“At this stage [in the game], our goal is to introduce the player to a character they don’t know,” [the developer] explained. “A young girl, straight out of college. It’s going to take a little time in the campaign to really help us get across the fact that she’s grown. So now she’s just met Roth, she’s got the radio, she doesn’t really believe in herself. He’s got to force her – to say ‘You’ve got to go and do this. You’re the only person who can.’”

Uh oh. A male mentor, like in Metroid Zero Mission? Sexism alert.

I agree with you that some of the defensiveness around this issue is of the “let’s stick our head in the sand” variety. For the more honest thinkers among us, however, I think it comes down to whether or not you believe that the visceral portrayal of human suffering can be seen as a viable and ethically sound storytelling element. I think some of the stories and characters mentioned above (MGS1-4, Wolverine, Casino Royale, Kill Bill) are good examples of why I think it can be.

Tell you what though: if the finished game proves your initial fears right, I’ll come back to this thread and admit that you were right all along!

P.s. There’s this film that I’ve been chewing over for a while which I’d really like your opinion on. The movie in question is called Martyrs and it’s EXTREMELY hard to watch. However, I thought it was an excellent deconstruction of the “torture porn” issue that we’ve been discussing here; it actually (in a very uncomfortable way) tries to explain why we’re so fascinated by the “spectacle” of female suffering. The film has been accused of misogynism – I utterly disagree, but it’d be interesting to hear your thoughts considering the discussion we’ve been having. I have to warn you, though: a non horror fan will probably not (want to) make it to the maddeningly ambiguous ending.

They aren’t really diving deep into Lara Croft so much as showing an angle that hasn’t been done for Lara before (but has been done for many other characters). That doesn’t bother me. As in the quote in the article, I do believe it would bother you less if part of a “wider spectrum” of female characters.

I apologize if something similar has already been said in the comments.

This turns me off.

Survivor and hero aren’t the same thing. Sure, a hero is a survivor or sorts but they’re goal is always selfless. Even anti-heros like Indiana Jones. He may have been racing for the Ark of the Covenant, while dodging every kind of artillery shell, but in the end he made sure it never saw the light of day again, saving the world. But a survivor’s main goal is to survive. Yes I’m aware that Lara is trying to nurse her friend and captain’s injury, but in the end what is she doing that’s selfless? I could easily say she wants the captain to live because being alone on island with a bunch of violent savages and wildlife scares the hell out of her. Being alone in a horrible situation is far more frightening than enduring it with a companion. I think we can all agree on that.

So my main problem with this new fragile “human” survivalist Lara is the transition from bloody, human girl to the strong, pistol wielding woman everyone knows. By the images and demos, it seems the developers really, really, REALLY want to make Lara human. I might have anticipated this type of game/character, but the fact that I’m aware of their end goal of character development, I’m doubtful. Someone who has suffered through trauma like that, doesn’t come out on top (not unless they’re fictional–which they want Lara to be HUMAN). Again, if I hadn’t a clue what would become of her AFTER she left that island, I’d be more invested in her character. Her goal is to survive and she will. But this is Lara Craft–tomb raider, puzzle solver, extrodinair. I know she will survive and take something huge from this experience. The only way they can pull this off is by creating a whole new and different Lara Craft. Making her into something unfamiliar to the huge fanbase–risky but it might work. But as of now, I’m still cynical.

In the trailer for FarCry 3, we have a protagonist with the same problem as Lara Craft. Except our protagonist here has to face insane people with guns. I won’t bore you with details but this guy’s goal is solely to get the hell off the island alive. From the suspenseful trailer, I find his survival situation more endearing, not because he’s male (I’m a girl, yea know?) but because that’s his main goal–to get off the freakin’ island–the only thing we as the players care about. He wants to live and I can understand that (and the fact that it’s not me who’s on the island but him., so it’s easier to, um, enjoy). Unlike him, we know Lara’s eventual outcome (as of now at least). We’re aware of the person she becomes and I fail to see the bridge between the two.

Anyways, I’ll stop thinking.

As you said in your initial comment, you share some of my concerns as far reboots go. I agree that Aya and Samus are worse off than Lara, but to deny any links at all is refusing to see the issue at hand.

Also, I was criticising what I’ve seen of this part of game, not the whole thing as you suggest. I know the whole thing isn’t just to see her tortured, but considering that’s all we’d seen when I wrote this, I thought it made sense to look at it.

I’d like to take this moment to re-direct people’s attention to the fact that the original piece was written when there was only a handful of images to go by. I was suggesting that I didn’t like where the direction this was going.

“I am certain that there’ll be less of an outcry at the new Lara, after all, who can disagree with their intentions? The game does sound really interesting and the new Lara is far more appealing as a protagonist.”

I do think the amount of people have gotten really defensive over Lara goes some way to highlighting what we’re dealing with. I’m not denying her growth or empowerment. The suggestion that by protesting about the brutal ways in which she gets beaten is denying her her growth implies exactly what I was arguing against – that she needs to survive a beating to show how strong she is.

When players finish that game, they’re going to look back at all the pain and hardship Lara had to go through and think, “DAMN that woman is a badass!” Can’t say the same for any other character who heals almost immediately (halo, gears, etc) whether they’re male or female. I think this is a fantastic new direction for games.

