Dark and Edgy Tomb Raider includes attempted rape

[sea]

Players will want to "protect" an increasingly-battered Lara Croft in the upcoming Tomb Raider reboot, its executive producer has said.

The series' young heroine will lose her best friend, be beaten, bruised, kidnapped, and finally be subjected to an attempted rape.

"When you see her have to face these challenges, you start to root for her in a way that you might not root for a male character," executive producer Ron Rosenberg explained to Kotaku.

"When people play Lara, they don't really project themselves into the character. They're more like 'I want to protect her.' There's this sort of dynamic of 'I'm going to this adventure with her and trying to protect her.'"
The challenges facing Croft will allow her to appear more human, Rosenberg added.

"The ability to see her as a human is even more enticing to me than the more sexualised version of yesteryear. She literally goes from zero to hero... we're sort of building her up and just when she gets confident, we break her down again."

"She is literally turned into a cornered animal. It's a huge step in her evolution: she's forced to either fight back or die."
It's not the first time that developer Crystal Dynamics has explained how it wants players to notice Lara's youth and vulnerability. Art director Brian Horton revealed last year that the new Lara, by design, has "a little bit of that baby fat".

"We wanted to make a girl that was somewhat familiar, yet had a special quality about her - something in the way her eyes look and her expression in her face that makes you want to care for her."

"Her skin is still bare on the arms and there are going to be rips and tears on her clothes, but it won't be about being revealing. It's a way of saying that through these tough situations, there is a beauty and vulnerability coming through. I think that is sexy in its own way."

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...-make-tomb-raider-players-want-to-protect-her

Serious response:

Look, I get that Crystal Dynamics want to be DARK AND EDGY and crap, but I do not think that bringing up a subject like violent rape is something that fits in with Tomb Raider's gameplay, story, theme or... anything, really. It's a pathetic forced attempt at generating sympathy and emotion - and by the way, in writing circles, sympathetic writing is considered the worst fucking writing out there.

Some topics are best kept to proper venues of discussion. Crystal Dynamics' decision isn't pathetic, disgusting and tasteless because it's rape, it's because they're shoehorning it into one of the absolute worst possible places in a fucking vile and offensive way that reduces the trauma and severity of such an act to a fucking plot gimmick because their shitty writing can't get players involved otherwise.

Codex response:

 

[Crooked Bee]

Players will want to "protect" an increasingly-battered Lara Croft

So Lara Croft is now moe, eh?

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Men are swine that want to rape dem poor wimmin victims.

-American attempt of maturity at video games.

 

[Forest Dweller]

But do we get to hold her close and brush her tears away while telling her that we love her and will be together forever?

 

[Berekän]

attempted

 

[Deleted member 7219]

They've crossed a line here, really. I think to get anywhere close to that sort of thing in a video game, there needs to be context and justification in the writing. So when a show like Mad Men does a rape storyline, like what happened with Joan and her boyfriend, it worked well. But I think most people would say South Park doing an episode where Randy Marsh rapes Sharon Marsh, wouldn't be acceptable at all.

From the videos and details released so far, it looks like a shitty half-assed Uncharted clone, not Heavy Rain. They shouldn't be touching the subject of rape with a ten-foot barge pole. It is clear why they are doing it, they think it will make the game more serious and gritty and 'realistic', they've released a trailer which shows Lara Croft shit scared and hurt, this is just another way they can give her a beating and say its all ok because we feel sorry for her really.

Just one more reason for me to hate the game. Oh well, I suppose I'll always have Tomb Raider 1-4, Legend, Anniversary and Underworld. I didn't really want another Tomb Raider game anyway.

 

[Tehdagah]

They've crossed a line here, really. I think to get anywhere close to that sort of thing in a video game, there needs to be context and justification in the writing.

There isn't?

 

[Angthoron]

Gaming Press: "When will games start handling tough issues?"
Crystal Dynamics: "Behold, new Lara Croft!"
Gaming Press: "HOLY FUCKING SHIT GAMES ARE SUPPOSED TO BE LIGHT-HEARTED"

 

[JarlFrank]

They've crossed a line here, really. I think to get anywhere close to that sort of thing in a video game, there needs to be context and justification in the writing.

There isn't?

WE WANT TO BE DARK, GRITTY AND MATURE is not a proper justification in my eyes.

It's not like it's actually relevant to the plot in the big picture. It's just used as a gimmick for marketing to go all LOOK HOW DEEP AND MATURE AND EMOTIONAL OUR GAME IS!!!!!!!1
Without any proper substance behind it.
Having a rape depicted in an RPG and then having the character actually deal with it would be a very different situation (as in, show how it affects the character's personality with at least average to above average writing instead of falling into cliches like LOL I GOT RAPED SO NOW I KILL MEN FOR REVENGE AND HAVE BECOME A HAWT LESBIAN RAWR). Which is something that the modern mainstream game industry has no chance of doing because all they care about is marketing, which leads to LOOK AT HOW EDGY WE ARE writing.


