Lara Croft
Encyclopedia
Lara Croft is a fictional character
and the protagonist
of the Square Enix
(previously Eidos Interactive
) video game series Tomb Raider
. She is presented as a beautiful, intelligent, and athletic British archaeologist
-adventurer who ventures into ancient, hazardous tombs and ruins around the world. Created by Toby Gard
during his employment at UK developer Core Design
, the character first appeared in the 1996 video game Tomb Raider. The character has also appeared in video game sequels, printed adaptations, a series of animated short films, feature film
s (portrayed by Angelina Jolie
), and merchandise related to the series. Official promotion of the character includes a brand of apparel and accessories, action figures, and model
portrayals. Croft has also been licensed for third-party promotion, including television and print advertisements, music-related appearances, and as a spokesmodel.
Core Design handled initial development of the character and the series. Inspired by pop artist Neneh Cherry
and comic book character Tank Girl
, Gard designed Lara Croft to counter stereotypical female characters. The company modified the character for subsequent titles, which included graphical improvements and gameplay additions. American developer Crystal Dynamics
took over the series after the 2003 sequel Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness was received poorly. The new developer rebooted the character along with the video game series. Crystal Dynamics focused on making the character more believable. The company altered her physical proportions, and gave her additional ways of interacting with game environments. Croft has been voiced by four actresses in the video game series: Shelley Blond
, Judith Gibbins, Jonell Elliott
and Keeley Hawes
.
Critics consider Lara Croft a significant game character in popular culture. She holds two Guinness World Records
, has a strong fan following, and is among the first video game characters to be successfully adapted to film. The character's debut was well-received by the video game industry, but her popularity slowly declined until the series' reboot in 2006. While the rebooted games were generally well-received, Croft's redesign was met with mixed responses. Lara Croft is also considered a sex symbol, one of the earliest in the industry to achieve widespread attention. The character's influence in the industry has been a point of contention among critics; viewpoints range from a positive agent of change in video games to a negative role model for young girls.
or ponytail
. The character's classic costume is a turquoise sleeveless tank top, light brown shorts, calf-high boots, and long white socks. Accessories include fingerless gloves, a backpack, a utility belt with holsters on either side, and two pistols. The video game sequels introduced new outfits designed for different environments, such as underwater and cold weather. In the later games, Croft wears a crop top
, camouflage pants and black or light brown shirts. When exploring, she often carries two pistols, but has used other weaponry throughout the series. Lara Croft is fluent in several languages.
Game manuals describe the character as the Wimbledon, London
-born daughter of the fictional Lord Richard Croft. She was raised as an aristocrat and betrothed to the fictitious Earl of Farringdon. Lara Croft attended the Scottish boarding school Gordonstoun
and a Swiss
finishing school
. A plane crash left the character stranded in the Himalayas
for two weeks; the experience spurred her to shun her former life and seek other adventures around the world. Croft wrote books and other published works based on her exploits as a mercenary, big-game hunter, and master thief. The story was later changed to include her mother in the plane crash. While searching for shelter against the elements, Lara Croft witnesses her mother vanish after tampering with an ancient sword. Her father disappears in search of his wife.
video game series published by Square Enix Europe (previously Eidos Interactive
). The action-adventure game
s feature the protagonist travelling the world in search of rare objects and mystical artefacts. Croft first appeared in the 1996 video game Tomb Raider, in which she competes against a rival archaeologist in search of an Atlantean
artefact. Tomb Raider II
(1997) centres on the search for the Dagger of Xian, which is sought by thieves. Tomb Raider III
(1998) focuses on meteorite fragments that endow humans with supernatural powers. In Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation
(1999), the first depiction of a young Croft, she is accompanied by her mentor, Werner Von Croy. Lara searches for artefacts associated with the Egyptian god Horus
, and later encounters Von Croy as an antagonist. In Tomb Raider Chronicles
(2000), most of the game relates adventures told via flashbacks. The first portable game, Tomb Raider
(2000), was released on the Game Boy Color
, and follows the character's search for the Nightmare Stone. A second Game Boy Color title, Tomb Raider: Curse of the Sword (2001), sees Lara Croft facing off against a cult. The next portable game, Tomb Raider: The Prophecy
(2002), was released on the Game Boy Advance
, and focuses on three magical stones. Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness (2003) was released on home platforms, centring on the murder of Professor Von Croy.
Eidos rebooted the series with Tomb Raider: Legend (2006), which focuses on Lara Croft's search for Excalibur
and her mother, altering the character's backstory as part of the reboot. Tomb Raider: Anniversary (2007), a remake of the first game in the series, carried over design elements from Legend. Tomb Raider: Underworld
(2008) continues the plot introduced in Legend. The story centres on Croft's search for information about her mother's disappearance. In the process she learns of the existence of Thor
's hammer, Mjöllnir. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
(2010) is a downloadable game
that is set in a Central American jungle, and features an ancient warrior who works with Lara Croft.
. Lara Croft first appeared in a crossover in Sara Pezzini
's Witchblade
, and later starred in her own comic book series
in 1999. The series began with Dan Jurgens
as the writer, featuring artwork by Andy Park and Jon Sibal. The stories were unrelated to the video games until issue 32 of the Tomb Raider series, which adapted Angel of Darknesss plot. The series ran for 50 issues in addition to special issues. Other printed adaptations are Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Amulet of Power, a 2003 novel written by Mike Resnick
; Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Lost Cult, a 2004 novel written by E. E. Knight
; and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Man of Bronze, a 2005 novel written by James Alan Gardner
.
Lara Croft has appeared in two motion pictures. The first, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
, was released in 2001, and follows Croft as she encounters the Illuminati
, a group searching for a relic able to control time. The film depicted Croft's backstory differently from the version in the early games. In the films, Lara Croft's mother died in a plane crash and her father disappeared in Cambodia; in the games, both parents are alive. A similar backstory was adopted in 2006 in Legend. The sequel, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life
, depicts Croft in search of Pandora's box
in competition with a Chinese crime syndicate. Development for a third movie was announced in 2009. Producer Graham King
plans to release the film in 2013. GameTap
released Re\Visioned: Tomb Raider Animated Series
in 2007 via the GameTap TV section of its website. The web series
is a collection of ten short animated film
s that features re-imagined versions of Croft by well-known animators, comic book artists, and writers, including Jim Lee
, Warren Ellis
, and Peter Chung
. Episodes ranged from five to seven and half minutes in length, featuring Minnie Driver
as Croft. The creative staff was given considerable freedom to re-interpret the character; they did not consult the video game designers, but were given a guide listing acceptable and unacceptable practices.
, a subsidiary of Eidos, created Lara Croft as the lead protagonist of its video game Tomb Raider, which began development in 1993. Lead graphic artist Toby Gard
went through about five designs before arriving at the character's final appearance. He initially envisioned a male lead character with a whip and a hat. Core Design co-founder Jeremy Smith characterized the design as derivative of Indiana Jones
, and asked for more originality. Gard decided that a female character would work better from a design standpoint. He also claimed a desire to counter stereotypical female characters, which he has characterized as "bimbos" or "dominatrix" types. Smith was sceptical of a female lead at first because few contemporary games featured them. He came to regard a female lead as a great hook and put faith in Gard's idea. Inspired by pop artist Neneh Cherry
and comic book character Tank Girl
, Gard experimented with different designs, including a muscular woman and a Nazi-like militant. He settled on a tough South American woman with a braid named Laura Cruz. Eidos management preferred a more "UK friendly" name, and selected Lara Croft from similar-sounding British names found in an English telephone directory. Along with the name change, the character's backstory was altered to incorporate a British origin.
Gard was keen to animate the character realistically, an aspect he felt the industry at the time had disregarded. He sacrificed quick animations in favour of more fluid movement, believing that players would empathize with the character more easily. In the first Tomb Raider, Croft's three-dimensional
(3D) character model
is made of around 230 polygons
. The graphical limits at the time required the removal of the character's braid from the model; it was added to the model for subsequent iterations. While adjusting the character model, Gard accidentally increased the breasts' dimensions by 150 percent. After seeing the increase, the rest of the creative team argued to keep the change. Core Design hired Shelley Blond to voice Croft after the game entered the beta phase of development. Gard left Core Design after completing Tomb Raider, citing a lack of creative freedom and control over marketing decisions related to the ideas he developed (especially Lara Croft).
Core Design improved and modified the character with each instalment. Developers for Tomb Raider II increased the number of polygons in the character's model and added more realistic curves to its design. Other changes included new outfits and manoeuvres. Core Design planned to implement crawling as a new gameplay option, but did not follow through until Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation. Actress Judith Gibbins took over voice acting responsibilities and stayed on through Tomb Raider III. For the third game, the developers increased the number of polygons in Croft's 3D model to about 300, and introduced more abilities to the gameplay. For Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, the developers wanted to reintroduce the character to players and included a flashback scenario with a younger Lara. Core Design expanded the character's set of moves threefold to allow more interaction with the environment, like swinging on ropes and kicking open doors. The character model was altered to feature more realistic proportions, and Jonell Elliott replaced Gibbins as the voice of Lara Croft. By the time development for The Last Revelation began, Core Design had worked on the series constantly for four years and the staff felt they had exhausted their creativeness. Feeling the series lacked innovation, Core Design decided to kill the character and depicted Croft trapped by a cave-in
during the final scenes of the game.
The next title, Tomb Raider Chronicles, depicted the late Lara Croft via her friends' flashbacks. The game introduced stealth attacks, which would carry over to the next game, Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness. While the original development team worked on Chronicles, Core Design assigned a new team to develop Angel of Darkness for the PlayStation 2
. Anticipating innovative changes from next generation consoles
, Adrian Smith—co-founder of Core Design—wanted to reinvent the character to keep pace with the updated technology. Core Design conducted market research, including fan polls, to aid in Angel of Darknesss development. The development team felt they could not alter the character and instead opted to place her in a situation different from previous games. The PlayStation 2 hardware allowed for more manoeuvres and a more detailed character model; the number of polygons in Croft's model increased to 4,400. The team sought to add more melee manoeuvres to better match Lara Croft's portrayal as an expert fighter in her backstory. Movement control was switched from the directional pad to the analog control stick to provide more precision. After the original team finished Chronicles, they joined the development of Angel of Darkness. Excess content, missed production deadlines, and Eidos's desire to time the game's launch to coincide with the release of the 2003 Tomb Raider film resulted in a poorly designed game; Croft was brought back to life without explanation and the character controls lacked precision.
Angel of Darkness was received poorly, prompting Eidos—fearing financial troubles from another unsuccessful game—to give development duties for future titles to Crystal Dynamics
, another Eidos subsidiary. The Legacy of Kain
development team began work on a new title (Tomb Raider: Legend), and Toby Gard returned to work as a consultant. The development team reassessed the brand value of the franchise and its protagonist. Chip Blundell, Eidos's vice-president of brand management, commented that the designers understood that fans saw the character and brand as their own, rather than Eidos's. With that in mind, the team retooled the franchise and character to emphasize aspects of the original game that made them unique. The storyline intended for a trilogy of games that started with Angel of Darkness was abandoned and a new plot was created for Legend.
