Why Tomb Raider Is Art

Whether or not video games should be considered art has been and in some ways still is a topic of serious debate.

In this section, I am going to explain why the game: “Tomb Raider” is a piece of art, and video games should be considered an art form. Firstly, A piece of art is an expression or application of human creativity and imagination, such as a novel, a painting, a sculpture, music, a film and more. A game is not that much different. Tomb Raider tells a story like films and novels do, and when you play the game, you follow through it, similar to how you follow a story when watching a film or reading a novel. The success of Tomb Raider has led people to create paintings, drawings, novels, comics and films based on the game. In the Tomb Raider games they recreate sculptures like the Sphinx, and in the game I have recently been playing: “Rise of the Tomb Raider” there are multiple sculptures of Vladimir Lenin, rendered in incredible detail.

Tomb Raider (1996) Image taken from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_Raider_(1996_video_game)

The visual quality of the Tomb Raider games has drastically changed over the years, from the original game in 1996, which was limited by the technology of the time, and is generally considered to be terrible by modern standards, to the present day entries in the story, which look almost photorealistic in places. Fans of the series have even recreated the first two games in Minecraft. Right at the beginning of the franchise. While the original Tomb Raider was rough, simple and limited to block colours and triangles, it did actually look good for the time. The graphical limitations the developers faced, did not however prevent them from sexualising the protagonist, Lara Croft, to a considerable degree. Over time the quality of the visuals has greatly improved, becoming much smoother and more realistic, and the blatant oversexualisation of Lara has decreased as well, though it has not completely gone away.

A study by EEDAR in 2012 found that “games in the study with male-only playable characters sold better than those that included women. So Lara was, in at least one sense, an extraordinary example of female empowerment. It was unusual enough to have a large title by a reputable developer be a game in which players can only play as a woman, but that franchise was also a worldwide bestselling cultural phenomenon.” (Romano, 2018)

Tomb Raider (1996)

While again, the graphics cannot hold up to the power of modern technology, Tomb Raider was an excellent showcase for the power of the recently released PlayStation one and was one of the first action titles in full 3D, both the characters and the surroundings. A feature that was impossible for action oriented games on previous hardware. Complete with a musical score that created “an atmosphere way beyond what was possible with earlier technology.” (Webb, 2018). The game blew its audience away and was an overnight success.

Though 16-bit games like Sonic the Hedgehog and Mario were a large influence on the creators of Tomb Raider, the game was “more focused on solving puzzles and avoiding pitfalls than blasting her way through the enemies she met in the ancient ruins.” (Webb, 2018)

Between Tomb Raider (1996) and Tomb Raider Chronicles (2000) not much other than a slight improvement in visual quality, but In 2001 Lara Croft: Tomb Raider film starring Angelina Jolie was released and it was a huge hit, increasing the popularity of the series to new heights.

Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness (2003)

When this game was released it was the biggest change in visual quality compared to the last five Tomb Raider games with smoother and sharper graphics, and models made up of a much larger number of polygons. It was the first Tomb Raider game on the PlayStation 2.

The new design team decided to give Lara Croft a new look but failed to “have the narrative or visual impact of the previous” Tomb Raider games (Webb, 2018).

“Critics laid into "Angel of Darkness" for hollow and incomplete gameplay elements as well as numerous glitches and bugs in the game.” (Webb, 2018). Angel of Darkness and the second Tomb Raider film Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life received poor reviews, but it was financially successful.

Tomb Raider: Legend (2006)

Because of the Angel of Darkness, Eidos Interactive went to a new developer which took the game series back to its roots and revamped the control scheme. Edios decided to shift its marketing to focus away from sexualising Lara Croft. The developers (Crystal Dynamics) also developed Tomb Raider: Anniversary (a remake of the original game) and Tomb Raider: Underworld. (Webb, 2018)

Crystal Dynamics “took steps toward creating a more sustainable image of Lara as a character. While she was still featured in her signature shorts and crop top, her figure was adjusted to better match the proportions of real women, and she was given more of a personality.” (Webb, 2018)

Tomb Raider (2013) Reboot

Square Enix acquired Eidos in 2009. In December 2010 they announced that Crystal Dynamics was making a reboot of Tomb Raider. “The reboot placed a strong emphasis on Lara's survival instincts, and the story focuses on how the harsh remote island environment helps Lara evolve from a survivor into a warrior.” (Webb, 2018)

Image taken from: https://store.steampowered.com/agecheck/app/391220/

Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015)

In this game they changed Lara Croft's face to more resemble the voice actor Camilla Luddington, in line with what was becoming standard industry practice to allow for easier motion capture of facial expressions, which made the movement seem far more realistic. For the Mo-cap, Mova was the system used, it utilised 7000 points of reference which compared to the last game, only featuring 90, was a huge improvement. A chapter from the game “Blood Ties” also has VR support.

by Jake Payne

-Bibliography-

Romano, A., 2018. Why we’ve been arguing about Lara Croft for two decades. [Online] Available at: https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/3/17/17128344/lara-croft-tomb-raider-history-controversy-breasts [Accessed 04 March 2021].

Webb, K., 2018. The new 'Tomb Raider' game is out Tuesday — check out how far its star, Lara Croft, has come since her 1996 debut. [Online] Available at: https://www.businessinsider.com/lara-croft-tomb-raider-history-screenshots-2018-9?r=US&IR=T#tomb-raider-1996-lara-crofts-first-appearance-1 [Accessed 7 March 2021].