01 In development · GDD v1.0
The Boss Fight
A single-player soulslike boss encounter: one approach path, one arena, and one boss with two phases and a scripted finale.
- Role
- Solo: design, systems, scripting
- Engine
- UE 5.5 · Blueprints on a C++ project
- Timeline
- Initial setup + 6 weeks, part-time
- Status
- Work in progress
02 30-second summary
What this project is
- Goal
- Build a readable two-phase soulslike boss encounter that teaches its mechanics before it tests mastery.
- My role
- Encounter design, tuning and Blueprint systems. Solo.
- Key challenge
- Teach first, then test, without making any hit feel unfair.
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5.5 · Blueprints on a C++ project
- Status
- In development. The design document is complete; the packaged build and gameplay capture are still to come.
- Scope
- One person, about six weeks part-time
I designed and built
- Boss concept, phases, move set and timings
- Phase state machine and the attack selector with its data table
- Commentary UI layer that shows what the AI is thinking
- Combat arena
Reused from a course
- Dodge, block, heal and lock-on
- Health and stamina components
- Raycast hit detection
- Behavior Tree and enemy AI perception
03 Design breakdown · Pillars
Four rules the fight has to follow
01 · Tutorial
Teach, then test
The phases teach and test skills. The finale tests whether the player is actually proficient.
02 · Readable
Every hit is explainable
The boss offers counterplay options, and the player should understand why they got hit.
03 · The teacher angle
Observe, then correct
Phase 1 observes the player's habits. Phase 2 responds to them, within scope.
04 · Show the backend
Let people see it think
A development UI layer shows what the AI is observing and how that might change its behaviour.
04 Narrative
A master's last lesson
Ping, the star student of the School of Arms, wants to learn the final form of fighting. Master Shift keeps refusing, because the final form is cursed and can only be shown in a fight to the death.
Ping thinks his master is gatekeeping. But Shift is getting old, he needs to pass the form on, and Ping is the best student he has. The lesson ends with Shift being taken to heaven.
No dialogue, no cinematics. The story is told through the environment, on-screen effects, and a boss who moves from slow and reserved to aggressive and uncontrolled.
| Gameplay decision | Systems | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 is slow | Teaches timing and spacing while the player observes the boss. | Shift works through every form on his way to the final one. |
| Phase 2 adapts to the player | Punishes relying on the same thing over and over. | A teacher making sure his student can fight a smarter enemy. |
| The finale uses every move | Tests what the player has learnt. | The final form is every previous form, used together, while reading the opponent. |
05 Phases
Recitation, correction, final form
Phase 1 · Recitation · 100% → 60%
Teaches: spacing, dodge timing, sizing the punish.
Behaviour: walks, fixed attack weights, long openings.
Phase 2 · Correction · 60% → 10%
Teaches: reading tells, stamina discipline, staying locked on.
Behaviour: faster, stays closer, responds to player habits.
Phase 3 · Final Form · 10%
Teaches: all of the above.
Behaviour: health floor of 1, a fixed sequence, then the death animation.
06 Move set
Nine moves from five animations
Quick cut, wide sweep, overhead, lunge and ground slam, stretched into nine moves with chaining, wind-up holds and play rate.
| # | Move | Phase | Range | Wind-up | Damage | Recovery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cross Cut | 1, 2 | 0–4 m | 0.55s | 18 | 0.9s |
| 2 | Wide Sweep | 1, 2 | 0–5 m · 240° | 0.9s | 24 | 1.2s |
| 3 | Overhead | 1, 2 | 2–6 m | 1.2s | 35 | 1.6s |
| 4 | Chain (1 → 2 → 3) | 1 | per move | 0.5s gaps | per move | 1.8s |
| 5 | Overhead Red | 2 | 2–6 m | 1.7s | 35 | 1.6s |
| 6 | Closing Sweep | 2 | 6–12 m | 0.8s | 26 | 1.3s |
| 7 | Root Break Red | 2 | 5 m · 360° | 1.2s | 30 | 1.8s |
| 8 | Chain 2 (1 → 5 → 2) | 2 | per move | 0.5s gaps | per move | 1.8s |
| 9 | Final Form (1, 2, 5, 6, 7) | 3 | arena | < 0.4s | per move | death |
- Opening pose held > 0.3s
- Tracking cut off 0.25s before hit frames
- Unblockable red weapon glow
- Held attacks yellow glow + sound
- Recovery 0.9s minimum
07 Player kit: Ping
One weapon, readable costs
Health 100 · Stamina 100 · regen 30/s after a 1.0s cooldown
| Action | Stamina | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Light attack | 12 | 18 damage, 3-hit chain, 8 poise |
| Heavy attack | 25 | 35 damage, 15 poise |
| Dodge | 20 | 0.7s animation, ~4 m |
| Block | varies | 40% stamina reduction, guard break at 0 |
| Sprint | 12/s | ~6.5 m/s |
| Heal | n/a | +40 instantly, 3 charges |
| Lock-on | n/a | Targeting system from the course |
Boss: Master Shift
~9 ft humanoid, one long sword
1200 health and 100 poise. Poise recovers 4/s after 3s without being hit; at 0 the boss staggers for 2.5s. Poise is disabled during transitions and the final form.
