A computer programming student has compiled his top ten list of rules on designing FPS games. I found it intriguing, and have only minor quibbles, although I’m curious what more hardcore FPS players than myself thinks.

One ‘maxim’ that I think is missing: Boss Monster fighting shouldn’t require a different skillset than the rest of the game. Also, players shouldn’t be forced to guess whether or not they’re actually successfully hitting a boss monster — in the final boss monster for Gears of War, for example, there was no apparent feedback that the boss monster was invulnerability when he was surrounded by his shadowbats. There’s few things more disappointing than checking GameFaqs once, and only once, during your play experience.

Come to think of it, call the 11th commandment “Boss monsters shouldn’t suck.” I could rant about boss monsters, especially in FPS games, all day long.