Crystal Dynamics focused on believability rather than realism to re-develop the character, posing decisions around the question, "What could Lara do?", and giving her action more freedom. They updated Lara Croft's move set to make her movements appear more fluid and continuous. The animations were also updated so the character could better interact with environmental objects. The developers introduced a feature that causes the character's skin and clothing to appear wet after swimming and dirty after rolling on the ground. Responding to criticism directed at the character controls in Angel of Darkness, Crystal Dynamics redesigned the character's control scheme to provide what they felt was the best third-person action experience. The developers also introduced close-quarter melee manoeuvres. Crystal Dynamics updated the character model to add more realism, but retained past design elements. The polygon count increased to over 9,800. More attention was paid to the character's lip syncing and facial expressions to allow for dynamic emotional responses to in-game events. In redesigning the character's appearance, Crystal Dynamics updated Croft's hairstyle, wardrobe, and accessories. Her shirt was changed to a V-neck, her body was given more muscle tone, and her hair braid was switched to a pony tail. The voice actor for Lara Croft was initially rumoured to be Rachel Weisz
, but the role was eventually given to Keeley Hawes
. Crystal Dynamics retained the design changes for the next game, Tomb Raider: Anniversary, a remake of the first game. The designers aimed to portray Croft with more emotional depth, and focused on the character's desire to achieve the end goal of the game, culminating in killing one of the antagonists. The developers used the death to evoke guilt in Croft afterward and illustrate that shooting a person should be a difficult choice.
Tomb Raider: Underworld continued the plot line established in Legend. Crystal Dynamics used new technology to improve the character for seventh generation consoles
, focusing on improving realism. The dirt accumulation and water cleansing mechanic from Legend was altered to be a real-time
mechanic that can involve the entire game environment. To achieve a more natural appearance, the developers added spherical harmonics
to provide indirect lighting to in-game objects like Lara Croft. Crystal Dynamics made the character model more complex and detailed than previous instalments, featuring more texture layers that determine the appearance of shadows and reflective light on it, and using skeletal animation
to portray believable movement. The number of polygons in the model increased to 32,000. The developers enhanced Croft's facial model by increasing the number of polygons, bones used in the animation skeleton, and graphical shaders in the face to add more detail and expressive capabilities. The hair was created as a real-time cloth simulation
to further add realism to its shape and movement. The developers kept Croft's hair tied back because they felt a real person would not want it flying around while performing dangerous manoeuvres. The character's body size was increased and breast size reduced to portray more realistic proportions.
The developers tried to redefine Lara Croft's actions by questioning what they felt the character was capable of. While previous games used hand-animated movement for the character, Underworld introduced motion capture
-based animation to display more fluid, realistic movement and facial expressions. Stuntwoman and Olympic Gold medalist Heidi Moneymaker was the motion capture actress, and advised the designers on practical movements. Animators adjusted and blended the recorded animation to create seamless transitions between the separate moves and their simultaneous combinations. The blends and additional animations give the character more flexible movement. Actions were overlapped to allow for multitasking, such as aiming at two separate targets and shooting with one hand while the other holds an object collected from the environment. Other additions include more melee attacks, as well as contextual offensive and climbing manoeuvres. Crystal Dynamics sought to make the visual appearance of the Xbox 360
and PlayStation 3
versions identical, although the systems use different techniques to achieve this. In response to Underworlds lackluster sales figures, Eidos reportedly considered altering the character's appearance to appeal more to female fans.
acquired Eidos in April 2009, restructuring Eidos into Square Enix Europe. Crystal Dynamics remained the developer of the Tomb Raider games. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light introduced co-operative gameplay to the series, a move that brand director Karl Stewart said was meant to "show [Lara] as a more humanistic character" by placing her in a situation that differed from previous instalments. The game uses the same technology featured in the studio's past Tomb Raider games. Despite the changes implemented in the titles, Crystal Dynamics believed that the series required further reinvention to stay relevant.
In late 2010, Square Enix announced a franchise reboot titled Tomb Raider; the new Lara Croft would be a darker, grittier reimagining of the character. In examining the character, Crystal Dynamics concluded that Croft's largest failing was her "Teflon coating", and that it needed a more human version that players would care about. The studio sought a new voice actress, trialling dozens of relatively unknown performers. The second reboot focuses on the origin of the character, and as a result, changes the previous back story. Staff opted to first work on the character's biography rather than cosmetic aspects. Crystal Dynamics sought to avoid the embellished physique of past renditions and pushed for realistic proportions. In redesigning the character's appearance, the designers began with simple concepts and added features that it felt made Lara Croft iconic: a ponytail, "M-shaped" lips, and the spatial relationship between her eyes, mouth, and nose. The company also changed the character's wardrobe, focusing on what it believed was more functional and practical. In designing the outfits, staff aimed to create a look that was "relevant" and "youthful", but not too "trendy" or "hip". To gauge the redesign, Crystal Dynamics conducted eye tracking
studies on subjects who viewed the new version and previous ones.
Similar to Underworld, the new Tomb Raider will feature motion capture-based animation. In an effort to present realism and emotion in the character, Crystal Dynamics captured face and voice performances to accompany the body performances. The company plans to revamp Croft's in-game combat abilities. Crystal Dynamics aims to make the "combat fresh to the franchise, competitive amongst [similar games], and relevant to the story." Among the changes is the implementation of a free aiming system. The studio reasoned that such a system would cause players to be more invested in the action by fostering a "raw, brutal, and desperate" style. Global brand director Karl Stewart stated that such desperation relates to the updated character's inexperience with violence. He further commented that Lara Croft is thrust into a situation where she is forced to kill, which will be a traumatic and defining moment for her.
Lara Croft has appeared on the cover of multiple video game magazines. The character has also been featured on the cover of non-video game publications such as British style magazine The Face
, American news magazines Time
and Newsweek
, German magazine Focus
, and the front page of British newspaper the Financial Times
. Eidos licensed the character for third party advertisements, including television ads for Visa, Lucozade
drinks, G4 TV
, Brigitte magazine, and SEAT
cars. Retro Gamer staff attributes Croft's "iconic" status in part to the Lucozade commercials, calling them one of the most memorable advertisements to use video game elements. Picture advertisements appeared on the sides of double-decker buses and walls of subway stations. Irish rock band U2
commissioned custom renders for video footage displayed on stage in their 1997 PopMart tour. German punk band Die Ärzte
's 1998 music video for "Men are pigs
" also features Croft. Music groups have dedicated songs to the character, culminating in the release of the album A Tribute to Lara Croft. Bands and artists including Depeche Mode
, Moby
, Faith No More
, Jimi Tenor
, and Apollo 440
donated their songs for the album. In conjunction with the release of the 2001 film adaptation, Eidos licensed Lara Croft free-of-charge to the Gordonstoun boarding school for a commercial. The school approached Eidos about use of the character. Eidos allowed the one-time licence due to Core Design's inclusion of Gordonstoun in Croft's fictional biography without the school's permission. Near the end of 2006, Lara Croft became the spokesmodel for the Skin Cancer Awareness Foundation of Minden, Nevada
as part of their Sun Smart Teen Program. The foundation felt that the character personified the benefits of a healthy body, and that young teenagers could relate to Croft.
Lara Croft's likeness has been a model for merchandise. The first action figures were produced by Toy Biz
, based on the video game version of the character. Playmates Toys
released a series of action figures that depict Croft in different outfits and accessories from the video games, later producing figures modelled after Jolie for Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Graphic designer Marc Klinnert of Studio OXMOX released scale model
kits of the character, and later built a full scale version. Arcade: The Videogame Magazine and PlayStation Magazine promoted life-size Croft statues as contest prizes. Spurred by a rumour that Eidos provided Lara Croft autographs, fans wrote to the company to obtain them. The quantity prompted Eidos to quickly produce autographed cards to meet demand. Tomb Raider: Underworld themes
and wallpapers
featuring the character were released for the PlayStation 3. Xbox Live Marketplace
released Xbox 360 avatars in conjunction with Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. Eidos released a brand of Lara Croft apparel and accessories, marketed under the label "LARA©". The line included wallets, watches, bathrobes, and Zippo
lighters. Other third-party apparel are hiking boots, backpacks, leather jackets, and thermoses. Croft's likeness has also appeared on French postage stamps, PlayStation memory cards, and trading card
s as part of a collectible card game
. In October 1997, Eidos held an art exhibition
titled "Lara Goes Art" in Hamburg
, Germany
to promote Tomb Raider II. The exhibit featured selected artwork of the character submitted by artists and fans. Pieces included oil and airbrushed paintings, photo-stories, and Klinnert's model; SZM Studios provided the computer-generated footage
they had created for Die Ärzte's music video and the Brigitte magazine television commercial.
to portray Lara Croft at publicity events, promotions, trade shows, and photo shoots. Nathalie Cook was the first model, portraying the character from 1996 to 1997. Cook was followed by British actress Rhona Mitra
from 1997 to 1998. Eidos then updated the Croft costume to match its video game depiction. Core Design reportedly restricted Mitra's dialogue as the character at trade shows and out of costume. French model Vanessa Demouy
succeeded Mitra for a brief time until fashion model Nell McAndrew
took over the role at the 1998 Electronic Entertainment Expo. McAndrew portrayed Croft from 1998 until 1999, when Eidos fired her for posing in Playboy
, which used the character and Tomb Raider franchise to promote the McAndrew's issue without Eidos's approval. Core Design was granted an injunction
against the magazine to protect the character's image; Playboy was ordered to place stickers on the cover of the issue to conceal the reference to Tomb Raider. Eidos later donated McAndrew's Tomb Raider costume to a UNICEF charity auction.
Lara Weller followed McAndrew from 1999 to 2000. Subsequent models were Lucy Clarkson
from 2000 to 2002 and Jill de Jong
, who wore a new costume based on Lara Croft's new appearance in Angel of Darkness from 2002 to 2004. Karima Adebibe
became the model from 2006 to 2008, and wore a costume based on the updated version of Croft in Legend. She was the first model Eidos allowed to portray Lara Croft outside posing for photography. To prepare for the role, Adebibe trained in areas the character was expected to excel in like combat, motorcycling, elocution, and conduct. Gymnast Alison Carroll
, succeeded Adebibe in 2008 and featured apparel based on the character's appearance in Underworld. Similar to Adebibe, Carroll received special training—Special Air Service
(SAS) survival, weapons, and archaeology—to fill the role. Crystal Dynamics discontinued the use of models as part of the franchise's second reboot. The number of models prompted Guinness World Records
to award the character an official record for the "most official real life stand-ins" in 2008.
Paramount Pictures
acquired the film rights for Tomb Raider in 1998. Producer Lloyd Levin
stated that the film makers tried to capture the essence of the video game elements rather than duplicate them. Acknowledging the character's "huge fan base" and recognizable appearance, director Simon West
sought an actress with acting ability as well as physical attributes similar to Croft. Paramount also received input from developer Core Design on casting. Rumoured actresses included Pamela Anderson
, Demi Moore
, Jeri Ryan
, and Carla Pivonski. Academy Award-winning actress Angelina Jolie
was eventually cast to play Lara Croft. She had not been a fan of the character, but considered the role as a "big responsibility", citing anxiety about fans' high expectations. Producer Lawrence Gordon felt she was a perfect fit for the role. Jolie braided her hair and used minimal padding to increase her bust a cup size to 36D for the role. She felt that Croft's video game proportions were unrealistic, and wanted to avoid showing such proportions to young girls. Jolie trained rigorously for the action scenes required for the role, occasionally sustaining injuries. Her training focused on practising the physical skills necessary to perform the film's stunts. The difficulty of the training and injuries discouraged her, but she continued working through production. Jolie also encountered difficulties when working the guns, bungee jumping, and manoeuvring with the braid. West had not anticipated that Jolie would do her own stunts, and was impressed, as was stunt coordinator Simon Crane, by the effort she put into them.
