Interviews | Tomb Raider Underworld

Tomb Raider: Underworld Brings Back Lara, Now With Naturally Heaving Cleavage

July 18, 2008

It wasn’t too long ago that Lara Croft was all but dead, following the much-delayed Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness, which became infamous for its shoddy gameplay. Eidos cleaned house after that debacle, closing down original Tomb Raider developer Core Design and turning the franchise over to Crystal Dynamics, which was best known for its Gex and Legacy of Kain games.

Tomb Raider: Underworld marks the third outing from the California developer, and the British bombshell has never looked better except for the times she’s portrayed by the MILF of the Millennium, Angelina Jolie. For the first time in the history of the game franchise the developers used motion-capture to map Lara Croft’s movement. There are thousands of animations and transitions used to make her actions fluid and lifelike, right down to her décolletage. Crystal Dynamics’ Creative Director Eric Lindstrom talks about the new game in this exclusive interview.

Das Gamer: What’s the backstory for this game?
Eric Lindstrom: The backstory of the game involves a previous archeological expedition that Lara’s father embarked on. She comes upon these coordinates and the game opens with her yacht heading into the Mediterranean. Gameplay picks up when Lara jumps into the water and swims for an underground cavern.

Why did you decide to introduce ocean floor tombs in this game?
Eric Lindstrom: Lara Croft is an explorer and we wanted to see her go to new and unexpected places that would make people sit up in their chairs. Going to remote parts of the world to discover a new ruin is very cool, but learning that the ruin you’re looking for is on the ocean floor is even more exciting.

Are the ocean levels really open? Can Lara swim to Thailand?
Eric Lindstrom: The game gives players a sense of unbound freedom but the gameplay is more about experimenting. We don’t want the player to get lost and not have fun. Even though you can’t really swim all the way to Thailand, the feeling of being in what appears to be an open ocean and not surrounded by walls of stone is thrilling.

Controls in open water are often frustrating, how have you addressed this?
Eric Lindstrom: It’s hard to explain but easy to play. We spent a lot of time and effort on this and by unifying the controls of the various ways Lara interacts with the world — with consistency being a top priority — we found a way to steer Lara in 3D that is much more intuitive than in the past.

What’s in the ocean that’s of interest other than the actual tomb?
Eric Lindstrom: Exploration-based puzzles take on a whole new dimension in the ocean. There are also treasures to be found throughout, in places you wouldn’t find them if you could only reach them by climbing. Oh, and did I mention hungry sharks? Those are pretty interesting.

Can you talk about the types of puzzles that gamers will tackle in the new tombs?
Eric Lindstrom: Most of the exploration-based puzzles in Tomb Raider: Underworld have multiple elements and do not have to be solved in a particular order. The player needs to find the pieces, understand their meaning and relationships, and use this knowledge to progress, and doing so doesn’t require the player to follow a single correct path from place to place. Some puzzle elements have more than one solution, but not because they were specifically designed to respond to different approaches, but just as logic dictates. Our philosophy of “What could Lara do?” extends into all aspects of the game, including puzzle solving. If there is a weak link in a chain that can be broken by shooting it with your 9mm, shouldn’t a grenade also break it? It will.

Will there be other underwater tombs in the game?
Eric Lindstrom: We want to do different things. There are different locations throughout the game. We have different approach and discovery models. We want the player to experience new and exciting things. We want people to experience a beginning, middle and an end. We don’t overload the front end of the game with action. It feels like the beat keeps going throughout the game.

What are adrenaline moments?
Eric Lindstrom: There are no longer super action moments in the game. Instead, it’s all about providing the player with the correct camera angle and we give the player full control over Lara, so it’s no longer about hitting a button combination. We call these instants adrenaline moments. For an instant, time stands still and Lara must make a quick decision and perform an action to avoid certain death. She gets a shot of adrenaline, her heart beat races, the camera changes to give a good view of the situation, and the player has full control of Lara to escape the situation.

What are some of Lara’s new moves in Underworld?
Eric Lindstrom: Lara now has a sprint move, which can be used both in the water and on any surface. The game introduces a variety of new options for Lara to traverse this world. She can jump on poles and climb up them, as well as leap from one to the next and Lara can fire a gun while climbing. She also has a motorcycle in Mexico and she uses that in multiple locations. There are areas you’ll need it to jump to or for timing purposes.

As it’s the age of customization, will gamers be able to play dress-up with Miss Croft?
Eric Lindstrom: Players can make costume changes. There’s a warm weather wetsuit as a default. But players will have a dozen costumes. Each is appropriate to a space—like a jungle outfit. When you enter a space you’ll be able to use the default costume or choose a new one.

I’m sure it’ll look great even with the new sweater kittens.

–John Gaudiosi

Pre-order your copy of Underworld here or we’ll kill a puppy. Your choice, dude.