Video Game Character of the Month
June 2015
Lara Croft
Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider
Overview:
Continuing on from the British theme from last month, the newest character to receive the prestigious Video Game Character of the Month is... Lara Croft! And what a character she is. Not only is she a great character in her own right but she also holds the burden of representing women in the early gaming industry and, now, starting to change this image, however successfully, from sex symbol to a full character. Now for a little bit of information on Lara:
There appears to be many different Lara Crofts with many, slightly different, timelines and backstories
Either that or she has a bit of an identity crisis going on
She is a tomb raider, mercenary, big-game hunter, archaeologist and master thief
She is fluent in several languages
She often carries dual pistols
She almost always has her hair in a ponytail
She has attended many different schools and universities
Her parents (Amelia and Herschel/Richard Croft) have disappeared and are presumed dead/are dead (although the circumstances are different depending on the timeline)
She has survived being on an island/wilderness often after a plane crash
Her voice has also changed (due to different voice actors) over the years
Her mentor always dies
Someone close to her is always presumed dead but is not actually dead
She almost always works to pay for her expeditions
Her father is almost always the reason for her becoming an archaeologist
She was killed in the fourth game but (presumably thanks to her living in many universes) is still here!
She encounters all sorts of natural, human and supernatural enemies and artifacts on her adventures
She was originally going to be an Indiana Jones-alike and, so, is often considered to be a female version of him
Origin of Lara Croft:
Lara Croft was originally conceived by Toby Gard to be a man with a hat and a whip but this was put down by co-designer Jeremy Smith as being a derivative of Indiana Jones (yeah, I can see that). Therefore, Toby Gard decided to change the character's gender to female as a way to combat the usual video game stereotypes of women being damsels in distress. Originally inspired by the comic book character Tank Girl as well as Swedish pop artist Neneh Cherry, Gard then experimented with a more muscular and militaristic design before settling on a tough South American women named Laura Cruz. However, Eidos' management preferred a more UK friendly name and design and, so, her name and backstory was changed. In the first game, Lara was made out of 230 polygons (quite a feat at the time) and was given more fluid animations so as to enable the player to emphasis with her. However, due to graphical constraints at the time, her hair braid was removed. Finally, Gard accidentally increased the size of her bust by 150 times which was kept in due to the teams requests. However, this has made Lara less of a good representation of women in video games and more of a sex symbol.
Evolution of Lara Croft:
Over the course of the games, Lara has had her backstory changed many times (the series is currently in it's third timeline - the Rise timeline) as well as her design (mainly to make her more... realistically proportioned). She has gained many more abilities (as well as polygons) as well and featured her first timeline swap with Tomb Raider Legends when development swapped from Core Design (who had killed and brought back Lara with no explanation so as to coincide release with the film) to Crystal Dynamics. This led to a more realistically designed Lara with a more proportioned body and motion captured hair (gasp!). Also, the graphics and gameplay undertook a markable improvement. Then, in 2013, Lara received yet another reboot, starting the Rise timeline and focusing on her past as well as showing what made her become the legend she is today and the struggles she faced to get there (such as her first kill). This reboot also changed her clothes to be more practical and less sex related. All of these changes has led to Lara becoming a deeper and more rounded character as well as being more realistic and relatable.
Games:
Tomb Raider: released (Europe) on 25 October 1996/(North America) on 14 November, 1996/(Japan) on 24 January 1997 on the Sega Saturn/(Europe) 25 October 1996/(North America) on 14 November, 1996 on the DOS/(Europe) 25 October 1996/(North America) on 14 November, 1996/(Japan) on the 14 February on the PS1/(North America) on 13 August 2009/(PAL) on 1 September 2010 on the PSN/(World Wide) on the 30th May 2012 on GOG/(World Wide) on 28 November 2012 on Steam/(North America) on 6 October 2003/(Europe) on 7 October 2003 on the N-Gage/(World Wide) on the 16 December 2013 on iOS/(World Wide) on 1 April 2015 on Android