Angelina Jolie reprised her role for a sequel, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life
. Directed by Jan de Bont
, the 2003 film focused more on the character's development. De Bont praised Jolie's understanding of Lara Croft, as well as the character's strength, saying he "hates women in distress." Producer Levin commented that the film staff tried to handle the character properly, and consulted with the video game developers on what would be appropriate. Despite the second film's poor reception, Paramount remained open to releasing a third. Jolie was still optioned to play the character in a third film as late as 2007, though she had commented in 2004 that she had no intention of reprising the role again. Development for a third movie was announced in 2009, with Dan Lin as the producer. However, a new actress is currently being sought to play the title character. Lin intends to reboot the film series with a young Croft in an origin story. In 2011, Olivia Wilde
denied rumors that she would play the role, but still expressed interest. Producer Graham King
plans to release the film in 2013.
argued that Croft helped redefined gender in video games by providing a different interpretation of what women could do. Several publications have used her as the standard to which later female video game characters have been compared. Video game publications like PlayStation Magazine, IGN, Edge
, and PlayStation: The Official Magazine have labelled the character a video game and cultural icon. Jeremy Smith credits Croft with exposing the Tomb Raider games and video games in general to a wider audience. Computer and Video Games
commented that Croft's appearance on the cover of The Face signalled a change in the perception of video games from "geeky" to mainstream. The character is honoured in the British
city Derby
, previous home to Core Design. In 2007, Radleigh Homes placed a blue plaque
for Croft at the site of Core Design's former offices, now a block of flats. The Derby City Council opened a public vote in 2009 to name its new ring road. The winning choice, with 89% of over 27,000 votes, was "Lara Croft Way", and opened in July 2010.
Yahoo! Movies
and IGN credit Jolie's role in the first Tomb Raider film with significantly raising her profile and propelling her to international super-stardom, respectively. Jolie commented that young children would ask her to sign objects as Lara Croft. After filming for the first movie at the Cambodian temple Ta Prohm
, the local inhabitants called it the "Angelina Jolie Temple" and local restaurants served Jolie's favorite alcoholic beverage advertised as "Tomb Raider cocktails". IGN's Jesse Schedeen described Croft as one of few characters to receive a decent videogame-to-movie adaptation. By 2008, the first Tomb Raider movie was the highest-grossing video game movie and the largest opening ever for a movie headlined by a woman.
describing her as a video game icon of that generation of games. IGN credited a rise in PlayStation sales in part to Croft's debut on the system, and PlayStation Magazine attributed the first title's success to the character. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine stated alternatively that Tomb Raiders PlayStation success propelled the character to prominence, making her a mascot for the system. PlayStation Magazine credits coverage in the Financial Times in 1997 as the starting point of the character's mainstream attention. As years progressed, Lara Croft's popularity declined due to a string of poorly received video game sequels. The Angel of Darkness is often cited as the character's low point. IGN editor Colin Moriarty stated that while she began as an intelligent and strong female character, her games grew bland and Lara Croft became more like a "virtual blow-up doll".
Crystal Dynamics' rendition of Croft in Legend garnered wide, though not universal, praise; many publications described the portrayal as a successful reboot. Game Informer named Lara Croft the number six top video game hero of 2006, citing the character's successful reprise in popularity. The magazine cited the character's alterations in Legend as the reason for her resurgent success. Chris Slate of PlayStation Magazine lauded the character changes in Legend, commenting that "Lara is finally back". He praised Eidos's decision to switch developers and Crystal Dynamics' contributions, especially the character's new gameplay manoeuvres and updated appearance. Others, like Schedeen and GamePros Patrick Shaw, felt that the makeover did not improve the character. Fans also disapproved of the changes, especially the switch from the braid.
Dr. Mark Griffiths of Nottingham Trent University
described Lara Croft as a psychological tabula rasa
. Richard Rouse of Midway Games
attributed the character's appeal to a loosely defined personality, which permits players to imprint their own onto her. Jeremy Smith stated that the minimal personality allows players to form a relationship with the character. Burton added that Croft is perceived differently around the world. French demographics focus on her sex appeal, while German and British audiences are drawn to her aggressiveness and aloofness, respectively. Fansite
s dedicated to Lara Croft appeared on the internet in several languages after the release of Tomb Raider, and contained official and fan-created images of Croft, model photographs, and fan fiction
starring the character. More than 100 such sites were present by the end of 1998. By 2000, search engine HotBot
yielded around 4,700 pages for a search of the character's name. Admirers discussed rumours related to Lara Croft via usenet newsgroups and ICQ chats. Enthusiasts also collected merchandise and paraphernalia, submitted fan art
to video game magazines, participated in Croft cosplay
, and obtained tattoos depicting the character. One admirer rode a bike over 500 miles (804.7 km) from Amsterdam
to Derby
wearing Lara Croft brand clothing to meet the developers, who welcomed him after learning of the trip.
Lara Croft holds a Guinness World Record
as the "most recognized female video game character", and received a star on the Walk of Game
in San Francisco, California
. Game Informer commented that the character is well liked around the world, particularly in England. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine described Croft as "one of today's premier videogame and movie heroes", and Play magazine described her as "3D gaming's first female superstar". Hartas called Croft one of the most famous game women, praising her independence. Karen Jones of Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine described the character as "one of the biggest stars on the PlayStation". In 1998, PlayStation Magazine commented that Lara Croft was one of the most memorable characters on the PlayStation console, and echoed a similar statement in 2004. Time magazine
writer Chris Taylor called her "the foundation of one of the most successful franchises in video-game history."
, GameTrailers
, and PlayStation Magazine listed big breasts as one of the character's most famous attributes. After interviewing players in 1998, Griffiths commented that players regularly mention Croft's breasts when discussing her. In 2008, the character was first and second on two UGO Networks lists of hottest video game characters. GameDaily
placed Lara Croft number one on a similar list that same year, and PlayStation: The Official Magazine awarded her honorable mention for Game Babe of the Year. Croft has appeared in several issues of Plays Girls of Gaming special and PlayStation Magazines Swimsuit special. Layouts portray the character partially nude, in bikinis, and in revealing cocktail dresses, though Tomb Raider: Underworlds creative director Eric Lindstrom criticized such poses as out of character. He further stated that they conflict with Croft's popular strengths, and felt that fans respond more strongly to images of the character dressed more conservatively than to ones with provocative poses. PlayStation Magazines staff agreed, commenting that better use of the character's sex appeal would please fans more.
Male players have performed in-game actions to make Lara Croft repeatedly say phrases and view closer camera angles of her bust, while pornography featuring the character has been distributed via the internet. After the first game's release, rumours appeared on the internet about a cheat code to remove the character's clothes. Despite Core Design's denial of such a code, the rumour persisted, fueled by manipulated nude images. The rumour lingered by the time Legend was released. PlayStation Magazine featured an April Fool's parody of Croft and the rumoured code referred to as "Nude Raider". Fans developed software patches
to remove Lara Croft's clothing in the personal computer
game releases.
Reaction from groups have been mixed. The journal Leonardo
noted some feminists' negative reaction to her design; though males were identifying with their feminine side through Croft, she reinforced unrealistic ideals about the female body. Australian feminist scholar Germaine Greer
criticized her as an embodiment of male fantasies. PlayStation Magazine staff commented that Croft could be seen as either a role model for young independent girls or the embodiment of a male adolescent fantasy, though later stated that the character does little to attract female demographics and was obviously designed with a male audience in mind. The editors also criticized Core Design's hypocritical attempts to downplay the character's sex appeal in public statements while releasing advertisements that prominently featured Lara Croft's sexuality. Graphic artist Heather Gibson attributed the "sexism" to participation from Eidos's marketing department.
Author Mark Cohen attributed Lara Croft's eroticism among male fans to the character's appearance and a male protective instinct. German psychologist Oscar Holzberg described the protective behaviour as the result of the opportunity to act as a hero in virtual worlds and a fear of powerful, emancipated women. Jonathan Smith of Arcade: The Videogame Magazine similarly noted that male players often see themselves as "chivalrous protectors" while playing the game. Holzberg further stated that the lower psychological investment inherent to virtual characters is more comfortable for males. Cohen affirmed that despite blatant male appeal, Croft garnered a serious female audience. Eidos estimated by 2000, female consumers comprised 20–25 percent of Tomb Raider game purchases. Jeremy Smith argued that the series attracted more female players to video gaming, especially in Japan. Smith believed that Croft does not alienate prospective female players, representing an emancipated heroine and not simply an attractive character. According to Adrian Smith, the character was also popular with younger demographics that did not view her sexually. Cohen reasoned that Croft differs from other erotic characters and attractive leads, as the Tomb Raider games also feature rich action, impressive graphics, and intelligent puzzles; other such characters were unsuccessful because the game content was lacking. Amy Hennig
of developer Naughty Dog
and Griffiths echoed similar statements. GamesRadar
editor Justin Toweel nonetheless commented that he couldn't imagine a Tomb Raider game without a sexualized female lead.
Griffith described Lara Croft as a flawed female influence. He stated that though the character is a step in the right direction, too many women view her as a "crudely realised male fantasy figure". Women in the video game industry describe the character as both a positive and negative influence. Ismini Roby of WomenGamers.com commented that Croft was not a sexist influence in 1996, attributed to the lack of prominent female characters in video games at the time. She stated that the over-sexualized appearance was overlooked because the character was a "breath of fresh air". However, Roby felt that though Lara Croft's proportions have become more realistic, the character's personality was diluted by the developer's actions to appeal to a male audience. LesbianGamers.com's Tracy Whitelaw called the character a dichotomy, stating that though Croft is viewed as "idealized" with an "unattainable body", the character was a great stride for the propagation of female characters as video game protagonists.
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
and the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of the Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
(previously Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....
) video game series Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider is an action-adventure video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. It was originally released in 1996 for the Sega Saturn, with MS-DOS and PlayStation versions following shortly thereafter...
. She is presented as a beautiful, intelligent, and athletic British archaeologist
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
-adventurer who ventures into ancient, hazardous tombs and ruins around the world. Created by Toby Gard
Toby Gard
Toby Gard is an English computer game character designer and consultant, notably creating female British archaeologist Lara Croft...
during his employment at UK developer Core Design
Core Design
Core Design was a British video game studio best known today for creating the popular Tomb Raider series.-History:Based in the city of Derby, England, Core Design was set up in 1988 by Chris Shrigley, Andy Green, Rob Toone, Terry Lloyd, Simon Phipps, Dave Pridmore, Jeremy Heath-Smith and Greg Holmes...
, the character first appeared in the 1996 video game Tomb Raider. The character has also appeared in video game sequels, printed adaptations, a series of animated short films, feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
s (portrayed by Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...
), and merchandise related to the series. Official promotion of the character includes a brand of apparel and accessories, action figures, and model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
portrayals. Croft has also been licensed for third-party promotion, including television and print advertisements, music-related appearances, and as a spokesmodel.
Core Design handled initial development of the character and the series. Inspired by pop artist Neneh Cherry
Neneh Cherry
Neneh Mariann Cherry is a Swedish singer-songwriter, rapper, and occasional DJ and broadcaster...
and comic book character Tank Girl
Tank Girl
Tank Girl is a British comic created by Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin. Originally drawn by Jamie Hewlett, it has also been drawn by Rufus Dayglo, Ashley Wood, and Mike McMahon.The eponymous character Tank Girl drives a tank, which is also her home...
