L'article de PSM 05/05

Dans le numéro de mai 2005 du magazine américain PSM, Toby Gard, actuellement senior designer chez Crystal Dynamics, livre une interview qui nous dévoile quelques détails de la belle et de sa prochaine aventure.
Merci à Alex Fly pour l'info. La traduction française est disponible ici.

Tomb Raider : Legend

New team! New Lara! A fresh new star!

The first lady of Playstation gaming is back - and this time, the game's going to be really good! Wait a second! Haven't we heard that before? Well, we've certainly been told that before, only to be let down, but with Tomb Raider: Legend, the pieces are actually coming together to buck that trend.

The Road to Redemption

It all started last year, when Eidos made the big announcement: it was taking the Tomb Raider series away from the company that had made the first six games in the series, Core Design, and giving it to Crystal Dynamics, developper of The Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver series. With a fresh new team, the next TR had already two things going for it: great technological know-how and storytelling experience.

Return of the Not-That-Old Gard

The next major milestone on the road to Tomb Raider's rebirth was the return of Lara Croft creator and designer of the original TR, Toby Gard. Gard had left Core Design after the completion of TR1 to form Confounding Factor, which went on to produce one title, Galleon. "With Confounding Factor, we finished up Galleon, then all kind of went our separate ways", says Gard. Now full time at Crystal Dynamics, Gard has hit the ground running.
"When I came in, my goal was to shake things up a bit. Make the old girl look different. Be a bit bolder with the direction", Gard explains, "When I arrived here, I knew everyone expecting something more modern, more up-to-date for the next game."
Gard was the logical choice to get the Crystal Dynamics team acquainted with what Lara's all about. "I think that people kind of realized that they needed to have a clearer idea of how to use the character, and that's certainly someting I can bring them."

Life after Lara

We asked Gard what he thought of the way his creation had been handled since TR1, specifically in The Angel of Darkness and the Tomb Raider movies. "I think the [Lara Croft] character is really interesting - as long as she's put into the right context. Lara running around Paris city streets [in Angel of Darkness] was interesting but also kind of troubling", he confessed, "It's sort of like putting Batman into California or something." In essence, as he put it, "I felt like other people never really got a proper handle on the character". What about the movies? Gard "thought Angelina Jolie did a good job".

Updating a Legend

As you can see, the new Lara is, well, Lara. Exept that she looks a lot less like a higher-polygon version of all the past models; her head's smaller, her chest is no longer over-exagerated, and she's generally much more reallistic looking... world's longest legs aside...
"I didn't want to make her too reallistic, because then she would lose some of the iconic nature of the character", Gard explains.
'It seemed to me that it would be good to find a balance between the caricature that Lara was and the need to be more reallistic, more human. That was the goal. More detail in the anatomy, more detail in the facial feature, but keeping the proportions etc."
"I came into this Tomb Raider pretty late in production. Everything with its design had been pretty much set", Gard explains when asked about his role in Tomb Raider: Legend's development. "I was able to help with the look of the character and with a little bit of the design and story. Mainly I'm not on the whole design of the game this time around".
What exactly is the design? Gard hints we can expect a return to over-the-top action and adventure of the original game. "The over-all design goal is that we want her to be more active", Gard divulged, adding: "Obviously, people weren't too keen on the different direction that the last game took. So, it's sort of 'back to the basics', but faster-paced - more 'action-y'. That's what everyone here wants".
One thing no one on the team wants is to create a game setting so realistic it loses its timeless adventure movie charm. "I think Lara can be put into a modern setting, you just have to be very careful. Too much realism would really take the fun out of it", is Gard's take. "I mean, what if for every artifact Lara got, she had to spend six months going through customs and paying taxes out the kazoo?"
There is a part of Lara's new look that gives a hint at the game's design, as Gard explains. "We're trying to stop the infinite backpack thing she's always had. Putting her inventory where you can see it on the character seemed like a good thing to do, since we can put more polygons on the screen. It's a nice way to show things, without having to go into an inventory screen."
What kind of new tools will our girl have at her disposal? Eidos is staying mum, but during early talks PSM had with them about the game's direction a number of "adventure-aiding" gadgets were suggested.

What's Next?

For the game, an official unveiling is in order, and you can expect it soon. PSM will be back next month with more on Tomb Raider: Legend, including first gameplay details.
For Gard, he's looking at a more in-dept role on the series after Legend ships. Director of the next game, perhaps? "I hope so", he responded when asked, "I can't imagine I wouldn't be".

Armed for Adventure

One thing's clear about the new Lara right off the bat : she's definitely set for some serious action - and maybe a little exploring too. She's got her trademark twin pistols, complimented by useful adventure items, such as flares and binoculars. The development team isminimize switching back and forth between and an inventory screen, so you'll actually see most of Lara's weapons & gadgets on the character model.