Core Design developer reflects on creating Tomb Raider, the 1996 action-adventure game that became a cultural phenomenon.
The developer joined Core Design in summer 1994 and worked with concept artist Toby Gard to pitch the game to co-founder Jeremy Heath-Smith. The team settled on four core pillars: platforming, puzzles, combat and story. Combat was the weakest element but time constraints prevented improvement.
The developers chose four archaeological locations from a longer list: Peru, Greece, Egypt and Atlantis. Lara Croft was originally designed as a Latina character with more realistic proportions, but the team shifted to a more stylised appearance to better suit the acrobatic movement they wanted to showcase. She evolved into a British aristocrat who collects historical artefacts.
The developer and Gard created Lara's movement metrics by measuring a hopscotch grid in the car park, making her three paces tall and each environmental block four paces. The production was punishing. The developer took just three days of holiday over two years, and both she and Gard worked until 2 or 3am most days, including weekends, for about a year. Gard became so stressed he made himself sick.
The team designed levels in meetings where they brainstormed rough schematics, incorporating historical locations and myths. "We threw in a T rex into Peru," the developer said. Giving Lara pistols allowed the designers to emphasize her acrobatic abilities while keeping enemies mostly as animals rather than people.
Publisher Eidos Interactive focused marketing efforts on Lara's character rather than the game itself. The developer said the company "oversexualised her" in some campaigns, showing "a lack of imagination."
Sales figures shocked the team. "People who were skint before were suddenly pulling up in sports cars," the developer said. She was able to buy a house from royalties. She described the creation as "life-changing" and said connecting with millions of players through something she created was "amazing."