Also, this is Tomb Raider, which has never been about deep and emotional stories that deal with gender equality/violence against women issues. It's about going into a fucking tomb and raiding the fuck out of it, supported by an Indiana Jones like story while Lara throws out the occasional badass one-liner.


I liked her much better when she still was a badass action-archaeologist who didn't give a fuck.

 

[Infinitron]

I don't know, I wouldn't immediately dismiss this. Like you say, it depends on the context.

 

[Average Manatee]

The context is being written by the same idiots, though. So feel free to dismiss it at your pleasure.

 

[Gragt]

Well, they found the way to get a lot of free publicity.

 

[JarlFrank]

It does depend on the context, but don't believe there's any way to do it properly if you connect it with a DRAMATIC CUTSCENE with QTEs. It just doesn't work that way. And besides, everything about this smells like a sad attempt to make the Tomb Raider series more mature and "evolve" the character of Lara Croft, into a direction which lies to the complete opposite of what the series used to be.

 

[Infinitron]

It does depend on the context, but don't believe there's any way to do it properly if you connect it with a DRAMATIC CUTSCENE with QTEs. It just doesn't work that way. And besides, everything about this smells like a sad attempt to make the Tomb Raider series more mature and "evolve" the character of Lara Croft, into a direction which lies to the complete opposite of what the series used to be.

It's all part of the trend of "Nolanization" that has affected everything since Batman Begins was released. And Nolan proves that it can be done well.

But I'll take the Codex's word that Crystal Dynamics don't have what it takes.

 

[JudasIscariot]

The only thing gettinjg raped here are the old franchises such as Tomb Raider and Hitman. The worst part is that the rape is not being done tastefuly

 

[Commissar Draco]

They're not afraid of Pegi 18 and M like Mature (yeah mature my ass) ratings? Cause Sales are only thing they do care about. Won't say how descusting try to manipulate me into some kind of empathy for fictional character is when naked canibal zombies are running the streets and entire nations are destroyed by Jews Markets as we speak.

 

[Lyric Suite]

And Nolan proves that it can be done well.

 

[sgc_meltdown]

does this mean we won't see a gamasutra article by you on this

so yeah the people behind this know what they're doing

1) male gamer motivation: high production action teenage girl vulnerable waifu/guilt tripping for jerking off to DoA
2) femyle gamrr motivation: I am immersed by this realistic yet empowering characterisation and I am compelled to get her out of this mess that has been forced onto her by the patriarchy

first side somewhat knows it's being played but is used to it, second side is just happy to be pandered to for once since they're now a noticable demographic

this is the female issues version of your family dying in dragon age origin's noble ending/dragon age 2 intro sibling death/I'm looking for my father main quest motivation of fallout 3

why those and this is shit is because the methods are cheap but the presentation and reception make it out to be some kind of watermark in gaming plot delivery and player motivation, a smooth blank faced lie that people just accept because if they don't the product just falls apart

like a jump scare in a horror movie that somehow critics are raving over, you're going what the shit how the hell was that clever, how was that special, how is mass effect the best sci fi series ever, what the fuck is wrong with people and why do you keep buying into shit that makes a mockery of everything that has been done in the name of actual quality, pride in the product and respect for the customer

 

[Metro]

Sounds like Rosenberg is relying on pubescent teens to twenty somethings white knighting a fictional e-girl. What a fucking cesspit the gaming industry has become.

 

[Phelot]

Looks more like a blind guy fumbling for a door knob

"Sorry miss, didn't know there was- OOOF!"

 

[Menckenstein]

Great now we're accusing this poor digital man of being a rapist when clearly he's just checking her for deadly weapons and then SHE sexually assaults him by attacking his genitals.

 

[Infinitron]

And Nolan proves that it can be done well.

You more of the Adam West type?

 

[sgc_meltdown]

of rape-fu

wait till nippon gets in on this and makes a game where a sailor schoolgirl defies convention and brings down an old and balding salaryman feeling her up on a train section filled with women coming back from a bodybuilding convention in the tutorial, then works her way up to greater indignities until she chokeslams the prime minister of japan for moving his fingers a little too much during a rally handshake

with stats and skill assignment of course

feminist maker

 

[Angthoron]

And Nolan proves that it can be done well.

You more of the Adam West type?

Or Joel Schumacher!

 

[Excidium]

Why is everyone so dirty, is the game set in Skyrim?