Eidos life president Ian Livingstone has been speaking at GameHorizon conference in Newcastle.
He attributed the recent kerfuffle regarding perceived sexual violence in the new Tomb Raider as “a live interview that went slightly wrong”.
“Quotes were misinterpreted and blown out of proportion,” he added, referring to soundbite given to Kotaku by Crystal Dynamic’s Ron Rosenberg who said “They try to rape her, and she’s literally turned into a cornered animal.”
Livingstone said there was never any intention to imply sexual threat and that Lara will be with us for the foreseeable future. “No-one would advocate binning Lara Croft, just as they wouldn’t want to bin James Bond,” he added.
The studio’s Darrell Gallagher did the same a little while back.
Source: Edge
freezebug2
Wonderful publicity……prepare the charts!
Porcupine_I
A scene with a nude James Bond sitting on a chair with no seat comes to mind…
LTG Davey
Interview + something controversial = Instant success
Interview + something controversial + attractive female lead = Even larger success
I’m sure the game will be great but surely everyone can see through Crystal Dynamic’s shameless marketing ploy here.
jikomanzoku
It’s either a shameless marketing ploy or a bit of spineless back peddling. If it is the back peddling, then I reckon the games industry should grow up and have the stones to represent adult themes in an adult fashion. Then again, with the problems the industry faces with idiot parents “its just a game innit?” letting their kids play adult stuff, maybe it’s for the best.
LTG Davey
Couldn’t agree more with the last part of your comment.
Forrest_01
When was there talk about ‘binning’ Lara? I didn’t hear anything about that!
bunimomike
“Binning” is a sexual act carried out with food and a large catering container.
*Don’t go looking it up… I made it up. I am NOT responsible for what Google Images provides with aforementioned keywords and Safe Search set to “Off”. :-)
Forrest_01
Ah ok – Well, at least she will have gotten a good meal. :)
hazelam
“there was never any intention to imply sexual threat”
really?
you could have fooled me.
because from what i saw in the video, that’s exactly what it looked like.
honestly, i’d have more respect for these guys if they’d stood up and defended their position rather than trying to pretend it didn’t happen or that it was all out of context.
if they’d had Lara get attacked and kill the guy then spout some one liner, i’d say they weren’t treating the issue with enough respect.
but if the clip following the attack on the video actually follows in the game, then they appear to have shown how traumatic an experience it was for her.
and the attack is far from the only trauma she has to overcome while on that island.
unfortunately, rape is a real thing, if gaming ever wants to be seem as a legitimate form of art then it has to start reflecting the human condition sometimes.
from what they’ve shown so far, it looks like it shows that this can be survived, you may never be the same again, but you can survive.
one problem with this is, so many people still seem to see games as just toys for adults.
often these days games can tell an adult story, they’re just doing it in an interactive medium rather than a linear non interactive one.
the games industry needs to grow up and realise it can tell stories that involve subjects as serious as rape, so long as they do it properly.
but then the userbase also needs to realise games don’t just have to be toys or some form of competition, they can also tell important stories.
stories have been around a very long time, since before the written word, they’re a good way of imparting information or values without just giving a list of do’s and don’ts.
why do you think so many stories have morals at their heart?
i know i’ve gone out on a bit of a tangent there, but i’d like to see gaming fulfill its potential as a storytelling medium the way books and movies have, and having the courage to deal with controversial issue like sexual assault is part of that.
there’l always be the games that deal with issues like killing in the same way a Schwarzenegger movie does, but hopefully one day we’ll see the gaming equivalent of The Accused, or Boys Don’t Cry, or Milk alongside call of duty 17 and medal of honour 12.
jikomanzoku
Could not agree me hazel, perfect comment.
jikomanzoku
me = more, sorry
sabbat7001
Well said. After reading the article I was going to write something along these lines and then I saw your comment. You put it more eloquently that I probably would have. Rape is reprehensible but it’s out there. To ignore it as a threat or a reality is foolish. To have a mature scene where Lara not only overcomes the threat but displays the emotional trauma of the aftemath that isn’t just there for it’s own sake but as a pivotal point in a persons life would be a large step forward in gaming narrative. It’s not gratuitious if it’s dealt with that way.
Not trying to condone using it as a form of entertainment. Just saying that if it’s handled right it could convey the evil of such an act with gravitas in a way that games simply don’t tend to do.
Nate
Hear, hear. This saves me typing my response!
jayjay119
This is clearly just damage control for all those who cannot handle mature themes. The game is M-Rated, I think it’s good that games are finally starting to treat the same topics that movies do with gusto. This story, and actually the character of Lara, are apt for this kind of scene, quite ironically. Lara is meant to suffer in this game and in that sort of situation I can imagine the possibility of sexual molestation being quite high. I think there is no doubt in anyone’s mind what is going on in that scene, and I just hope Crystal Dynamics do not change it due to negative reactions when the positive ones are just as large, yet less vocal.
The Lone Steven
If they had taken a different approach with this, there wouldn’t by that much controversy around this. But it seems that they have done it for the sake of getting onto the front pages everywhere. Rape should rarely be used to build up a character as it is very controversial and should be handled very well when it is used in a story. But with TR, it seems they decided to throw in the rape scene just so that they can show Lara become strong instead of getting strong throughout the story. And i think most people will only remeber the scene years after they have finished TR.
jayjay119
There is no rape scene, there is not even any intended rape scene. There is nothing overtly sexual about the scene at all but it is very implicit of what may have been about happen had Lara not stood up for herself at that moment.