Mesh and animations are Epic's Paragon assets, picked after an animation audit. All art is placeholder.
HUD, camera, feedback
Health, stamina and heal charges. A boss bar with ticks at 60% and 10%. Lock-on aims at the boss's chest with a wide FOV for a big target up close.
Wind-up signifiers (visual + audio), a 0.07s hit stop on heavy hits and hits taken, camera shake when hit, and a guard-break sound.
08 Tuning model
How long should a win take?
- Finale triggers at 10% health1,080 dmg
- ~30 damage per opening (light + heavy mix)36 openings
- ~5s per attack cycle at a 70% attack rate≈ 4 min
- Same, at a 90% attack rate≈ 3.2 min
- Player effective health: 100 + 3 heals × 40220 HP
- Hits the player can absorb7 – 13
The finale, in numbers
At 10% health the boss pauses for 3.0s with a health floor of 1. The player heals and regains stamina in that window and should recover about 60% from it alone.
The form runs ~8s. Dodging five times costs 100% stamina. Taking every hit deals 133 damage, which is lethal. Once it ends, Shift kneels and any hit ends the fight.
Known issue: at full health a player can survive 4 of the 5 finale hits. Not intended, flagged for tuning.From GDD v1.0
09 Commentary layer
Watch the boss think
A toggleable development overlay that shows the backend at work: what the AI is observing and how that changes its behaviour.
- State strip (top left): phase, action state, poise.
- Decision readout (below it): the top three candidate attacks and the logic behind the pick.
- Margin notes (right edge): design notes, only on event triggers.
Mock-up of the planned overlay. Values from GDD v1.0.
Slowest wind up, longest opening. Phase 1 teaches patience and gets rewarded.
10 Scope
What's in, what's out
One person, six weeks, part-time. The feature list is prioritized so the fight is complete before anything extra gets built.
Must
- One-weapon player kit
- Boss: two phases + finale
- Five boss attack animations
- Phase state machine
- Attack selection system
- Grey-boxed level
- Player HUD
- Commentary UI
- Retry button
Should
- Player habit tracking
- Motion-warped attacks
- Camera effects
- Audio cues
- Feedback system
Could
- Parry
- Music loop
- Pause menu with notes
Not included
- Other enemies
- Elaborate level
- Inventory system
- Save system
- Leveling system
- Bespoke art or animations
- Cinematics
11 Built vs repurposed
Where the design work lives
The combat backend comes from a course, so the time goes into the encounter itself.
From the course
Unreal Engine 5: Soulslike Melee Combat System
- Equipment and combat components
- Dodge, block, heal, lock-on
- Health and stamina components
- Tag-based state manager
- Raycast hit detection and hit management
- Behavior Tree and enemy AI perception
Built for this encounter
The fight itself
- Boss concept, phases, move set and timings
- Phase state machine
- Attack selector and attack Data Table
- Commentary UI layer
- Combat arena
References: God of War Ragnarök (Santa Monica Studio), The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (CD Projekt Red), Elden Ring (FromSoftware). Course by Unreal RPG Mastery. Paragon animations retargeted to Manny by Kingboars.
12 Playtest targets
What "working" means
| Metric | Target |
|---|---|
| Attempts to clear (gaming-literate players) | 3 – 8 |
| Length of the winning attempt | 3 – 4.5 min |
| “Was the death explainable?” | > 80% yes |
| Recognising red attacks | within 3 encounters |
| Players who notice the adaptive AI | > 50% |
| Performance | 60 fps · 1080p · mid-range GPU |
Deliverables
Build progress
- Game design documentv1.0 · done
- Packaged Windows buildin development
- 3–4 minutes of captured gameplay with the commentary layerpending
- One-page post-mortempending