Tomb Raider II: released (North America) on 31 October 1997/(Europe) on 1 November 1997 on PC/(North America) on 31 October 1997/(Europe) on 1 November 1997/(Japan) 22 January 1998 on PS1/(North America) on 27 August 2009/(Europe) 7 September 2011 on PSN/(World Wide) on 30 May 2012 on GOG/(World Wide) on 28 November 2012 on Steam/(North America) on 1 January 1998 on Mac OS Retail/(North America) on 27 October 2011 on Mac OS Online/(World Wide) on 3 December 2014 on iOS
Tomb Raider III: released (North America) on 21 November 1998/(UK) on 23 November 1998 on PC/(North America) on 21 November 1998/(UK) on 23 November 1998/(Japan) on 4 March 1999 on PS1/(North America) on 17 September 2009/(PAL) on 9 March 2011 on PSN/(World Wide) on 30 May 2012 on GOG/(World Wide) on 28 November 2012 on Steam/(North America) on 19 October 1999 on Mac OS
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation: released (North America) on 31 October 1999/(Europe) in 1999 on PC/(World Wide) on 19 July 2012 on GOG/(World Wide) on 28 November 2012 on Steam/(North America) on 22 November 1999/(Europe) in 1999/(Japan) on 19 July 2000 on PS1/(North America) on 15 October 2009/(PAL) on 26 January 2011 on PSN/(Europe) in 1999/(Japan) on 19 July 2000/(North America) on 13 April 2001 on the Sega Dreamcast/(North America) on 12 June 2000 on Mac OS
Tomb Raider (Game Boy Color Version): released (North America) on 12 June 2000/(Europe) on July 2000 on Game Boy Color
Tomb Raider Chronicles: released (North America) in 2000/(Europe) on 17 November 2000/(Japan) on 31 May 2001 on PS1/(PAL) on 12 January 2011 on PSN/(North America) on 19 November 2000/(Europe) on 15 December 2000 on the Sega Dreamcast/(North America) on 21 November 2000/(Europe) on 24 November 2000 on PC/(World Wide) on 19 July 2012 on GOG/(World Wide) on 28 November 2012 on Steam/(North America) in October 2001 on Mac OS
Tomb Raider: Curse of the Sword: (North America) on 1 July 2001/(Europe) on 17 August 2001 on Game Boy Color
Tomb Raider: The Prophecy: (North America) on 12 November 2002/(Europe) on 15 November 2002/(Japan) on 6 December 2002 on Game Boy Advance
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness: (North America) on 20 June 2003/(Europe) on 1 July 2003 on PC/(World Wide) on 14 August 2012 on GOG/(World Wide) on 28 November 2012 on Steam/(Japan) on 23 October 2003/(North America) on 20 June 2003/(Europe) on 4 July 2003 on PS2/(World Wide) on 18 December 2003
Tomb Raider: Anniversary: (Europe) on June 1 2007/(North America) on June 5 2007/(Australia) on June 7 2007 on PC/June 1 2007/(North America) on June 5 2007/(Australia) on June 7 2007/(Japan) on 27 March 2008 on PS2/(North America) on August 8 2007/(Europe) on 26 October 2007/(Australia) on 2 November 2007/(Japan) on 27 March 2008 on PSP/(North America) on October 23 2007/(Europe) on October 26 2007/(Australia) on November 2 2007/(Japan) on March 27 2008 on Xbox 360/(North America) on November 13 2007/(Europe) on December 7, 2007/(Australia) on February 7, 2008/(Japan) on March 27 2008 on the Wii/(North America) on 1 December 2007 on Mobile Phones/(North America) on 15 February 2008/(Europe) on 31 March 2008 on Mac OS X/(North America) on 22 March 2011/(Europe) on 25 March 2011/(Australia) on 31 March 2011 on PS3
Tomb Raider: Underworld: released (North America) on 18 November 2008/(Europe) on 21 November 2008/(Australia) on 5 December 2008 on Mac OS X/PC/Mobile Phones/N-Gage 2.0/Nintendo DS/PS3/Wii/Xbox 360/(Europe) on 23 January 2009/(North America) on 3 March 2009 on PS2
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light: released (North America/Europe) on 18 August 2010/(Australia) on 19 August 2010/(Japan) on 18 September 2010 on Xbox 360 Arcade/(Japan/North America/Europe) on 28 September 2010/(Australia) on 29 September 2010 on PSN/Steam/(World Wide) on 16 December 2010 on iOS/(World Wide) on 30 April 2012 on BlackBerry PlayBook
Tomb Raider (2013 Reboot): released (World Wide except Japan) on March 5 2013/(Japan) on April 25 2013 on PC/PS3/Xbox 360/(North America/Europe) on January 23 2014 on OS X/(North America) on January 28 2014/(Europe) on January 31 2014/(Japan) on 22 February 2014 on PS4/(North America) on January 28 2014/(Europe) on January 31 2014/(Japan) on 4 September 2014 on Xbox One
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris: released (North America/Europe) on 9 December 2014/(Japan) on 25 December 2014 on PC/PS4/Xbox One
Lara Croft: Relic Run: released (Netherlands) on 13 April 2015/(World Wide) on 25 May 2015
Anticipated:
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Well, that's all on the legendary tomb raider that is Lara Croft but, as always, if you spot a mistake that I've made or if I've missed something then please comment! Also, if you can think of anyone else that should win the award then please comment that as well!