I disagree. Much like old Lara, Nathan Drake is an action movie archetype who gets roguishly dusted up in the fashion of Indiana Jones, with a bloody lip, or wounded in the side/shoulder, the designated action movie good guy wounding spots.

Drake is entertaining enough as a pulpy pastiche hero, but Uncharted doesn’t have visceral moments like (MGS4 SPOILERS) Solid Snake as an old man, crawling and broken down the microwave corridor. That’s the direction I think they’re taking this in; it’s one thing to tell the viewer about how tough and tenacious your characters are, but in a visual medium, you should show them. I’d heard some grumblings about the fetishization of violence going into the trailer, but I think they deftly managed to avoid that.

SEK has much more astute things to say on that subject than I, but I’m not worried, at least not after that trailer. I think it got their message of “tough Lara” across pretty well.

Besides, showing her as a strong individual isn’t the ONLY point of the game. It’s kind of ridiculous to criticise a game element because it doesn’t actively reinforce one particular part of the experience. Ambiguity and contrast, after all, is what makes great art.

From the previews I learned that Lara at one point has to look for a medical kit for the ship’s captain, who’s apparently stuck on the island with her. Seeing as she has to take care of him as well as of herself, this is starting to look like one of the more emancipated games of recent times.

Seriously Chris, I’m sorry but I get the feeling you’re grasping at straws here.

Is survival a display of her strength as a character? Yes. Does she look stronger for nearly getting drowned serveral times? No. You can make the same point without going from one extreme to another.

When I first saw the new Lara on the cover of Game Informer (issue 213, January 2011), I thought it was just a picture of the newest Lara booth babe with a photoshopped backdrop due to how lifelike she was rendered, a far cry from her last adventure on current gen consoles. Opening it up and reading through the article actually ignited interest in the character that had up to that point only been awareness of the series and it’s multiple sequels.

Do I think that Crystal Dynamics has taken it too far in their zeal to show the new, more realistic, non-teflon coated Lara Croft? No, actually. I can see the points in the article and many of the other posters have made thus far, and each as valid as the last, but I believe this is just a brave step forward toward creating more cinematic and engaging games. We’ve already seen Batman take serious damage by the end of Arkham Asylum, with his suit torn and tattered in places, nursing at least one serious injury by the time the credits roll. We’ve seen Nathan Drake, and by proxy, Elena Fisher, come out about as worse for wear as Indiana Jones, or Marion Ravenwood, respectively, ever has, beaten and banged up, but still quick with glib one-liners and wry remarks by the end of the first Uncharted game alone.

Lara Croft joining this group and taking it a step further, perhaps even opening the door or convincing other developers to begin characterizing and designing their female roles less as “sex pots” or bratty b****es and more as compelling characters would be a great boon to the industry as a whole and gain it even more credibility, something each Bayonetta, X-Blades’ Ayumi and Soul Calibur’s Ivy character design throws out the window. I’m not talking about credibility with the rest of the world, I mean credibility with female gamers.

Still, this all breaks down into two areas, writing and design. Let’s hope that CD will pull off something amazing to impress all of us gamers.

Also it shows that as a woman she can go through the pain just like a super solider male, take it, and overcome it. Lara is awesome, and I think that you aren’t giving her props like you should be.

You took the words right out of my mouth. This is not her being fragile, this is her being human, and in that, you get hurt, you grow and become stronger from that.

@Kat

I think you really need re-think what you said, because you are incorrect in your statement of observation. This game is a representation of her struggle, and rise to greatness. Don’t you think there is a flip side to her situation of anguish and pain? You know that she is going to retaliate on those that harmed her, and whoop their monkey @$$!

I also disagree that (before this week’s trailer) she’d only been shown as beaten and broken. If you look at the very image above the article, we see a woman who, though obviously hurt, seems powerful and in control, able to bind her own wounds and armed with bow and knife that she wears quite naturally.

It’s interesting that you mention The Bride: that’s actually quite a good analogy. Do you (or any of the commenters) have a problem with this character from a feminist perspective?

@Kat: “No male character I’ve known of has suffered quite like this.” Off the top of my head: In MGS3, there’s a protracted and very uncomfortable torture sequence that’s much worse than what’s been shown for Tomb Raider so far. In fact, I can practically guarantee that it’ll be impossible for Lara to suffer as much as Snake did in that entire series. And he didn’t quip about his pain, either – he frequently cried out with pain. Moreover, it was even possible in the first game to give in to your torturers, which would lead to Meryl Silverburgh’s death. How’s that for a subversion of male hero stereotype?

Until the title releases we have no idea how Lara is going to be treated in the game. The new images being released are specifically chosen to emphasize that the game has changed and that she is no longer some sort of super hero but just someone who manages to overcome the obstacles in front of her with determination and brains. Personally I like my heroes to be super because they do the right thing even when faced with odds that appear to be impossible to overcome.

It will be interesting when the subject is revisited after the game is released to the public.

I think you may have missed what I was saying in the post. I admit that it is early days, but my thoughts (which have been echoed by a number of people replying to this on this website and others) are that Lara is being presented in a really beaten and broken way before we’ve even had chance to see her being strong and resiliant.

If you could, can you to explain how it was misleading and badly documented? I spent a while ironing this piece out and making sure that it was clear and easy to follow. If I had mislead it certainly wasn’t my intention and I’d like to rectify that if I can.