Can the term "老大" be used to call "Boss" in video games nowadays?

Question

I remember as a child, us children would say "老大"/lǎodà to describe the boss, or final enemy in a video game. If I am guessing correctly, it is probably like comparing a "boss" with a leader of a gang, thus "老大“.

However, nowadays I can't seem to find people that say "老大“ anymore to refer to "boss" of a video game. I just see being used with the english "BOSS" whenever it is mentioned (,such as in lifestreams). (Not sure if this is biased, but I assume this is probably started with trends of inserting English terms in certain situations.)

I am wondering if using “老大" is still acceptable in this case, as fitting the English word "BOSS" just feels off to me.

Answer 1

“老大” is not often used as the "boss" in video games, but it depends. If there are other smaller enemies around when this "boss" appears, to distinguish between the "boss" and small enemies, “老大”is a proper word.

If "boss" appears alone, it would be wired to call him "老大", because "老大" in real life means your superior or manager. In videogames, the "boss" is not your manager.

The official translation of "final enemy" should be “首领” or “头目”, but between players we just use the English word "boss" nowadays, and there are also older names: “老怪”, “老王“, etc., but these are the names that were used about a decade ago, they are rarely used now.

Answer 2

I remember in my childhood we used the word 大老板 (big boss). Not sure if it's still in use among youngsters.

And now I have switched to "大boss".