, Gard designed Lara Croft to counter stereotypical female characters. The company modified the character for subsequent titles, which included graphical improvements and gameplay additions. American developer Crystal Dynamics
Crystal Dynamics
Crystal Dynamics is an American video game developer based in the San Francisco Bay Area and founded in 1992 by Judy Lang, Madaline Canepa and Dave Morris...
took over the series after the 2003 sequel Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness was received poorly. The new developer rebooted the character along with the video game series. Crystal Dynamics focused on making the character more believable. The company altered her physical proportions, and gave her additional ways of interacting with game environments. Croft has been voiced by four actresses in the video game series: Shelley Blond
Shelley Blond
Shelley Blond was the first voice actress for Lara Croft, lending her voice to her in the original Tomb Raider game. The New York Times claimed her dulcet tones were "sexier than Kathleen Turner as Jessica Rabbit"...
, Judith Gibbins, Jonell Elliott
Jonell Elliott
Jonell Elliott is an English voice actress who was the voice of the video game character Lara Croft from Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation to Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness....
and Keeley Hawes
Keeley Hawes
Keeley Hawes is an English actress and model, known for many television roles. She is best known for her roles as Zoe Reynolds in Spooks and Alex Drake in Ashes to Ashes and Lady Agnes in the remake of Upstairs, Downstairs...
.
Critics consider Lara Croft a significant game character in popular culture. She holds two Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
, has a strong fan following, and is among the first video game characters to be successfully adapted to film. The character's debut was well-received by the video game industry, but her popularity slowly declined until the series' reboot in 2006. While the rebooted games were generally well-received, Croft's redesign was met with mixed responses. Lara Croft is also considered a sex symbol, one of the earliest in the industry to achieve widespread attention. The character's influence in the industry has been a point of contention among critics; viewpoints range from a positive agent of change in video games to a negative role model for young girls.
Description
Lara Croft is depicted as an athletic woman; she has brown eyes and hair, frequently kept in a plaitBraid
A braid is a complex structure or pattern formed by intertwining three or more strands of flexible material such as textile fibres, wire, or human hair...
or ponytail
Ponytail
A ponytail is a hairstyle in which most or all of the hair on the head is pulled away from the face, gathered and secured at the back of the head with a hair tie, clip or similar device, and allowed to hang freely from that point. It gets its name from its resemblance to the undocked tail of a...
. The character's classic costume is a turquoise sleeveless tank top, light brown shorts, calf-high boots, and long white socks. Accessories include fingerless gloves, a backpack, a utility belt with holsters on either side, and two pistols. The video game sequels introduced new outfits designed for different environments, such as underwater and cold weather. In the later games, Croft wears a crop top
Crop top
A crop top is a T-shirt or blouse with the lower part cut off, showing of some of the abdomen. The half shirt is a kind of shirt that is cut off from the bottom of the chest....
, camouflage pants and black or light brown shirts. When exploring, she often carries two pistols, but has used other weaponry throughout the series. Lara Croft is fluent in several languages.
Game manuals describe the character as the Wimbledon, London
Wimbledon, London
Wimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...
-born daughter of the fictional Lord Richard Croft. She was raised as an aristocrat and betrothed to the fictitious Earl of Farringdon. Lara Croft attended the Scottish boarding school Gordonstoun
Gordonstoun
Gordonstoun School is a co-educational independent school for boarding and day pupils in Moray in North East Scotland. Named after the estate originally owned by Sir Robert Gordon in the 1600s, the school now uses this estate as its campus...
and a Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
finishing school
Finishing school
A finishing school is "a private school for girls that emphasises training in cultural and social activities." The name reflects that it follows on from ordinary school and is intended to complete the educational experience, with classes primarily on etiquette...
. A plane crash left the character stranded in the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
for two weeks; the experience spurred her to shun her former life and seek other adventures around the world. Croft wrote books and other published works based on her exploits as a mercenary, big-game hunter, and master thief. The story was later changed to include her mother in the plane crash. While searching for shelter against the elements, Lara Croft witnesses her mother vanish after tampering with an ancient sword. Her father disappears in search of his wife.
In video games
Lara Croft primarily appears in the Tomb RaiderTomb Raider
Tomb Raider is an action-adventure video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. It was originally released in 1996 for the Sega Saturn, with MS-DOS and PlayStation versions following shortly thereafter...
video game series published by Square Enix Europe (previously Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....
). The action-adventure game
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
s feature the protagonist travelling the world in search of rare objects and mystical artefacts. Croft first appeared in the 1996 video game Tomb Raider, in which she competes against a rival archaeologist in search of an Atlantean
Atlantis
Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....
artefact. Tomb Raider II
Tomb Raider II
Tomb Raider II is an action-adventure video game in the Tomb Raider series and is the sequel to the 1996 video game Tomb Raider. Developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive, the game was originally released for PlayStation, Windows 95 in November 1997, Macintosh in 1998 and on the...
(1997) centres on the search for the Dagger of Xian, which is sought by thieves. Tomb Raider III
Tomb Raider III
Tomb Raider III is an action-adventure video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. It is the third instalment in the Tomb Raider series, and the sequel to Tomb Raider II...
(1998) focuses on meteorite fragments that endow humans with supernatural powers. In Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation is the fourth video game in the Tomb Raider series. It was developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. It was released on PC, PlayStation and eventually to the Sega Dreamcast with exclusive graphical and sound enhancements...
(1999), the first depiction of a young Croft, she is accompanied by her mentor, Werner Von Croy. Lara searches for artefacts associated with the Egyptian god Horus
Horus
Horus is one of the oldest and most significant deities in the Ancient Egyptian religion, who was worshipped from at least the late Predynastic period through to Greco-Roman times. Different forms of Horus are recorded in history and these are treated as distinct gods by Egyptologists...
, and later encounters Von Croy as an antagonist. In Tomb Raider Chronicles
Tomb Raider Chronicles
Tomb Raider Chronicles is the fifth game in the Tomb Raider series and the sequel to Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation. It was developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. The game was originally released in 2000 for PC, Sega Dreamcast and PlayStation...
(2000), most of the game relates adventures told via flashbacks. The first portable game, Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider (Game Boy Color)
The game received an average score of 79.00% at Game Rankings, based on an aggregate of 10 reviews.-External links:* - GBA trailer, game information and screenshots....
(2000), was released on the Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
, and follows the character's search for the Nightmare Stone. A second Game Boy Color title, Tomb Raider: Curse of the Sword (2001), sees Lara Croft facing off against a cult. The next portable game, Tomb Raider: The Prophecy
Tomb Raider: The Prophecy
The game received an average score of 65.10% at Game Rankings, based on an aggregate of 24 reviews and an average score of 66/100 at Metacritic, based on 20 reviews....
(2002), was released on the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
, and focuses on three magical stones. Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness (2003) was released on home platforms, centring on the murder of Professor Von Croy.
Eidos rebooted the series with Tomb Raider: Legend (2006), which focuses on Lara Croft's search for Excalibur
Excalibur
Excalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. Sometimes Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone are said to be the same weapon, but in most versions they are considered separate. The sword was...
and her mother, altering the character's backstory as part of the reboot. Tomb Raider: Anniversary (2007), a remake of the first game in the series, carried over design elements from Legend. Tomb Raider: Underworld
Tomb Raider: Underworld
Tomb Raider: Underworld is the eighth instalment of the Tomb Raider series. The story continues from the events in Tomb Raider: Legend as a direct sequel, but also addresses unexplained plot elements by association with Tomb Raider: Anniversary; the 2007 remake of the original Tomb Raider...
(2008) continues the plot introduced in Legend. The story centres on Croft's search for information about her mother's disappearance. In the process she learns of the existence of Thor
Thor
In Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing, and fertility...
's hammer, Mjöllnir. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light is a fixed-camera 3D platform viewpoint action video game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Square Enix for the PC, PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade and the iOS as part of the Tomb Raider series for digital download...
(2010) is a downloadable game
Downloadable content
Downloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
that is set in a Central American jungle, and features an ancient warrior who works with Lara Croft.
In other adaptations
Beginning in 1997, the character regularly appeared in comics by Top Cow ProductionsTop Cow Productions
Top Cow Productions is an American comics publisher, a partner studio of Image Comics founded by Marc Silvestri in 1992.-History:...
. Lara Croft first appeared in a crossover in Sara Pezzini
Sara Pezzini
Sara Pezzini is a fictional comic book superheroine starring in the series Witchblade. Sara also appeared in a Turner Network Television live-action feature film and TV series of the same name, portrayed by Yancy Butler...
's Witchblade
Witchblade
Witchblade is an American comic book series published by Top Cow Productions, an imprint of Image Comics, from 1995 until present. The series was created by Top Cow editors Marc Silvestri and David Wohl, writers Brian Haberlin and Christina Z, and artist Michael Turner.The series follows Sara...
, and later starred in her own comic book series
Tomb Raider (comics)
The Tomb Raider comic book series are based on the character of Lara Croft, from the games produced by Eidos Interactive and Core Design.-Publication history:...
in 1999. The series began with Dan Jurgens
Dan Jurgens
Dan Jurgens is an American comic book writer and artist. He is best known for creating the superhero Booster Gold, and for his lengthy runs on the Superman titles Adventures of Superman and Superman , particularly during The Death of Superman storyline...
as the writer, featuring artwork by Andy Park and Jon Sibal. The stories were unrelated to the video games until issue 32 of the Tomb Raider series, which adapted Angel of Darknesss plot. The series ran for 50 issues in addition to special issues. Other printed adaptations are Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Amulet of Power, a 2003 novel written by Mike Resnick
Mike Resnick
Michael Diamond Resnick , better known by his published name Mike Resnick, is an American science fiction author. He was executive editor of Jim Baen's Universe.-Biography:...
; Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Lost Cult, a 2004 novel written by E. E. Knight
E. E. Knight
E. E. Knight is the pen name for a science fiction and fantasy writer, born in La Crosse, Wisconsin. He grew up in Stillwater, Minnesota and now resides in Oak Park, Illinois with his wife, newborn daughter and young son....
; and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Man of Bronze, a 2005 novel written by James Alan Gardner
James Alan Gardner
James Alan Gardner is a Canadian science fiction author.Raised in Simcoe and Bradford, Ontario, he earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Applied Mathematics from the University of Waterloo....
.
Lara Croft has appeared in two motion pictures. The first, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is a 2001 adventure thriller film adapted from the Tomb Raider video game series. Directed by Simon West and starring Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft, it was released in U.S. theaters on June 15, 2001. The film was a commercial success...
, was released in 2001, and follows Croft as she encounters the Illuminati
Illuminati
The Illuminati is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically the name refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on May 1, 1776...
, a group searching for a relic able to control time. The film depicted Croft's backstory differently from the version in the early games. In the films, Lara Croft's mother died in a plane crash and her father disappeared in Cambodia; in the games, both parents are alive. A similar backstory was adopted in 2006 in Legend. The sequel, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life is a 2003 action film directed by Jan de Bont, and starring Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft. It is a sequel to the 2001 film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider...
