arena floor, give each boss one readable attack, and use the same dodge and baton throughout. Once you can finish, lose, and restart cleanly, you have a run you can extend. Start a boss arena prototype with SEELE.
