“The most famous female British character after Peppa Pig”
(Alix Wilton Regan, voice actress for Lara Croft in Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis)
On 24th October 1996, Core Design launched Tomb Raider for the PlayStation 1 and PC, creating one of the most recognisable icons in gaming history. More importantly, the combination of, at the time, cutting-edge graphics, immersive music and cinematic gameplay redefined what was possible in video games.
Although the developers Core Design are no longer with us (they became part of Eidos Interactive in 1996, before being acquired by Rebellion Developments a decade later, until the studio was closed in 2010), the legacy of Tomb Raider remains. There have since been over twenty Tomb Raider games released, as well as three films, countless books and comics, a television series and another series currently in development.
Derby, the birth place of Lara Croft, formally recognised the importance of Tomb Raider when part of the city’s inner ring-road was named Lara Croft Way in 2010. More recently, a statue of Lara Croft has been installed in the Museum of Making.
Celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of Tomb Raider, Luke Earle organised TR30, a gathering of fans from around the world at the Derby Quad, which had sold out months in advance of the day itself. Attendees had travelled from as far as Brazil for a day of talks and presentations by the people behind the game. Many of the fans braved the stormy weather to dress as Lara Croft, as well as Winston and other characters from the games, in order to celebrate the occasion.
There were discussions on level design in Tomb Raider and how the games have evolved over time to meet the changing attitudes of the public, whilst at the same time retaining Lara Croft’s quintessential qualities of being charismatic, confident, fierce and witty.
Although the times have changed since the game was first released, Lara Croft has remained a distinctly British character. A voice-over artist noted that Lara speaks with a very specific cadence and vocabulary, such as “bollocks”, which is very different to video game characters developed by other studios.
There were also many of the official Lara Croft models to meet fans and discuss their times as Lara Croft, as well as a sneak peak at the trailer for Legacy of Atlantis before its official debut.
Thirty years since its initial release, Tomb Raider has proven its longevity by consistently delivery cinematic spectacles, but with a believable and relatable character in Lara Croft. Furthermore, the character has become someone we can all respect and look up to.
Although video games are now made around the world, TR30 reminded us that the UK has a booming video game industry all of its own, and that Tomb Raider is a recognition of that success.
