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Would you be interested in a Tomb Raider reboot with Lara Croft as a black woman?
- Thread starter SilverX
- Start date
No, a black Lara will never actually be "Lara" she'll just be known as "black Lara" and unable to escape the shadow of the original who will inevitably return and kick black Lara to the curb. No, I don't like it when comics do shit like that so I don't want it here. I want a new character that can forever stand on their own, not token cynical marketing handmedown bullshit.
This, so much, this.
& Having a rich anglo black lara aint going to change the fundamental premise of the franchise. Stand the fucker on its head, fight the tomb raider, make traps, etc.
I don't think it necessary to change the racial background of Lara Croft to do it. The world is more than big enough to add black characters and more interesting background to Lara's character.
I don't think this actually solves your problem with the game in either direction taken.
I don't think this actually solves your problem with the game in either direction taken.
Why not? They should also replace Jonah with a female sidekick too.
For a game with a female lead, the side roster is filled with males. Heck, all enemies/mooks are men too.
For a game with a female lead, the side roster is filled with males. Heck, all enemies/mooks are men too.
The most interesting part there is Chloe makes an arguably better alternate Lara than nu-Lara herself does. They even end up having similar drive/motivation as shown in Lost Legacy. TR needs to ease up hard on the melodrama or get some drastically better writing for Lara to be more appealing.
I aplogize, just dealing with some stressful life shit. the stuff that can cause heartattacks. if they make lara black, then that's fine but it would better to make a different main character, give her a legacy of her own. they did it with chloe after all.
As a black (mixed) person, no, I'm not interested. Would I be interested in a game of this style starring a black woman that's her own character separate from Lara, with her own personality/motiviations? 100%. But making characters black after they have already been done by a white character is starting to feel like leftovers. We can be the character...as long as it was a white person first. I'm not saying that is how devs would approach it, but that's how it's starting to feel to me.
That being said, if it happened, I'd play it.
That being said, if it happened, I'd play it.
No worries, then.
I agree with you, a new character is definitely a better option. Don't think a reboot would be a BAD thing, though. Just not as good as the alternative.
Hope things get better for you!
While I kind of agree with you, I will say that Chloe was considerably less Indian looking in Uncharted 2 and 3.
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The color of the character's skin isn't even on my list of reasons why I do and don't consider buying a game. Why should it be? Give me an interesting story, well written characters, and clever gameplay mechanics and I'm there. If someone who can bring all those things to the table sees the Tomb Raider franchise as a good foundation to build on, and happens to choose a black female lead, I'm there.
Taking a well established and beloved game series
Go on stage and announce that the main character is now black due to inclusiveness
???
Profit
Hell yes I would support this.
Bonus points if the game is about raiding the Croft mansion to recover the stuff the Croft family has stolen over the year from indigenous people.
I would support this for all the wrong reasons, yes.
But since such a project would end in layoffs, I don't actually want to see it, I don't want to see theworld internet burn that much.
Go on stage and announce that the main character is now black due to inclusiveness
???
Profit
Hell yes I would support this.
Bonus points if the game is about raiding the Croft mansion to recover the stuff the Croft family has stolen over the year from indigenous people.
I would support this for all the wrong reasons, yes.
But since such a project would end in layoffs, I don't actually want to see it, I don't want to see the
The Croft family is old English nobility. Specifically the Earls/Countesses of Abbington since the 1500s in some of the timelines.
In general, that kind of family is going to be white. Unless they married into a black family relatively recently I guess.
They could do it, but it would seem really forced.
In general, that kind of family is going to be white. Unless they married into a black family relatively recently I guess.
They could do it, but it would seem really forced.
For me it would boil down to 2 things.
A) Is she still a British aristocrat?
B) Does the game deal with what that would entail?
If the first is a no, then that's just not Lara Croft. No to the second would feel sanitised and inaccurate. God knows it could be butchered by the current writers on the series but making her a mixed race Lady who has been kept at arms length by the status quo because of her heritage could give her more depth than just 'she's a rebel because she is'.
A) Is she still a British aristocrat?
B) Does the game deal with what that would entail?
If the first is a no, then that's just not Lara Croft. No to the second would feel sanitised and inaccurate. God knows it could be butchered by the current writers on the series but making her a mixed race Lady who has been kept at arms length by the status quo because of her heritage could give her more depth than just 'she's a rebel because she is'.
I'd say just make a new character. I think privilege is a big part of Lara's character. The reboots have lost a big part of that by trying to make her more sympathetic and making her parents supportive of her. Reboot Lara herself isn't even Lara.
I just want to explore ancient ruins and stuff and solve puzzles and platform without hardly any talking and story.
I just want to explore ancient ruins and stuff and solve puzzles and platform without hardly any talking and story.
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Does Tomb Raider need another reboot? The other games aren't very good. Just let sleeping dogs lie.
Now I would like a game like this with a black female protagonist. If it's not a new game, i'd actually love to play as Nadine from Uncharted. In fact TLL is the best uncharted and also the best tomb raider game at the same time and Chloe is the Lara Croft we deserve.
Now I would like a game like this with a black female protagonist. If it's not a new game, i'd actually love to play as Nadine from Uncharted. In fact TLL is the best uncharted and also the best tomb raider game at the same time and Chloe is the Lara Croft we deserve.
Lara Croft needs to be white because no other ethnicity would stumble blithely through other cultures lands, destroying and/or stealing artifacts while leaving tons of death and destruction in their wake.