, depicts Croft in search of Pandora's box
Pandora's box
Pandora's box is an artifact in Greek mythology, taken from the myth of Pandora's creation around line 60 of Hesiod's Works and Days. The "box" was actually a large jar given to Pandora , which contained all the evils of the world. When Pandora opened the jar, all its contents except for one item...
in competition with a Chinese crime syndicate. Development for a third movie was announced in 2009. Producer Graham King
Graham King
Graham King, OBE is a British film producer. He is also President and CEO of Initial Entertainment Group. He is best known for his Academy Award winning 2006 crime thriller film The Departed, which was awarded the Best Picture Oscar at the 79th Academy Awards.King was appointed Officer of the...
plans to release the film in 2013. GameTap
GameTap
GameTap is an American online video game service established by Turner Broadcasting System . Dubbed by TBS as a "first of its kind broadband gaming network", the service provides users with classic arcade video games and game-related video content...
released Re\Visioned: Tomb Raider Animated Series
ReVisioned: Tomb Raider Animated Series
Revisioned: Tomb Raider Animated Series is a ten-part animated series based on the Tomb Raider series. It was distributed through the online video game service GameTap from July 10, 2007 to November 13, 2007...
in 2007 via the GameTap TV section of its website. The web series
Web series
A web series is a series of episodes released on the Internet or also by mobile or cellular phone, and part of the newly emerging medium called web television. A single instance of a web series program is called an episode .While the popularity of web series is continuing to rise, the concept...
is a collection of ten short animated film
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
s that features re-imagined versions of Croft by well-known animators, comic book artists, and writers, including Jim Lee
Jim Lee
Jim Lee is a Korean-American comic book artist, writer, editor and publisher. He first broke into the industry in 1987 as an artist for Marvel Comics, illustrating titles such as Alpha Flight and Punisher War Journal, before gaining a great deal of popularity on The Uncanny X-Men...
, Warren Ellis
Warren Ellis
Warren Girard Ellis is an English author of comics, novels, and television, who is well-known for sociocultural commentary, both through his online presence and through his writing, which covers transhumanist themes...
, and Peter Chung
Peter Chung
Peter Kunshik Chung Peter Kunshik Chung Peter Kunshik Chung (born April 19, 1961 in Seoul, South Korea, as 정건식 (Chung Geun-sik, or alternative spelling Jeong Geun-Sik) is a Korean American animator...
. Episodes ranged from five to seven and half minutes in length, featuring Minnie Driver
Minnie Driver
Minnie Driver is an English actress and singer-songwriter. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the 1997 film Good Will Hunting, as well as for an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe for her work in the television series The Riches.- Early life...
as Croft. The creative staff was given considerable freedom to re-interpret the character; they did not consult the video game designers, but were given a guide listing acceptable and unacceptable practices.
Development history
Core DesignCore Design
Core Design was a British video game studio best known today for creating the popular Tomb Raider series.-History:Based in the city of Derby, England, Core Design was set up in 1988 by Chris Shrigley, Andy Green, Rob Toone, Terry Lloyd, Simon Phipps, Dave Pridmore, Jeremy Heath-Smith and Greg Holmes...
, a subsidiary of Eidos, created Lara Croft as the lead protagonist of its video game Tomb Raider, which began development in 1993. Lead graphic artist Toby Gard
Toby Gard
Toby Gard is an English computer game character designer and consultant, notably creating female British archaeologist Lara Croft...
went through about five designs before arriving at the character's final appearance. He initially envisioned a male lead character with a whip and a hat. Core Design co-founder Jeremy Smith characterized the design as derivative of Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones
Colonel Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., Ph.D. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials...
, and asked for more originality. Gard decided that a female character would work better from a design standpoint. He also claimed a desire to counter stereotypical female characters, which he has characterized as "bimbos" or "dominatrix" types. Smith was sceptical of a female lead at first because few contemporary games featured them. He came to regard a female lead as a great hook and put faith in Gard's idea. Inspired by pop artist Neneh Cherry
Neneh Cherry
Neneh Mariann Cherry is a Swedish singer-songwriter, rapper, and occasional DJ and broadcaster...
and comic book character Tank Girl
Tank Girl
Tank Girl is a British comic created by Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin. Originally drawn by Jamie Hewlett, it has also been drawn by Rufus Dayglo, Ashley Wood, and Mike McMahon.The eponymous character Tank Girl drives a tank, which is also her home...
, Gard experimented with different designs, including a muscular woman and a Nazi-like militant. He settled on a tough South American woman with a braid named Laura Cruz. Eidos management preferred a more "UK friendly" name, and selected Lara Croft from similar-sounding British names found in an English telephone directory. Along with the name change, the character's backstory was altered to incorporate a British origin.
Gard was keen to animate the character realistically, an aspect he felt the industry at the time had disregarded. He sacrificed quick animations in favour of more fluid movement, believing that players would empathize with the character more easily. In the first Tomb Raider, Croft's three-dimensional
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
(3D) character model
3D modeling
In 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling is the process of developing a mathematical representation of any three-dimensional surface of object via specialized software. The product is called a 3D model...
is made of around 230 polygons
Polygon (computer graphics)
Polygons are used in computer graphics to compose images that are three-dimensional in appearance. Usually triangular, polygons arise when an object's surface is modeled, vertices are selected, and the object is rendered in a wire frame model. This is quicker to display than a shaded model; thus...
. The graphical limits at the time required the removal of the character's braid from the model; it was added to the model for subsequent iterations. While adjusting the character model, Gard accidentally increased the breasts' dimensions by 150 percent. After seeing the increase, the rest of the creative team argued to keep the change. Core Design hired Shelley Blond to voice Croft after the game entered the beta phase of development. Gard left Core Design after completing Tomb Raider, citing a lack of creative freedom and control over marketing decisions related to the ideas he developed (especially Lara Croft).
Core Design improved and modified the character with each instalment. Developers for Tomb Raider II increased the number of polygons in the character's model and added more realistic curves to its design. Other changes included new outfits and manoeuvres. Core Design planned to implement crawling as a new gameplay option, but did not follow through until Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation. Actress Judith Gibbins took over voice acting responsibilities and stayed on through Tomb Raider III. For the third game, the developers increased the number of polygons in Croft's 3D model to about 300, and introduced more abilities to the gameplay. For Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, the developers wanted to reintroduce the character to players and included a flashback scenario with a younger Lara. Core Design expanded the character's set of moves threefold to allow more interaction with the environment, like swinging on ropes and kicking open doors. The character model was altered to feature more realistic proportions, and Jonell Elliott replaced Gibbins as the voice of Lara Croft. By the time development for The Last Revelation began, Core Design had worked on the series constantly for four years and the staff felt they had exhausted their creativeness. Feeling the series lacked innovation, Core Design decided to kill the character and depicted Croft trapped by a cave-in
Cave-in
A cave-in is a collapse of a geologic formation, mine or structure which typically occurs during mining or tunneling. Geologic structures prone to cave-ins include alvar, tsingy and other limestone formations, but can also include lava tubes and a variety of other subsurface rock formations.In...
during the final scenes of the game.
The next title, Tomb Raider Chronicles, depicted the late Lara Croft via her friends' flashbacks. The game introduced stealth attacks, which would carry over to the next game, Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness. While the original development team worked on Chronicles, Core Design assigned a new team to develop Angel of Darkness for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
. Anticipating innovative changes from next generation consoles
History of video game consoles (fifth generation)
The fifth-generation era refers to the computer and video games, video game consoles, and video game handhelds available at stores...
, Adrian Smith—co-founder of Core Design—wanted to reinvent the character to keep pace with the updated technology. Core Design conducted market research, including fan polls, to aid in Angel of Darknesss development. The development team felt they could not alter the character and instead opted to place her in a situation different from previous games. The PlayStation 2 hardware allowed for more manoeuvres and a more detailed character model; the number of polygons in Croft's model increased to 4,400. The team sought to add more melee manoeuvres to better match Lara Croft's portrayal as an expert fighter in her backstory. Movement control was switched from the directional pad to the analog control stick to provide more precision. After the original team finished Chronicles, they joined the development of Angel of Darkness. Excess content, missed production deadlines, and Eidos's desire to time the game's launch to coincide with the release of the 2003 Tomb Raider film resulted in a poorly designed game; Croft was brought back to life without explanation and the character controls lacked precision.
Developer switch to Crystal Dynamics
Crystal Dynamics
Crystal Dynamics is an American video game developer based in the San Francisco Bay Area and founded in 1992 by Judy Lang, Madaline Canepa and Dave Morris...
, another Eidos subsidiary. The Legacy of Kain
Legacy of Kain
Legacy of Kain is a series of action-adventure video games developed initially by Silicon Knights in association with Crystal Dynamics. After a legal battle, Crystal Dynamics continued the series without Silicon Knights and Eidos Interactive became the publisher...
development team began work on a new title (Tomb Raider: Legend), and Toby Gard returned to work as a consultant. The development team reassessed the brand value of the franchise and its protagonist. Chip Blundell, Eidos's vice-president of brand management, commented that the designers understood that fans saw the character and brand as their own, rather than Eidos's. With that in mind, the team retooled the franchise and character to emphasize aspects of the original game that made them unique. The storyline intended for a trilogy of games that started with Angel of Darkness was abandoned and a new plot was created for Legend.
Crystal Dynamics focused on believability rather than realism to re-develop the character, posing decisions around the question, "What could Lara do?", and giving her action more freedom. They updated Lara Croft's move set to make her movements appear more fluid and continuous. The animations were also updated so the character could better interact with environmental objects. The developers introduced a feature that causes the character's skin and clothing to appear wet after swimming and dirty after rolling on the ground. Responding to criticism directed at the character controls in Angel of Darkness, Crystal Dynamics redesigned the character's control scheme to provide what they felt was the best third-person action experience. The developers also introduced close-quarter melee manoeuvres. Crystal Dynamics updated the character model to add more realism, but retained past design elements. The polygon count increased to over 9,800. More attention was paid to the character's lip syncing and facial expressions to allow for dynamic emotional responses to in-game events. In redesigning the character's appearance, Crystal Dynamics updated Croft's hairstyle, wardrobe, and accessories. Her shirt was changed to a V-neck, her body was given more muscle tone, and her hair braid was switched to a pony tail. The voice actor for Lara Croft was initially rumoured to be Rachel Weisz
Rachel Weisz
Rachel Hannah Weisz born 7 March 1970)is an English-American film and theatre actress and former fashion model. She started her acting career at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where she co-founded the theatrical group Cambridge Talking Tongues...
, but the role was eventually given to Keeley Hawes
Keeley Hawes
Keeley Hawes is an English actress and model, known for many television roles. She is best known for her roles as Zoe Reynolds in Spooks and Alex Drake in Ashes to Ashes and Lady Agnes in the remake of Upstairs, Downstairs...
. Crystal Dynamics retained the design changes for the next game, Tomb Raider: Anniversary, a remake of the first game. The designers aimed to portray Croft with more emotional depth, and focused on the character's desire to achieve the end goal of the game, culminating in killing one of the antagonists. The developers used the death to evoke guilt in Croft afterward and illustrate that shooting a person should be a difficult choice.
History of video game consoles (seventh generation)
In the history of video games, the seventh generation of consoles is the current generation , and includes consoles released since late by Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony...
