Videogames: Tomb Raider Anniversary

Tomb Raider Anniversary: blog tasks

Language and Audience

Analyse the game cover for Tomb Raider Anniversary (above).

1) How does the cover communicate the genre of the game?

Steve Neale genre, protagonist role empowerment

Colour scheme - gold/brown- Indian Jones and genre adventure

Scrolling text- Star Wars

Similar James Bond pose

2) How does the pose and costume of the character appeal to primarily male audiences?
Costume- Revealing

Accentuates her body figure

Posture focus on her physique

Ideal Body - hourglass

3) How might the cover be read as empowering for female gamers

Masculine attributes contrasted with manicured nails and fashion beauty- female empowerment

Gameplay analysis

1) What does the gameplay for Tomb Raider Anniversary involve?
Third perspective

Shooting from her POV

Parkour

Puzzles/ Problem Solving

2) Write an analysis of the media language choices in the construction of the game: e.g. genre, narrative, mise-en-scene, camera shots etc.

Low angle shots - Accentuates her clothing and body shape

Simple platform gaming- simple narrative so easier to target mainstream audience

The colours are quite dull to reflect the genre and make Laura stand out from the background

3) Analyse the clips for audience pleasures, applying audience theory and considering media effects.

Personal Identity- If women play the game they may see themselves through the character and may feel inspired by Lara Croft. 

Personal relationship-The audience can began to connect to the character because the game allows the player to play through the character

Nostalgia- From all the other titles made 

Read this NME feature on the evolution of the character of Lara Croft. Answer the following questions:

1) Note the statistics in the opening paragraph.
selling over 58 million videogame units worldwide.

2) How does the article describe the cultural change in society and the media since the early 00s?
Women are fronting the most popular films at the box office, and #MeToo has finally given women the space to call out systematic sexism and harassment. Lara Croft has caught up too. Her hot pants have been ditched for cargo trousers, and the focus is on her attitude, intelligence and athleticism, rather than her improbable polygon body

3) How was the original 1996 Lara Croft received by audiences and critics?
Lara Croft first tumbled into our lives in 1996, shooting bears, diving over booby traps and swinging between ledges with vines. She was strong, smart and had an amazing job: she was already a role model.

4) What did the 2013 re-launch do differently – and how successful was it?
The 2013 re-launch game gave Lara a makeover. Hot pants and Barbie physiques were out; cargo trousers and abs were in. Scars, dirt and blood covered her skin, and the gameplay focused more on Croft’s face to reveal a deep and complex emotional background.

5) How is ‘woke Lara’ defined in the conclusion of the feature?
Female empowerment

Now read this feature – Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft: feminist or femme fatale?

1) Why is Lara Croft considered a “polarising figure among gamers”?
she remains a polarising figure among gamers, a paradox regarded as either a digital pin-up girl or a feminist role model, or sometimes both.

2) How did the limitations of game construction in the 1990s help to establish the way female characters were animated?
Her sexualised appearance was a drawback from the early days of video game development when women were hard to distinguish from men on 32-bit consoles.


3) Why were Lara Croft’s physical attributes emphasised in the original games?
Flowing hair was difficult to design - Lara Croft wears her hair in a single braid - so emphasising a woman's hips, legs and breasts became an easier way to feminise her.



4) How does Anita Sarkeesian describe Lara Croft?
"She is one of the most iconic representations of women in gaming, but that doesn't mean it's a good thing,"
"She is a hyper-sexualised character that promotes a deep objectification of women."

5) Why has Lara Croft’s appearance and characterisation changed over time?
Lara Croft's appearance gradually changed as more women were drawn to video games. (Research shows that nearly half of all players now are women). In 2013, Crystal Dynamics rebooted the franchise and gave her a more natural look, including trousers.
Industries

1) Why is Lara Croft such an iconic figure in the gaming industry?
Lara croft is an iconic figure because she was the first sole female protagonist character to be shown in video gaming.

2) What products and spin-offs have featured Lara Croft or the Tomb Raider brand?
Movies
Animations
Merchandise

3) Why might Lara Croft be considered a postmodern icon?
Even though she is the first female protagonist hero she is very similar to past heroes and characters is based from many intetxtual reference like James Bond and Indiana Jones

4) Why is Tomb Raider Anniversary a 'case study in conglomerate ownership'?
Tomb raider has been under control of many diffrenet companies.Core design was bought by Eidos Interactive (who published the original game). Eidos were then bought by Square Enix - a transnational publisher that is based in Japan. This is an example of conglomerate ownership because it reflects the benefits of vertical integration and the control that companies can have as a result of doing so.