Goodbye for now, Harry
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Tomb_Raider_media
http://www.wikiraider.com/index.php/Lara_Croft:_Relic_Run
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lara_Croft
http://tombraider.wikia.com/wiki/Tomb_Raider_Wiki
Continuing on from the British theme from last month, the newest character to receive the prestigious Video Game Character of the Month is... Lara Croft! And what a character she is. Not only is she a great character in her own right but she also holds the burden of representing women in the early gaming industry and, now, starting to change this image, however successfully, from sex symbol to a full character. Now for a little bit of information on Lara:
There appears to be many different Lara Crofts with many, slightly different, timelines and backstories
Either that or she has a bit of an identity crisis going on
She is a tomb raider, mercenary, big-game hunter, archaeologist and master thief
She is fluent in several languages
She often carries dual pistols
She almost always has her hair in a ponytail
She has attended many different schools and universities
Her parents (Amelia and Herschel/Richard Croft) have disappeared and are presumed dead/are dead (although the circumstances are different depending on the timeline)
She has survived being on an island/wilderness often after a plane crash
Her voice has also changed (due to different voice actors) over the years
Her mentor always dies
Someone close to her is always presumed dead but is not actually dead
She almost always works to pay for her expeditions
Her father is almost always the reason for her becoming an archaeologist
She was killed in the fourth game but (presumably thanks to her living in many universes) is still here!
She encounters all sorts of natural, human and supernatural enemies and artifacts on her adventures
She was originally going to be an Indiana Jones-alike and, so, is often considered to be a female version of him
Origin of Lara Croft:
Lara Croft was originally conceived by Toby Gard to be a man with a hat and a whip but this was put down by co-designer Jeremy Smith as being a derivative of Indiana Jones (yeah, I can see that). Therefore, Toby Gard decided to change the character's gender to female as a way to combat the usual video game stereotypes of women being damsels in distress. Originally inspired by the comic book character Tank Girl as well as Swedish pop artist Neneh Cherry, Gard then experimented with a more muscular and militaristic design before settling on a tough South American women named Laura Cruz. However, Eidos' management preferred a more UK friendly name and design and, so, her name and backstory was changed. In the first game, Lara was made out of 230 polygons (quite a feat at the time) and was given more fluid animations so as to enable the player to emphasis with her. However, due to graphical constraints at the time, her hair braid was removed. Finally, Gard accidentally increased the size of her bust by 150 times which was kept in due to the teams requests. However, this has made Lara less of a good representation of women in video games and more of a sex symbol.
Evolution of Lara Croft:
Over the course of the games, Lara has had her backstory changed many times (the series is currently in it's third timeline - the Rise timeline) as well as her design (mainly to make her more... realistically proportioned). She has gained many more abilities (as well as polygons) as well and featured her first timeline swap with Tomb Raider Legends when development swapped from Core Design (who had killed and brought back Lara with no explanation so as to coincide release with the film) to Crystal Dynamics. This led to a more realistically designed Lara with a more proportioned body and motion captured hair (gasp!). Also, the graphics and gameplay undertook a markable improvement. Then, in 2013, Lara received yet another reboot, starting the Rise timeline and focusing on her past as well as showing what made her become the legend she is today and the struggles she faced to get there (such as her first kill). This reboot also changed her clothes to be more practical and less sex related. All of these changes has led to Lara becoming a deeper and more rounded character as well as being more realistic and relatable.
Games:
Tomb Raider: released (Europe) on 25 October 1996/(North America) on 14 November, 1996/(Japan) on 24 January 1997 on the Sega Saturn/(Europe) 25 October 1996/(North America) on 14 November, 1996 on the DOS/(Europe) 25 October 1996/(North America) on 14 November, 1996/(Japan) on the 14 February on the PS1/(North America) on 13 August 2009/(PAL) on 1 September 2010 on the PSN/(World Wide) on the 30th May 2012 on GOG/(World Wide) on 28 November 2012 on Steam/(North America) on 6 October 2003/(Europe) on 7 October 2003 on the N-Gage/(World Wide) on the 16 December 2013 on iOS/(World Wide) on 1 April 2015 on Android