, focusing on improving realism. The dirt accumulation and water cleansing mechanic from Legend was altered to be a real-time
Real-time computer graphics
Real-time computer graphics is the subfield of computer graphics focused on producing and analyzing images in real time. The term is most often used in reference to interactive 3D computer graphics, typically using a GPU, with video games the most noticeable users...
mechanic that can involve the entire game environment. To achieve a more natural appearance, the developers added spherical harmonics
Spherical harmonics
In mathematics, spherical harmonics are the angular portion of a set of solutions to Laplace's equation. Represented in a system of spherical coordinates, Laplace's spherical harmonics Y_\ell^m are a specific set of spherical harmonics that forms an orthogonal system, first introduced by Pierre...
to provide indirect lighting to in-game objects like Lara Croft. Crystal Dynamics made the character model more complex and detailed than previous instalments, featuring more texture layers that determine the appearance of shadows and reflective light on it, and using skeletal animation
Skeletal animation
Skeletal animation is a technique in computer animation in which a character is represented in two parts: a surface representation used to draw the character and a hierarchical set of interconnected bones used to animate the mesh...
to portray believable movement. The number of polygons in the model increased to 32,000. The developers enhanced Croft's facial model by increasing the number of polygons, bones used in the animation skeleton, and graphical shaders in the face to add more detail and expressive capabilities. The hair was created as a real-time cloth simulation
Computer simulation
A computer simulation, a computer model, or a computational model is a computer program, or network of computers, that attempts to simulate an abstract model of a particular system...
to further add realism to its shape and movement. The developers kept Croft's hair tied back because they felt a real person would not want it flying around while performing dangerous manoeuvres. The character's body size was increased and breast size reduced to portray more realistic proportions.
The developers tried to redefine Lara Croft's actions by questioning what they felt the character was capable of. While previous games used hand-animated movement for the character, Underworld introduced motion capture
Motion capture
Motion capture, motion tracking, or mocap are terms used to describe the process of recording movement and translating that movement on to a digital model. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, and medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robotics...
-based animation to display more fluid, realistic movement and facial expressions. Stuntwoman and Olympic Gold medalist Heidi Moneymaker was the motion capture actress, and advised the designers on practical movements. Animators adjusted and blended the recorded animation to create seamless transitions between the separate moves and their simultaneous combinations. The blends and additional animations give the character more flexible movement. Actions were overlapped to allow for multitasking, such as aiming at two separate targets and shooting with one hand while the other holds an object collected from the environment. Other additions include more melee attacks, as well as contextual offensive and climbing manoeuvres. Crystal Dynamics sought to make the visual appearance of the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
versions identical, although the systems use different techniques to achieve this. In response to Underworlds lackluster sales figures, Eidos reportedly considered altering the character's appearance to appeal more to female fans.
Publisher switch to Square Enix
Japanese game company Square EnixSquare Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
acquired Eidos in April 2009, restructuring Eidos into Square Enix Europe. Crystal Dynamics remained the developer of the Tomb Raider games. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light introduced co-operative gameplay to the series, a move that brand director Karl Stewart said was meant to "show [Lara] as a more humanistic character" by placing her in a situation that differed from previous instalments. The game uses the same technology featured in the studio's past Tomb Raider games. Despite the changes implemented in the titles, Crystal Dynamics believed that the series required further reinvention to stay relevant.
In late 2010, Square Enix announced a franchise reboot titled Tomb Raider; the new Lara Croft would be a darker, grittier reimagining of the character. In examining the character, Crystal Dynamics concluded that Croft's largest failing was her "Teflon coating", and that it needed a more human version that players would care about. The studio sought a new voice actress, trialling dozens of relatively unknown performers. The second reboot focuses on the origin of the character, and as a result, changes the previous back story. Staff opted to first work on the character's biography rather than cosmetic aspects. Crystal Dynamics sought to avoid the embellished physique of past renditions and pushed for realistic proportions. In redesigning the character's appearance, the designers began with simple concepts and added features that it felt made Lara Croft iconic: a ponytail, "M-shaped" lips, and the spatial relationship between her eyes, mouth, and nose. The company also changed the character's wardrobe, focusing on what it believed was more functional and practical. In designing the outfits, staff aimed to create a look that was "relevant" and "youthful", but not too "trendy" or "hip". To gauge the redesign, Crystal Dynamics conducted eye tracking
Eye tracking
Eye tracking is the process of measuring either the point of gaze or the motion of an eye relative to the head. An eye tracker is a device for measuring eye positions and eye movement. Eye trackers are used in research on the visual system, in psychology, in cognitive linguistics and in product...
studies on subjects who viewed the new version and previous ones.
Similar to Underworld, the new Tomb Raider will feature motion capture-based animation. In an effort to present realism and emotion in the character, Crystal Dynamics captured face and voice performances to accompany the body performances. The company plans to revamp Croft's in-game combat abilities. Crystal Dynamics aims to make the "combat fresh to the franchise, competitive amongst [similar games], and relevant to the story." Among the changes is the implementation of a free aiming system. The studio reasoned that such a system would cause players to be more invested in the action by fostering a "raw, brutal, and desperate" style. Global brand director Karl Stewart stated that such desperation relates to the updated character's inexperience with violence. He further commented that Lara Croft is thrust into a situation where she is forced to kill, which will be a traumatic and defining moment for her.
Promotion and merchandising
Eidos's German branch and the KMF agency handled marketing for Lara Croft. Eidos marketing manager David Burton oversaw marketing efforts, which attempted to portray the character as attractive and pleasant. However, interaction with the press, especially those in Europe, resulted in less clothing depicted in promotional images. Concerned with diluting Croft's personality, Eidos avoided products it felt did not fit the character. Ian Livingstone, Eidos's product acquisition director, commented that the company declines most merchandising proposals. He stated that Eidos primarily focuses on game development and views such promotion outside video games as exposure for the character. Following Square Enix's acquisition, Eidos's marketing duties were transferred to the Square Enix Europe subsidiary. As part of the second reboot, Crystal Dynamics planned to align all products, promotions, and media ventures with its new version of the character.Lara Croft has appeared on the cover of multiple video game magazines. The character has also been featured on the cover of non-video game publications such as British style magazine The Face
The Face (magazine)
The Face was a British music, fashion and culture monthly magazine started in May 1980 by Nick Logan.-1980s:Logan had previously created the teen pop magazine Smash Hits, and had been an editor at the New Musical Express in the 1970s before launching The Face in 1980.The magazine was influential in...
, American news magazines Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
and Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
, German magazine Focus
Focus (German magazine)
Focus is a German weekly news magazine published in Munich and distributed throughout Germany. It is the third-largest weekly news magazine in Germany. It is considered conservative and leaned towards economic liberalism.- Overview :...
, and the front page of British newspaper the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
. Eidos licensed the character for third party advertisements, including television ads for Visa, Lucozade
Lucozade
Lucozade is an umbrella name for a 6 series of energy and sports drinks, produced by GlaxoSmithKline in Gloucestershire. The former company became part of Beecham and, after the mergers of SmithKline and Beecham in 2000, GlaxoSmithKline....
drinks, G4 TV
G4 (TV channel)
G4, also known as G4 TV, is an American cable- and satellite-television channel originally geared primarily toward young adult viewers, originally based on the world of video games...
, Brigitte magazine, and SEAT
SEAT
SEAT, S.A. is a Spanish automobile manufacturer founded on May 9, 1950 by the Instituto Nacional de Industria , a state-owned industrial holding company....
cars. Retro Gamer staff attributes Croft's "iconic" status in part to the Lucozade commercials, calling them one of the most memorable advertisements to use video game elements. Picture advertisements appeared on the sides of double-decker buses and walls of subway stations. Irish rock band U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
commissioned custom renders for video footage displayed on stage in their 1997 PopMart tour. German punk band Die Ärzte
Die Ärzte
Die Ärzte is a punk band from Berlin. Die Ärzte are one of the best-known German punk rock bands and have released over 20 albums. The band consists of guitarist Farin Urlaub, drummer Bela B. and bass player Rodrigo González...
's 1998 music video for "Men are pigs
Männer sind Schweine
"Männer sind Schweine" is a pop/rock song by Die Ärzte. It's the thirteenth track from their 1998 album 13. The tongue-in-cheek lyrics are based on the cliché of men always wanting sex, warning girls not to fall for their false promises of true love.- Ein Schwein namens Männer :Ein Schwein namens...
" also features Croft. Music groups have dedicated songs to the character, culminating in the release of the album A Tribute to Lara Croft. Bands and artists including Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
, Moby
Moby
Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
, Faith No More
Faith No More
Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed originally as Faith No Man in 1981 by bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist Wade Worthington, vocalist Michael Morris and drummer Mike Bordin. A year later when Worthington was replaced by keyboardist Roddy Bottum, and Mike...
, Jimi Tenor
Jimi Tenor
Jimi Tenor is a Finnish musician. His name is a combination of the first name of his youth idol Jimmy Osmond and the tenor saxophone. His band Jimi Tenor & His Shamans published its first album in 1988, Jimi's first solo album appeared in 1994. "Take Me Baby" became his first hit in 1994...
, and Apollo 440
Apollo 440
Apollo 440 are an English band formed in Liverpool in 1990. Apollo 440 have written, recorded and produced four albums, collaborated with and produced other artists, remixed as Apollo 440 and as ambient cinematic alter-ego Stealth Sonic Orchestra, and created music for film, television,...
donated their songs for the album. In conjunction with the release of the 2001 film adaptation, Eidos licensed Lara Croft free-of-charge to the Gordonstoun boarding school for a commercial. The school approached Eidos about use of the character. Eidos allowed the one-time licence due to Core Design's inclusion of Gordonstoun in Croft's fictional biography without the school's permission. Near the end of 2006, Lara Croft became the spokesmodel for the Skin Cancer Awareness Foundation of Minden, Nevada
Minden, Nevada
Minden is a census-designated place in Douglas County, Nevada, United States. The population was 2,836 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Douglas County and is adjacent to the city of Gardnerville. It is named after the town of Minden, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It...
as part of their Sun Smart Teen Program. The foundation felt that the character personified the benefits of a healthy body, and that young teenagers could relate to Croft.
Lara Croft's likeness has been a model for merchandise. The first action figures were produced by Toy Biz
Marvel Toys
Marvel Toys is the toy division of Marvel Entertainment, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company....
, based on the video game version of the character. Playmates Toys
Playmates Toys
Playmates Toys is a Costa Mesa, California toy manufacturer and a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Playmates Holdings Ltd , which was founded in 1966.-Proprietary brands:*Amazing Dolls*Amazing Pets*Kinder-Garden Babies*R.E.V.s*Waterbabies*WOW Pals...
released a series of action figures that depict Croft in different outfits and accessories from the video games, later producing figures modelled after Jolie for Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Graphic designer Marc Klinnert of Studio OXMOX released scale model
Scale model
A scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...
kits of the character, and later built a full scale version. Arcade: The Videogame Magazine and PlayStation Magazine promoted life-size Croft statues as contest prizes. Spurred by a rumour that Eidos provided Lara Croft autographs, fans wrote to the company to obtain them. The quantity prompted Eidos to quickly produce autographed cards to meet demand. Tomb Raider: Underworld themes
Theme (computing)
In computing, a theme is a preset package containing graphical appearance details, used to customize the look and feel of an operating system, widget set or window manager....
and wallpapers
Computer wallpaper
Wallpaper is an image used as a background of a graphical user interface on a computer screen or mobile communications device. On a computer it is usually for the desktop, while for a mobile phone it is usually the background for the 'home' or 'idle' screen...
featuring the character were released for the PlayStation 3. Xbox Live Marketplace
Xbox Live Marketplace
The Xbox Live Marketplace is a virtual market designed for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console that allows Xbox Live members to download purchased or promotional content...
released Xbox 360 avatars in conjunction with Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. Eidos released a brand of Lara Croft apparel and accessories, marketed under the label "LARA©". The line included wallets, watches, bathrobes, and Zippo
Zippo
A Zippo lighter is a refillable, metal lighter manufactured by Zippo Manufacturing Company of Bradford, Pennsylvania, U.S. Thousands of different styles and designs have been made in the seven decades since their introduction including military ones for specific regiments.-Establishment:George G...
lighters. Other third-party apparel are hiking boots, backpacks, leather jackets, and thermoses. Croft's likeness has also appeared on French postage stamps, PlayStation memory cards, and trading card
Trading card
A trading card is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing and a short description of the picture, along with other text...
s as part of a collectible card game
Collectible card game
thumb|Players and their decksA collectible card game , also called a trading card game or customizable card game, is a game played using specially designed sets of playing cards...
