Lara Croft has remained a gaming icon since her debut in the original Tomb Raider, despite some franchise missteps. Despite issues with individual games throughout Tomb Raider‘s long history,love for Lara has remained paramount.
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Earlier this year at Summer Game Fest (SGF), we sat down with Alix Wilton Regan, the new voice of Lara for Crystal Dynamics’ upcoming Legacy of Atlantis, and it’s very clear from our chat that she understands the character inside and out.
With Legacy of Atlantis just a few months away (and still slated for February 12), it’s time to switch gears and dig into what else makes the game tick with Jeff Adams, Experience Director at Crystal Dynamics.
Bringing Lara To Life Once Again
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At SGF, Alix Regan told us she drew inspiration from other Laras in the series for her new portrayal in Legacy of Atlantis, but she has plenty of other tricks up her sleeve from her long career as an actor. In addition to some physical training coming in handy, she’s also fully in control of Lara’s inspirations, and what makes her who she is, especially at this moment in her tomb-raiding career.
I don’t think it’s inaccurate to say that we took inspiration from all the different eras of Lara in some form or another. Clearly, her visuals are inspired by the 1996 original that basically cast the mold for what Lara Croft is…that iconic tank top and shorts, the dual pistols. That is the Lara most people see in their heads when they think of Tomb Raider.
We also start to see elements of the LAU era come in, with Lara having a bolder attitude at times. And we reference Survivor when it comes to tempering that boldness, exhibiting her humanity that proves she’s not just a force of nature. We think Alix Wilton Regan, our Lara, does a great job of combining these elements naturally while adding a little of her own special sauce on top to make a unique and memorable Lara Croft on screen.
I don’t think it’s inaccurate to say that we took inspiration from all the different eras of Lara in some form or another. Clearly, her visuals are inspired by the 1996 original that basically cast the mold for what Lara Croft is…that iconic tank top and shorts, the dual pistols. That is the Lara most people see in their heads when they think of Tomb Raider.
We also start to see elements of the LAU era come in, with Lara having a bolder attitude at times. And we reference Survivor when it comes to tempering that boldness, exhibiting her humanity that proves she’s not just a force of nature. We think Alix Wilton Regan, our Lara, does a great job of combining these elements naturally while adding a little of her own special sauce on top to make a unique and memorable Lara Croft on screen.
She’s just the type of character who leaves an impression. She exhibits qualities we’re all naturally drawn to. When you finish one of her adventures and think back on what you played, you have this sense of reward, knowing you’ve completed a really exhilarating thrill ride. It becomes less a question of whether you’re excited for her next adventure, and more a craving for when that next adventure will arrive and how fast it can get here.
<p>The fact that Lara has burst past the console and made such a significant impact on media at large is another great reason why she has such staying power. She can headline a movie. She can be the subject of an animated series. She's got a TV show coming soon and has had an amazing run in comics. People love Lara, and they're happy to engage with her stories across various media. But we understand that the games have a special place in everyone's heart, because that's where you feel most closely connected to her.</p>
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She’s just the type of character who leaves an impression. She exhibits qualities we’re all naturally drawn to. When you finish one of her adventures and think back on what you played, you have this sense of reward, knowing you’ve completed a really exhilarating thrill ride. It becomes less a question of whether you’re excited for her next adventure, and more a craving for when that next adventure will arrive and how fast it can get here.
The fact that Lara has burst past the console and made such a significant impact on media at large is another great reason why she has such staying power. She can headline a movie. She can be the subject of an animated series. She’s got a TV show coming soon and has had an amazing run in comics. People love Lara, and they’re happy to engage with her stories across various media. But we understand that the games have a special place in everyone’s heart, because that’s where you feel most closely connected to her.
At this point, Lara has been around for decades, and so have her fans. After inquiring about the different levels of fandom the current Crystal Dynamics team has, I wondered if anyone was working on Tomb Raider from the olden days, or if it was mostly fresh faces:
Absolutely. We have a large contingent of developers within the studio with personal stories that relate to Tomb Raider…how it influenced them, how it helped them move toward game development as a career, and why they specifically saw Crystal Dynamics as a destination studio, knowing they would get a chance to work on a game featuring Lara.