Tomb Raider II: released (North America) on 31 October 1997/(Europe) on 1 November 1997 on PC/(North America) on 31 October 1997/(Europe) on 1 November 1997/(Japan) 22 January 1998 on PS1/(North America) on 27 August 2009/(Europe) 7 September 2011 on PSN/(World Wide) on 30 May 2012 on GOG/(World Wide) on 28 November 2012 on Steam/(North America) on 1 January 1998 on Mac OS Retail/(North America) on 27 October 2011 on Mac OS Online/(World Wide) on 3 December 2014 on iOS
Tomb Raider III: released (North America) on 21 November 1998/(UK) on 23 November 1998 on PC/(North America) on 21 November 1998/(UK) on 23 November 1998/(Japan) on 4 March 1999 on PS1/(North America) on 17 September 2009/(PAL) on 9 March 2011 on PSN/(World Wide) on 30 May 2012 on GOG/(World Wide) on 28 November 2012 on Steam/(North America) on 19 October 1999 on Mac OS
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation: released (North America) on 31 October 1999/(Europe) in 1999 on PC/(World Wide) on 19 July 2012 on GOG/(World Wide) on 28 November 2012 on Steam/(North America) on 22 November 1999/(Europe) in 1999/(Japan) on 19 July 2000 on PS1/(North America) on 15 October 2009/(PAL) on 26 January 2011 on PSN/(Europe) in 1999/(Japan) on 19 July 2000/(North America) on 13 April 2001 on the Sega Dreamcast/(North America) on 12 June 2000 on Mac OS
Tomb Raider (Game Boy Color Version): released (North America) on 12 June 2000/(Europe) on July 2000 on Game Boy Color
Tomb Raider Chronicles: released (North America) in 2000/(Europe) on 17 November 2000/(Japan) on 31 May 2001 on PS1/(PAL) on 12 January 2011 on PSN/(North America) on 19 November 2000/(Europe) on 15 December 2000 on the Sega Dreamcast/(North America) on 21 November 2000/(Europe) on 24 November 2000 on PC/(World Wide) on 19 July 2012 on GOG/(World Wide) on 28 November 2012 on Steam/(North America) in October 2001 on Mac OS
Tomb Raider: Curse of the Sword: (North America) on 1 July 2001/(Europe) on 17 August 2001 on Game Boy Color
Tomb Raider: The Prophecy: (North America) on 12 November 2002/(Europe) on 15 November 2002/(Japan) on 6 December 2002 on Game Boy Advance
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness: (North America) on 20 June 2003/(Europe) on 1 July 2003 on PC/(World Wide) on 14 August 2012 on GOG/(World Wide) on 28 November 2012 on Steam/(Japan) on 23 October 2003/(North America) on 20 June 2003/(Europe) on 4 July 2003 on PS2/(World Wide) on 18 December 2003
Tomb Raider: Anniversary: (Europe) on June 1 2007/(North America) on June 5 2007/(Australia) on June 7 2007 on PC/June 1 2007/(North America) on June 5 2007/(Australia) on June 7 2007/(Japan) on 27 March 2008 on PS2/(North America) on August 8 2007/(Europe) on 26 October 2007/(Australia) on 2 November 2007/(Japan) on 27 March 2008 on PSP/(North America) on October 23 2007/(Europe) on October 26 2007/(Australia) on November 2 2007/(Japan) on March 27 2008 on Xbox 360/(North America) on November 13 2007/(Europe) on December 7, 2007/(Australia) on February 7, 2008/(Japan) on March 27 2008 on the Wii/(North America) on 1 December 2007 on Mobile Phones/(North America) on 15 February 2008/(Europe) on 31 March 2008 on Mac OS X/(North America) on 22 March 2011/(Europe) on 25 March 2011/(Australia) on 31 March 2011 on PS3
Tomb Raider: Underworld: released (North America) on 18 November 2008/(Europe) on 21 November 2008/(Australia) on 5 December 2008 on Mac OS X/PC/Mobile Phones/N-Gage 2.0/Nintendo DS/PS3/Wii/Xbox 360/(Europe) on 23 January 2009/(North America) on 3 March 2009 on PS2
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light: released (North America/Europe) on 18 August 2010/(Australia) on 19 August 2010/(Japan) on 18 September 2010 on Xbox 360 Arcade/(Japan/North America/Europe) on 28 September 2010/(Australia) on 29 September 2010 on PSN/Steam/(World Wide) on 16 December 2010 on iOS/(World Wide) on 30 April 2012 on BlackBerry PlayBook
Tomb Raider (2013 Reboot): released (World Wide except Japan) on March 5 2013/(Japan) on April 25 2013 on PC/PS3/Xbox 360/(North America/Europe) on January 23 2014 on OS X/(North America) on January 28 2014/(Europe) on January 31 2014/(Japan) on 22 February 2014 on PS4/(North America) on January 28 2014/(Europe) on January 31 2014/(Japan) on 4 September 2014 on Xbox One
Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris: released (North America/Europe) on 9 December 2014/(Japan) on 25 December 2014 on PC/PS4/Xbox One
Lara Croft: Relic Run: released (Netherlands) on 13 April 2015/(World Wide) on 25 May 2015
Anticipated:
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Well, that's all on the legendary tomb raider that is Lara Croft but, as always, if you spot a mistake that I've made or if I've missed something then please comment! Also, if you can think of anyone else that should win the award then please comment that as well!
Goodbye for now, Harry
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Tomb_Raider_media
http://www.wikiraider.com/index.php/Lara_Croft:_Relic_Run
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lara_Croft
http://tombraider.wikia.com/wiki/Tomb_Raider_Wiki
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