(Nothing happens. Sans keeps sleeping.)
The genius of Undertale ’s boss scripting begins with its prologue. The first major boss, Toriel, operates entirely on the player’s ingrained genre expectations. Her battle script is a tragedy of miscommunication. She attacks the player not with malice, but with a clumsy, desperate attempt to keep them “safe” by forcing them to fight her. Her attacks are intentionally weak, swerving around the player’s soul. The game’s internal script—the “Check” command—reads simply: “Knows best for you.” undertale boss battles script
The battle state machine includes several states, such as: (Nothing happens
Papyrus, the second major boss, represents the comedy of this subversion. His battle is a parody of the “arrogant rival” script. He announces his special attacks, he boasts about his “blue attack” (which introduces a gravity mechanic), and he vows to capture you. Yet, his script is riddled with vulnerability. If the player reduces his HP to zero, the game does not allow death; Papyrus simply stops fighting and runs off, confused. The real script of the Papyrus battle is a negotiation. He will only accept victory if the player agrees to a “date” afterward. By Spare-ing him, the player learns that Papyrus never wanted to kill you—he wanted a friend. The boss battle script, therefore, is revealed to be a social contract, not a duel to the death. Her battle script is a tragedy of miscommunication