. In October 1997, Eidos held an art exhibition
Art exhibition
Art exhibitions are traditionally the space in which art objects meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is rarely true, it is stated to be a "permanent exhibition". In American English, they may be called "exhibit", "exposition" or...
titled "Lara Goes Art" in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
to promote Tomb Raider II. The exhibit featured selected artwork of the character submitted by artists and fans. Pieces included oil and airbrushed paintings, photo-stories, and Klinnert's model; SZM Studios provided the computer-generated footage
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
they had created for Die Ärzte's music video and the Brigitte magazine television commercial.
Model portrayal
Eidos hired several modelsModel (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
to portray Lara Croft at publicity events, promotions, trade shows, and photo shoots. Nathalie Cook was the first model, portraying the character from 1996 to 1997. Cook was followed by British actress Rhona Mitra
Rhona Mitra
Rhona Natasha Mitra , sometimes credited as Rona Mitra, is an English actress, model and singer.-Early life:Mitra was born in Paddington, London, England, the daughter of Anthony Mitra, a cosmetic surgeon, and Nora Downey...
from 1997 to 1998. Eidos then updated the Croft costume to match its video game depiction. Core Design reportedly restricted Mitra's dialogue as the character at trade shows and out of costume. French model Vanessa Demouy
Vanessa Demouy
Vanessa Demouy is an actress and model. She began modeling at age seventeen and later crossed over into film and television....
succeeded Mitra for a brief time until fashion model Nell McAndrew
Nell McAndrew
Nell McAndrew is an English glamour model.-Career:...
took over the role at the 1998 Electronic Entertainment Expo. McAndrew portrayed Croft from 1998 until 1999, when Eidos fired her for posing in Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
, which used the character and Tomb Raider franchise to promote the McAndrew's issue without Eidos's approval. Core Design was granted an injunction
Injunction
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
against the magazine to protect the character's image; Playboy was ordered to place stickers on the cover of the issue to conceal the reference to Tomb Raider. Eidos later donated McAndrew's Tomb Raider costume to a UNICEF charity auction.
Lara Weller followed McAndrew from 1999 to 2000. Subsequent models were Lucy Clarkson
Lucy Clarkson
Lucy Clarkson is an English model. She is best known as being the fourth official Lara Croft model from the Tomb Raider series of video games, a role she took on in May 2000, at the age of 17, and held for two and a half years until 2002 when Jill de Jong took over.As well as her role as the...
from 2000 to 2002 and Jill de Jong
Jill de Jong
Jill de Jong, also known as Jildou de Jong is a Dutch model and actress.On March 21, 2002, she was selected by Eidos Interactive as the Lara Croft character model for the Tomb Raider video game series....
, who wore a new costume based on Lara Croft's new appearance in Angel of Darkness from 2002 to 2004. Karima Adebibe
Karima Adebibe
Karima Adebibe is an English actress and fashion model.- Biography :Adebibe was born in Bethnal Green, in Tower Hamlets, London, England. Adebibe is of Moroccan origins....
became the model from 2006 to 2008, and wore a costume based on the updated version of Croft in Legend. She was the first model Eidos allowed to portray Lara Croft outside posing for photography. To prepare for the role, Adebibe trained in areas the character was expected to excel in like combat, motorcycling, elocution, and conduct. Gymnast Alison Carroll
Alison Carroll
Alison Carroll is an English gymnast, model, and actress. She was the most recent Lara Croft model, from 2008 to 2010.- Biography :Alison Carroll was born in Croydon, Surrey in England....
, succeeded Adebibe in 2008 and featured apparel based on the character's appearance in Underworld. Similar to Adebibe, Carroll received special training—Special Air Service
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
(SAS) survival, weapons, and archaeology—to fill the role. Crystal Dynamics discontinued the use of models as part of the franchise's second reboot. The number of models prompted Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
to award the character an official record for the "most official real life stand-ins" in 2008.
Film portrayal
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
acquired the film rights for Tomb Raider in 1998. Producer Lloyd Levin
Lloyd Levin
-Early life:Levin is a native of Paramus, New Jersey, where he attended Paramus High School.-Producing career:He won the Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Picture for his work on United 93. He was also nominated for a BAFTA for the same film. He received a nomination for a Golden Satellite...
stated that the film makers tried to capture the essence of the video game elements rather than duplicate them. Acknowledging the character's "huge fan base" and recognizable appearance, director Simon West
Simon West
Simon West is an English-born film director. West started as a film editor with the BBC, then directed documentaries and commercials including many for Budweiser...
sought an actress with acting ability as well as physical attributes similar to Croft. Paramount also received input from developer Core Design on casting. Rumoured actresses included Pamela Anderson
Pamela Anderson
Pamela Denise Anderson is a Canadian-American actress, model, producer, author, activist, and former showgirl, known for her roles on the television series Home Improvement, Baywatch, and V.I.P. She was chosen as a Playmate of the Month for Playboy magazine in February 1990...
, Demi Moore
Demi Moore
Demi Guynes Kutcher , known professionally as Demi Moore, is an American actress. After minor roles in film and a role in the soap opera General Hospital, Moore established her career in films such as St...
, Jeri Ryan
Jeri Ryan
Jeri Lynn Zimmermann Ryan is an American actress best known for her roles as the liberated Borg, Seven of Nine, on Star Trek: Voyager; Tara Cole on Leverage; and Veronica "Ronnie" Cooke on Boston Public. She was also a regular on the science fiction show Dark Skies and the legal drama series...
, and Carla Pivonski. Academy Award-winning actress Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...
was eventually cast to play Lara Croft. She had not been a fan of the character, but considered the role as a "big responsibility", citing anxiety about fans' high expectations. Producer Lawrence Gordon felt she was a perfect fit for the role. Jolie braided her hair and used minimal padding to increase her bust a cup size to 36D for the role. She felt that Croft's video game proportions were unrealistic, and wanted to avoid showing such proportions to young girls. Jolie trained rigorously for the action scenes required for the role, occasionally sustaining injuries. Her training focused on practising the physical skills necessary to perform the film's stunts. The difficulty of the training and injuries discouraged her, but she continued working through production. Jolie also encountered difficulties when working the guns, bungee jumping, and manoeuvring with the braid. West had not anticipated that Jolie would do her own stunts, and was impressed, as was stunt coordinator Simon Crane, by the effort she put into them.
Angelina Jolie reprised her role for a sequel, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life is a 2003 action film directed by Jan de Bont, and starring Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft. It is a sequel to the 2001 film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider...
. Directed by Jan de Bont
Jan de Bont
Jan de Bont is a Dutch cinematographer, producer, and film director.-Early life and career:De Bont was born, one of 17 children, to a Roman Catholic family in Eindhoven, Netherlands. His earliest work after studying at the Amsterdam Film Academy was with the Dutch avant garde director Adriaan...
, the 2003 film focused more on the character's development. De Bont praised Jolie's understanding of Lara Croft, as well as the character's strength, saying he "hates women in distress." Producer Levin commented that the film staff tried to handle the character properly, and consulted with the video game developers on what would be appropriate. Despite the second film's poor reception, Paramount remained open to releasing a third. Jolie was still optioned to play the character in a third film as late as 2007, though she had commented in 2004 that she had no intention of reprising the role again. Development for a third movie was announced in 2009, with Dan Lin as the producer. However, a new actress is currently being sought to play the title character. Lin intends to reboot the film series with a young Croft in an origin story. In 2011, Olivia Wilde
Olivia Wilde
Olivia Wilde is an American actress and fashion model. She began acting in the early 2000s, and has since appeared in a number of film and television parts, including roles in the serial-drama The O.C. and The Black Donnellys. She portrayed Dr...
denied rumors that she would play the role, but still expressed interest. Producer Graham King
Graham King
Graham King, OBE is a British film producer. He is also President and CEO of Initial Entertainment Group. He is best known for his Academy Award winning 2006 crime thriller film The Departed, which was awarded the Best Picture Oscar at the 79th Academy Awards.King was appointed Officer of the...
plans to release the film in 2013.
Cultural impact
Lara Croft's 1996 debut is often cited as a catalyst for more female leads in video games. Kaiser Hwang of PlayStation Magazine commented that she "brought girl power" to video games. IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
argued that Croft helped redefined gender in video games by providing a different interpretation of what women could do. Several publications have used her as the standard to which later female video game characters have been compared. Video game publications like PlayStation Magazine, IGN, Edge
Edge (magazine)
Edge is a multi-format computer and video game magazine published by Future Publishing in the United Kingdom. It is known for its industry contacts, editorial stance, distinctive anonymous third-person writing style, yearly awards and longevity....
, and PlayStation: The Official Magazine have labelled the character a video game and cultural icon. Jeremy Smith credits Croft with exposing the Tomb Raider games and video games in general to a wider audience. Computer and Video Games
Computer and video games
A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device, but following popularization of the term "video game", it now implies any type of...
commented that Croft's appearance on the cover of The Face signalled a change in the perception of video games from "geeky" to mainstream. The character is honoured in the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
city Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
, previous home to Core Design. In 2007, Radleigh Homes placed a blue plaque
Blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event, serving as a historical marker....
for Croft at the site of Core Design's former offices, now a block of flats. The Derby City Council opened a public vote in 2009 to name its new ring road. The winning choice, with 89% of over 27,000 votes, was "Lara Croft Way", and opened in July 2010.
Yahoo! Movies
Yahoo! Movies
Yahoo! Movies , provided by the Yahoo! network, is home to a large collection of information on movies, past and new releases, trailers and clips, box office information, and showtimes and movie theater information. Yahoo! Movies also includes red carpet photos, actor galleries, and production...
and IGN credit Jolie's role in the first Tomb Raider film with significantly raising her profile and propelling her to international super-stardom, respectively. Jolie commented that young children would ask her to sign objects as Lara Croft. After filming for the first movie at the Cambodian temple Ta Prohm
Ta Prohm
Ta Prohm is the modern name of a temple at Angkor, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia, built in the Bayon style largely in the late 12th and early 13th centuries and originally called Rajavihara...
, the local inhabitants called it the "Angelina Jolie Temple" and local restaurants served Jolie's favorite alcoholic beverage advertised as "Tomb Raider cocktails". IGN's Jesse Schedeen described Croft as one of few characters to receive a decent videogame-to-movie adaptation. By 2008, the first Tomb Raider movie was the highest-grossing video game movie and the largest opening ever for a movie headlined by a woman.