I mean More Indian Lara Croft ( Chloe) is all I want. And Maybe team-up with all the side characters of the uncharted franchise because they are pretty much what people wanted out of Modern Lara Coft.
She could be any race and I wouldn't be fussed. So long as the adventure is there.
Chloe from Uncharted is Indian/Australian and would be awesome regardless of race.
Chloe from Uncharted is Indian/Australian and would be awesome regardless of race.
I would be even more interested if there was character creation in the game, where YOU can be the Tomb Raider instead. Then from there, whatever race or gender you identify as, you can go for that kind of representation.
And if that can't happen, then fine, let there be a black woman as the Tomb Raider. However, let her be someone totally different from Lara Croft. Let her stand out better.
And if that can't happen, then fine, let there be a black woman as the Tomb Raider. However, let her be someone totally different from Lara Croft. Let her stand out better.
No.
Tomb Raider basically had a OG saga, a soft reboot and a full reboot. There isn't any need of reboot right now, especially because they probably will round around their own axis again.
It's better to create a new game, a new character and give it another approach, not the superheroine of the original games, neither the constantly "girl against everything" of the latest games. It's not that hard if they really have the interest of doing that.
Tomb Raider basically had a OG saga, a soft reboot and a full reboot. There isn't any need of reboot right now, especially because they probably will round around their own axis again.
It's better to create a new game, a new character and give it another approach, not the superheroine of the original games, neither the constantly "girl against everything" of the latest games. It's not that hard if they really have the interest of doing that.
I'd personally be fine with it, but I like this Lara Croft. A lot of her characterization is squandered because the writing of her games needs major work, but new Lara has potential. She just needs to have a any other publisher than Square Enix.
She would be a much more appreciable character if her goals were no longer for her own gain while also happening to end up saving a group of natives from some mysterious power. I like the idea of her passing the torch onto another character, and it would be nice to see that character be a PoC.
She would be a much more appreciable character if her goals were no longer for her own gain while also happening to end up saving a group of natives from some mysterious power. I like the idea of her passing the torch onto another character, and it would be nice to see that character be a PoC.
I frankly don't give a damn what she looks like, and neither should anyone else. As long as they go back to whatever made Rise of the Tomb Raider so good, because for whatever reason Shadow didn't do it for me.
Sign me the fuck up. I don't care one iota what she looks like as long as this criteria is met.
I have 0 interest in the series but that'd be one way to get me on board.
I mean they already changed her with the latest reboot, this would be the same except her skin color would change too along with her background.
They should do Tomb Raiders. A spin-off series where various new characters actually go tomb raiding.
Make it ZombiU style where every time you die, you start with a new character. That'd be great.
Getting off topic fantasizing about a good TR game now though...
Make it ZombiU style where every time you die, you start with a new character. That'd be great.
Getting off topic fantasizing about a good TR game now though...
...how would this change anything?
You don't need to "reskin" characters for the sake of diversity. Why not do something more meaningful, like have them as the main character in a new IP?
You don't need to "reskin" characters for the sake of diversity. Why not do something more meaningful, like have them as the main character in a new IP?
that implies you trust whoever Square would hire to write and direct the game
I don't really think Lara's ethnicity is the problem. The problem is that Crystal Dynamics can't write a compelling or logical character, and that would be the same no matter what color her skin was.
I'd play it as I play every Tomb Raider, good or bad. But it's not a concept that interests me a whole lot. Lara Croft is a pretty defined character and I'm not hugely interested in a "what if" storyline, let that be a black version, a hispanic version, a male version (inb4 Uncharted jokes), and so on.
You know I've been thinking. You can really tell who's actually played Shadow of Tomb Raider and who hasn't//just played it a bit. I see people asking Tomb Raider to "go back to Tomb Raiding" and how SoTR is just a worse RoTR. I'm a massive fan of TR Core and legends era Crystal Dynamics TR games and I don't even like the reboot Lara but all that is so wrong!
For starters every SoTR DLC (there are 2 so far and 6 more to come) is a tomb where all you do is explore and navigate with no combat. In the main game itself the combat makes up for like 20% of the game. The number of bombastic set pieces where shit's falling around can be counted in one hand most likely. The game even has a proper difficulty setting specifically for exploration, separate from combat setting, that totally does away with marked ledges, hints and waypoints and it's designed to be played as such. I went through the entire game without Lara once making an internal comment to hint the solution or what to do next.
And lastly, SoTR is not made by Crystal Dynamics, it's done by Eidos Montreal i.e. the Deus Ex guys. And no matter how much you think Mankind Divided was a disappointment its level design was undoubtedly great and positively received.
For starters every SoTR DLC (there are 2 so far and 6 more to come) is a tomb where all you do is explore and navigate with no combat. In the main game itself the combat makes up for like 20% of the game. The number of bombastic set pieces where shit's falling around can be counted in one hand most likely. The game even has a proper difficulty setting specifically for exploration, separate from combat setting, that totally does away with marked ledges, hints and waypoints and it's designed to be played as such. I went through the entire game without Lara once making an internal comment to hint the solution or what to do next.
And lastly, SoTR is not made by Crystal Dynamics, it's done by Eidos Montreal i.e. the Deus Ex guys. And no matter how much you think Mankind Divided was a disappointment its level design was undoubtedly great and positively received.
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