<p>What I appreciate, though, is that even with so many of our developers having that connection, they still treat every challenge put in front of them as a call to action. They don't stop pushing, because they know the best way to honor Tomb Raider is to put something interesting in front of players that can give them exhilarating new memories and give Lara an opportunity to grow and evolve as a character.</p>
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Absolutely. We have a large contingent of developers within the studio with personal stories that relate to Tomb Raider…how it influenced them, how it helped them move toward game development as a career, and why they specifically saw Crystal Dynamics as a destination studio, knowing they would get a chance to work on a game featuring Lara.
What I appreciate, though, is that even with so many of our developers having that connection, they still treat every challenge put in front of them as a call to action. They don’t stop pushing, because they know the best way to honor Tomb Raider is to put something interesting in front of players that can give them exhilarating new memories and give Lara an opportunity to grow and evolve as a character.
Updating The Engine
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Of course, with a new entry comes new gameplay, and a completely different engine is now entering the picture for Legacy of Atlantis. I asked Adams about how the team was prepping for this pivotal new entry, and noted how fantastic it looked on paper during my time with the demo at SGF:
We’ve clearly gotten a lot of people excited, and they’ve already given us very early praise for just how beautiful our world looks. That’s thanks to the talented developers we have, who just love bringing beautiful worlds to life on screen. But we’ve also got them working in tandem with the power of Unreal Engine 5. Nanite gives us the ability to create super dense meshes, so we get a lot more real geometric complexity.
<p>That helps our environments, like our crumbling cities, look more fully realized than anything we've been able to put on screen in past Tomb Raider games. Lumen makes everything look good from the start, but as we continue to work with it and customize it to our liking, we start to get beautiful, romanticized lighting on screen. That gives us the more classic, shot- on-film, summer blockbuster look we wanted for this next chapter with Lara. We're really excited to see how people react once they get a chance to see it for themselves in full.</p>
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We’ve clearly gotten a lot of people excited, and they’ve already given us very early praise for just how beautiful our world looks. That’s thanks to the talented developers we have, who just love bringing beautiful worlds to life on screen. But we’ve also got them working in tandem with the power of Unreal Engine 5. Nanite gives us the ability to create super dense meshes, so we get a lot more real geometric complexity.
That helps our environments, like our crumbling cities, look more fully realized than anything we’ve been able to put on screen in past Tomb Raider games. Lumen makes everything look good from the start, but as we continue to work with it and customize it to our liking, we start to get beautiful, romanticized lighting on screen. That gives us the more classic, shot- on-film, summer blockbuster look we wanted for this next chapter with Lara. We’re really excited to see how people react once they get a chance to see it for themselves in full.
So what about the concerns about nominal stat bonus food? I had several readers reach out who wanted to know about the crafting sequences in the game, and what the mentality of the team was like when deciding to add nominal stat bonuses for eating food:
We always keep immersion top of mind when making decisions. It’s really important to us that when players hit start, they’re drawn into the world and feel like they’re on the adventure alongside Lara. Giving Lara the ability to forage and craft the important items she needs for her health and vitality makes a lot of sense in our reimagined world.
<p>We understand that the events of Survivor are Lara's origins, so she learned skills in that phase that she still uses. But she's now bolstered them with additional knowledge of local concoctions that give her specific buffs, which help when she's facing dangers the world throws her way. It also gives us a justification for how Lara can maintain herself throughout her adventures, especially when she's exploring spaces that have been locked away from human presence for thousands of years.</p>
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We always keep immersion top of mind when making decisions. It’s really important to us that when players hit start, they’re drawn into the world and feel like they’re on the adventure alongside Lara. Giving Lara the ability to forage and craft the important items she needs for her health and vitality makes a lot of sense in our reimagined world.
