Redesign Case Study #4: Tomb Raider

Genre: Action-Adventure
Developer: Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal (Multiplayer)
Publisher: Square Enix
Platform: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows
Engine: Modified Crystal Engine
Release Date: 5 March 2013

Since her debut in 1996, the Tomb Raider series' protagonist, Lara Croft, has long been the most well-known of gaming's few female icons. She has often been described as lady version of Indiana Jones, with many of her adventures being spent exploring the ruins of ancient civilisations and legends and unlocking their secrets, hence the name of the series. However, after years of mediocre sequels and failed attempts to breathe fresh life into the franchise, it's fair to say that Lady Croft has lost a lot of her prestige.

Enter this year's Tomb Raider, a reboot of the franchise in the same vein as Ninja Theory's DMC: Devil May Cry. Framed as an origin story, the new game opts for a more serious, grounded approach to that of it's predecessors, with a major focus on survival. To reflect this, the developer has given Lara a complete overhaul, giving her realistic proportions and making her more vulnerable. However, she still possesses enough of the old design that she isn't completely unrecognisable; she still has her trademark ponytail and a blue top reminiscent of her first appearance.

How did the Fans react?
For once, we have a redesign that the fans DIDN'T throw a hissy-fit over. In fact, if anything, they rejoiced! While the old Lara Croft was indeed an icon, it's pretty clear that she meant to be some 12 year-old's fantasy Playboy girl; her stereotypically disproportionate body, with the comically oversized breasts (reportedly a result of a modelling mistake that was never fixed) and skin-tight hot pants, are obviously intended to pander to a male audience, and while she has undergone some minor changes, she's never once been intended as anything more than eye candy.

At the time of her debut, this made sense, as the gaming audience in the 90s was predominantly male. Since then, however, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of female gamers, who now make up around half of the overall audience, and with them has come a change in attitude. The simple fact is that the the old, sexist design is considered to be something of a joke these days. Naturally, this means that this more human, realistic rendition of Lara was much better received than the caricature that preceded here.

Personal Verdict
In case the tone of this particular post hasn't already given it away, I'm very much in favour of the redesign. The fact is, the old design was at best a caricature and at worst an example of just how badly women are often represented in this media. By contrast the new Lara, as with DMC's Dante, is more like an actual human being, both in her overall design and personality, which makes it much easier to relate to her throughout her struggles.