telltale signs of an upcoming boss battle

[gigastrike]

When you've been climbing the ominous tower for the last hour after seeing the big guy who was pulling all the strings enter it.

 

[Zero-Vash]

I have seen alot of when an NPC says something bad is about to happen or something along those lines. But there a quite a few when an NPC will say something like "Thank goodness that's over".

Not as common, but they are out there

 

[Blood_Lined]

The music is always a dead give away, like in L4D for example.

 

[Lexodus]

Long cutscene conversations (in all RPGs)

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

I guess I don't play enough games with bosses, as a lot of the clues mentioned don't seem to often indicate a boss fight.

Blood or gore for example is often a clue that there may be some sort of trap (i.e. spikes in the floor, moving walls and so forth). Sometimes it may indicate a boss, and just as often it simply exists for the sake of atmosphere.

Being spoon fed ammo and health is often simply a reward for surviving past a tough fight. However, if one stumbles across a cornucopia of ammunition and health without having survived a tough battle, then perhaps this may be a clue

Being told by a support character that there is some sort of strange disturbance seems to be one of the big keys - the extras always seem to know more about what's ahead of me than I do. Ditto for the arena bit.

 

[rhyno435]

When the game gives you a special weapon, or a weapon that you rarely find, usually with a special purpose or uberly powerful.

That or a save point right next to a big door or open area, like the OP mentioned.

 

[Madshaw]

when you get a feeling that this level is a bit longer than the others, or that its been a while since you foughtsomething big,

if your me then you also just ran out of your best weapon/ammo/condition on my chinese assault rifle

 

[Giest118]

When you've placed the four magical gems of destiny into their key slots.

 

[Sewer Rat]

You stumble across a huge cache of healing items and extra ammo/magic/whatever.

 

[TheFacelessOne]

My list:

Alot of Health Pick-Ups/Weapon Pick-Ups
Fewer to No Enemies
Open space turning into long corridors
Blood, Bones, ETC.
Big Door
Large, Circular Room on the Map
Intense Music
Cutscene Where Character goes into a room and hears a sound.

 

[Scarecrow38]

Cutscenes where characters group back together or report that their objectives have been completed.

The infamous line the character says to himself/ herself "Okay I'm done, now I just need to get out/ back to the others."

The characters location is also a giveaway: Command Centers, command posts, throne rooms, bridges of star ships, arenas, clearings during forest/ canyon levels.

 

[Singularly Datarific]

Suddenly eerie music...

 

[Mr. Valentine]

when your playing "a nice little game"1 and you see "the main villan"2 from "some other game"3 cassualy looking off into the distance, and your only option is "Approach"....anyone? alright















1. Kingdom Hearts 2
2.do i have to say his name anymore?
3.take a damn guess JRPG fans

 

[Kijjy]

pretty much the whole of MGS4

 

[Jeronus]

Your gamer sense starts tingling.

 

[USSR]

Dim lighting, and a slight change of music =/

 

[PsykoDragon]

When someone in the game says something like "That was easy", "Nothing can go wrong", or "I'm/We're INVINCIBLE!"

I try to distract myself from noticing all the suggestions in this thread though. A major part of enjoying any entertainment is to be in the right state of mind for it. So instead of noticing an autosave in a large room, I just think "c'mon c'mON finish saving already" or better yet >_> ooo a butterfly.

 

[The Blue Mongoose]

When you reach the end of the stage - Almost every level of the Devil May Cry games.