We understand that the events of Survivor are Lara’s origins, so she learned skills in that phase that she still uses. But she’s now bolstered them with additional knowledge of local concoctions that give her specific buffs, which help when she’s facing dangers the world throws her way. It also gives us a justification for how Lara can maintain herself throughout her adventures, especially when she’s exploring spaces that have been locked away from human presence for thousands of years.
Lara Is Going Beyond Games Again
As you know, the TV show is on the horizon, which means we’re taking Lara back into live action with a new actor portraying her on screen. That’s an exciting thing for fans.
<p>But we've also announced two games at the same time, so there's a strong commitment to making sure Legacy of Atlantis kicks off this next major phase of Tomb Raider gaming in a bombastic way, celebrating what makes the world so special and reintroducing everyone to Lara. With our longtime fans and new players alike, we get to move into this next major phase of Tomb Raider together.</p>
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As you know, the TV show is on the horizon, which means we’re taking Lara back into live action with a new actor portraying her on screen. That’s an exciting thing for fans.
But we’ve also announced two games at the same time, so there’s a strong commitment to making sure Legacy of Atlantis kicks off this next major phase of Tomb Raider gaming in a bombastic way, celebrating what makes the world so special and reintroducing everyone to Lara. With our longtime fans and new players alike, we get to move into this next major phase of Tomb Raider together.
I wanted to dig into Adams’ mentality on this project and what the most challenging aspect was. It seems like the answer is fairly complicated, in part due to how long Tomb Raider has been around:
The biggest challenge with a game like this is balancing two sets of expectations. Our longtime fans hold the original adventure in incredibly high regard, and they deserve a game that honors everything they love about it. At the same time, new players have expectations for playability and tunability a modern release provides. We want Legacy of Atlantis to feel like it belongs among today’s releases, while staying true to the spirit, atmosphere, and sense of discovery that made the original so special.
<p>Every decision we make must serve that goal, whether that's preserving nostalgia, delivering the right level of challenge, or giving players the flexibility to play their way. We love our community, and we're excited to welcome even more players into it. Legacy of Atlantis is about bringing longtime fans and newcomers together around Lara's adventure, and building toward the next major chapter of Tomb Raider, stronger than ever.</p>
</blockquote>
The biggest challenge with a game like this is balancing two sets of expectations. Our longtime fans hold the original adventure in incredibly high regard, and they deserve a game that honors everything they love about it. At the same time, new players have expectations for playability and tunability a modern release provides. We want Legacy of Atlantis to feel like it belongs among today’s releases, while staying true to the spirit, atmosphere, and sense of discovery that made the original so special.
Every decision we make must serve that goal, whether that’s preserving nostalgia, delivering the right level of challenge, or giving players the flexibility to play their way. We love our community, and we’re excited to welcome even more players into it. Legacy of Atlantis is about bringing longtime fans and newcomers together around Lara’s adventure, and building toward the next major chapter of Tomb Raider, stronger than ever.
At the end of the day, Adams and his team are excited, but it’s a huge responsibility to take over such a hallowed franchise:
Our team understands what an amazing opportunity it is to work on this game, but also the incredible responsibility it carries. Lara’s debut adventure had a powerful impact on her longtime fans, and it was instrumental in defining who she was for an entire generation of gamers. It’s a big part of why she’s made such a massive splash in popular culture overall.
<p>Our goal with Legacy of Atlantis is to do that debut adventure justice, present Lara in a way that feels both familiar and fresh, and make sure players are excited for what the next major phase of Tomb Raider gaming holds.</p>
</blockquote>
Our team understands what an amazing opportunity it is to work on this game, but also the incredible responsibility it carries. Lara’s debut adventure had a powerful impact on her longtime fans, and it was instrumental in defining who she was for an entire generation of gamers. It’s a big part of why she’s made such a massive splash in popular culture overall.
Our goal with Legacy of Atlantis is to do that debut adventure justice, present Lara in a way that feels both familiar and fresh, and make sure players are excited for what the next major phase of Tomb Raider gaming holds.
No matter how Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis turns out, Lara Croft will live on. She’s cemented her place in the pantheon of gaming, alongside many other classic icons.
Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis
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