Reception
Lara Croft's introduction was widely regarded as an innovation in the video game market, with Rob Smith of PlayStation: The Official MagazinePlayStation: The Official Magazine
PlayStation: The Official Magazine is a magazine originally known as PlayStation Magazine . After Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine was canceled, Sony Computer Entertainment announced on October 1, 2007 that PSM would become "PlayStation: The Official Magazine"...
describing her as a video game icon of that generation of games. IGN credited a rise in PlayStation sales in part to Croft's debut on the system, and PlayStation Magazine attributed the first title's success to the character. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine stated alternatively that Tomb Raiders PlayStation success propelled the character to prominence, making her a mascot for the system. PlayStation Magazine credits coverage in the Financial Times in 1997 as the starting point of the character's mainstream attention. As years progressed, Lara Croft's popularity declined due to a string of poorly received video game sequels. The Angel of Darkness is often cited as the character's low point. IGN editor Colin Moriarty stated that while she began as an intelligent and strong female character, her games grew bland and Lara Croft became more like a "virtual blow-up doll".
Crystal Dynamics' rendition of Croft in Legend garnered wide, though not universal, praise; many publications described the portrayal as a successful reboot. Game Informer named Lara Croft the number six top video game hero of 2006, citing the character's successful reprise in popularity. The magazine cited the character's alterations in Legend as the reason for her resurgent success. Chris Slate of PlayStation Magazine lauded the character changes in Legend, commenting that "Lara is finally back". He praised Eidos's decision to switch developers and Crystal Dynamics' contributions, especially the character's new gameplay manoeuvres and updated appearance. Others, like Schedeen and GamePros Patrick Shaw, felt that the makeover did not improve the character. Fans also disapproved of the changes, especially the switch from the braid.
Dr. Mark Griffiths of Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University is a public teaching and research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as a new university in 1992 from the existing Trent Polytechnic , however it can trace its roots back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham Government School of Design...
described Lara Croft as a psychological tabula rasa
Tabula rasa
Tabula rasa is the epistemological theory that individuals are born without built-in mental content and that their knowledge comes from experience and perception. Generally proponents of the tabula rasa thesis favour the "nurture" side of the nature versus nurture debate, when it comes to aspects...
. Richard Rouse of Midway Games
Midway Games
Midway Games, Inc. is an American company that was formerly a major video game publisher. Following a bankruptcy filing in 2009, it is no longer active and is in the process of liquidating all of its assets. Midway's titles included Mortal Kombat, Ms.Pac-Man, Spy Hunter, Tron, Rampage, the...
attributed the character's appeal to a loosely defined personality, which permits players to imprint their own onto her. Jeremy Smith stated that the minimal personality allows players to form a relationship with the character. Burton added that Croft is perceived differently around the world. French demographics focus on her sex appeal, while German and British audiences are drawn to her aggressiveness and aloofness, respectively. Fansite
Fansite
A fansite, fan site, or fanpage is a website created and maintained by a fan or devotee interested in a celebrity, thing, or a particular cultural phenomenon...
s dedicated to Lara Croft appeared on the internet in several languages after the release of Tomb Raider, and contained official and fan-created images of Croft, model photographs, and fan fiction
Fan fiction
Fan fiction is a broadly-defined term for fan labor regarding stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator...
starring the character. More than 100 such sites were present by the end of 1998. By 2000, search engine HotBot
HotBot
HotBot is a web search engine launched in May 1996 by Wired Magazine. It is currently owned by Lycos. HotBot became a popular tool with search results served by the Inktomi database and directory results provided originally by LookSmart and then the Open Directory Project since mid-1999...
yielded around 4,700 pages for a search of the character's name. Admirers discussed rumours related to Lara Croft via usenet newsgroups and ICQ chats. Enthusiasts also collected merchandise and paraphernalia, submitted fan art
Fan art
Fan art or fanart is artwork that is based on a character, costume, collage, item, or story that was created by someone other than the artist, such as a fan, from which the word is derived from. The term, while it can apply to art done by fans of characters from books, is usually used to refer to...
to video game magazines, participated in Croft cosplay
Cosplay
, short for "costume play", is a type of performance art in which participants don costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea. Characters are often drawn from popular fiction in Japan, but recent trends have included American cartoons and science fiction...
, and obtained tattoos depicting the character. One admirer rode a bike over 500 miles (804.7 km) from Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
to Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
wearing Lara Croft brand clothing to meet the developers, who welcomed him after learning of the trip.
Lara Croft holds a Guinness World Record
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
as the "most recognized female video game character", and received a star on the Walk of Game
Walk of Game
The Walk of Game is a year-round attraction in the United States honoring the icons and pioneers of the video game industry, and is located inside Metreon, an entertainment shopping center in San Francisco, California...
in San Francisco, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Game Informer commented that the character is well liked around the world, particularly in England. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine described Croft as "one of today's premier videogame and movie heroes", and Play magazine described her as "3D gaming's first female superstar". Hartas called Croft one of the most famous game women, praising her independence. Karen Jones of Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine described the character as "one of the biggest stars on the PlayStation". In 1998, PlayStation Magazine commented that Lara Croft was one of the most memorable characters on the PlayStation console, and echoed a similar statement in 2004. Time magazine
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
writer Chris Taylor called her "the foundation of one of the most successful franchises in video-game history."
Sex symbol
Lara Croft has become a sex symbol for video games, despite Toby Gard's intentions for her to be sexy "only because of her power". Time magazine's Kristina Dell considered her the first sex symbol of video games. Schedeen stated that Croft is among the first video game icons to be accepted as a mainstream sex symbol. Robert Ashley of Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine described Lara Croft as the first video game character openly thought of as sexy, and attributed the appearance of similar 3D characters to her. Publications like PlayPlay (US magazine)
Play was a U.S.-based magazine focused on video games, anime, manga, film, DVD, television, comics, music and media. Published by Fusion Publishing, Inc. since 2001, Play magazine also had a separate Internet presence on its website, Play Online...
, GameTrailers
GameTrailers
GameTrailers is a media website that specializes in video game related content. It provides free access to original programming , game trailers and recorded game play. Along with standard definition , many of the video clips are offered in a higher resolution .Users can upload videos, create...
, and PlayStation Magazine listed big breasts as one of the character's most famous attributes. After interviewing players in 1998, Griffiths commented that players regularly mention Croft's breasts when discussing her. In 2008, the character was first and second on two UGO Networks lists of hottest video game characters. GameDaily
GameDaily
GameDaily was a video game journalism website based in the United States. Launched in 1995 by entrepreneur Mark Friedler under the name Gigex and focused on free game demo downloads, The site changed its business model from a flat fee per download CDN distributed service network to an...
placed Lara Croft number one on a similar list that same year, and PlayStation: The Official Magazine awarded her honorable mention for Game Babe of the Year. Croft has appeared in several issues of Plays Girls of Gaming special and PlayStation Magazines Swimsuit special. Layouts portray the character partially nude, in bikinis, and in revealing cocktail dresses, though Tomb Raider: Underworlds creative director Eric Lindstrom criticized such poses as out of character. He further stated that they conflict with Croft's popular strengths, and felt that fans respond more strongly to images of the character dressed more conservatively than to ones with provocative poses. PlayStation Magazines staff agreed, commenting that better use of the character's sex appeal would please fans more.
Male players have performed in-game actions to make Lara Croft repeatedly say phrases and view closer camera angles of her bust, while pornography featuring the character has been distributed via the internet. After the first game's release, rumours appeared on the internet about a cheat code to remove the character's clothes. Despite Core Design's denial of such a code, the rumour persisted, fueled by manipulated nude images. The rumour lingered by the time Legend was released. PlayStation Magazine featured an April Fool's parody of Croft and the rumoured code referred to as "Nude Raider". Fans developed software patches
Patch (computing)
A patch is a piece of software designed to fix problems with, or update a computer program or its supporting data. This includes fixing security vulnerabilities and other bugs, and improving the usability or performance...
to remove Lara Croft's clothing in the personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
game releases.
Reaction from groups have been mixed. The journal Leonardo
Leonardo (journal)
Leonardo is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the MIT Press covering the application of contemporary science and technology to the arts and music.- History :...
noted some feminists' negative reaction to her design; though males were identifying with their feminine side through Croft, she reinforced unrealistic ideals about the female body. Australian feminist scholar Germaine Greer
Germaine Greer
Germaine Greer is an Australian writer, academic, journalist and scholar of early modern English literature, widely regarded as one of the most significant feminist voices of the later 20th century....
criticized her as an embodiment of male fantasies. PlayStation Magazine staff commented that Croft could be seen as either a role model for young independent girls or the embodiment of a male adolescent fantasy, though later stated that the character does little to attract female demographics and was obviously designed with a male audience in mind. The editors also criticized Core Design's hypocritical attempts to downplay the character's sex appeal in public statements while releasing advertisements that prominently featured Lara Croft's sexuality. Graphic artist Heather Gibson attributed the "sexism" to participation from Eidos's marketing department.
Author Mark Cohen attributed Lara Croft's eroticism among male fans to the character's appearance and a male protective instinct. German psychologist Oscar Holzberg described the protective behaviour as the result of the opportunity to act as a hero in virtual worlds and a fear of powerful, emancipated women. Jonathan Smith of Arcade: The Videogame Magazine similarly noted that male players often see themselves as "chivalrous protectors" while playing the game. Holzberg further stated that the lower psychological investment inherent to virtual characters is more comfortable for males. Cohen affirmed that despite blatant male appeal, Croft garnered a serious female audience. Eidos estimated by 2000, female consumers comprised 20–25 percent of Tomb Raider game purchases. Jeremy Smith argued that the series attracted more female players to video gaming, especially in Japan. Smith believed that Croft does not alienate prospective female players, representing an emancipated heroine and not simply an attractive character. According to Adrian Smith, the character was also popular with younger demographics that did not view her sexually. Cohen reasoned that Croft differs from other erotic characters and attractive leads, as the Tomb Raider games also feature rich action, impressive graphics, and intelligent puzzles; other such characters were unsuccessful because the game content was lacking. Amy Hennig
Amy Hennig
Amy Hennig is a video game director and script writer currently employed by video game company Naughty Dog. She began her work in the industry on the Nintendo Entertainment System, with her design debut on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System game Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City...
of developer Naughty Dog
Naughty Dog
Naughty Dog, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Santa Monica, California. Founded by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin in 1986 as an independent developer, the studio was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment in 2001...
and Griffiths echoed similar statements. GamesRadar
GamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
editor Justin Toweel nonetheless commented that he couldn't imagine a Tomb Raider game without a sexualized female lead.
Griffith described Lara Croft as a flawed female influence. He stated that though the character is a step in the right direction, too many women view her as a "crudely realised male fantasy figure". Women in the video game industry describe the character as both a positive and negative influence. Ismini Roby of WomenGamers.com commented that Croft was not a sexist influence in 1996, attributed to the lack of prominent female characters in video games at the time. She stated that the over-sexualized appearance was overlooked because the character was a "breath of fresh air". However, Roby felt that though Lara Croft's proportions have become more realistic, the character's personality was diluted by the developer's actions to appeal to a male audience. LesbianGamers.com's Tracy Whitelaw called the character a dichotomy, stating that though Croft is viewed as "idealized" with an "unattainable body", the character was a great stride for the propagation of female characters as video game protagonists.