Rise of the Tomb Raider Feels Like A Second Origin Story

[CaptainMarvelous]

On the other hand, I didn't care at all about James Sunderland's plight in Silent Hill 2 as soon as he encountered the first creepy monster encounter: Dude, you're obviously walking into hell here. Turn around. Go home. Drink yourself silly for a week. Then get some therapy. A note from your dead wife can't possibly be worth all this. Sure, the setting and scenario are interesting as a PLAYER, and as a PLAYER we keep him moving for our sake: to see what happens next and go deeper into the world, but for him as a character? I don't get why he would keep going.

This one's actually pretty explainable, but possibly spoilers if you didn't finish so I'll tag it

Spoiler

Beyond the fact he can't leave because Silent Hill IS a hellscape, he's trapped for the same reason the other characters are. Guilt. Because Mary isn't just dead, he's directly responsible for her death, in a 'smother with pillows' kind of way so that all the monster encounters are aspects of his own psyche torturing him for his sins. The fact he can't remember is the same reason he doesn't leave, James is trapped psychologically as he has to see his wife as an over-riding drive and his own brain is summoning creatures to fuck with him. Except when he helps other people and then has to face theirs.

OT: I do feel a little bit like Rhianna Pratchett has a hit n miss style with her storytelling in these games. Can't speak for Rise but Tomb Raider itself felt a little... I dunno. Sterile is a good word but there was stuff happening, Lara did have established goals, motivations and kinda flaws. I think my big problem is that this whole style would work if the story wasn't intended as a character piece. Like, without the focus on Lara as a person developing and doing shit, the fact the characters are bland is made up for by the pretty interesting plot. Same with Thief 4, Garrett was pretty dull as a character but the actual conceit wasn't too bad, the big dilemma was he didn't ACT like Garrett and the focus was very much on him rather than the city. Maybe Rhianna Pratchett is just writing games in the wrong era, actual chain of events she's pretty good it's just doing characters.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

I should pay more attention to who writes video game stories. Good lord this lady is terrible. She should write daytime crime dramas for Fox or something. She'd fit right in.

 

[Darkness665]

Ah, the ever loyal Mirror's Edge fan surfaces. If only! If only they had dropped the entire story. If only they had stuck to the best thing about the game - parkour. Okay, parkour message delivering.

And stopped shooting at unarmed messengers! Gads, what a stupid premise, poor execution and the promised sequel has even better combat. If only EA would completely disappear. Maybe an executive retreat on the tops of buildings with oddly place red boards leading to nowhere. Yeah, that might work.

No Xbone, so no Lara Croft Rises From The Murky Depths Of Gaming To The Lower Highs Of Mixed Message Feminism for me. Or whatever the hell they named it. The move a few meters and play the cut scene killed the joy from the first game and I never finished it.

 

[marioandsonic]

Now that I've mentioned a woman working in video games, feel free to turn the comment section into the inevitable kneejerk gender politics debate and get yourselves banned.

...Odd. We're over 20 posts in, and this hasn't happened yet.

Aw man, and I just made popcorn, hoping to enjoy the fireworks...

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

That is the funny thing about Reboot-Lara: by technicality she IS a better-written and more complex character, but she's just not interesting or compelling. She's got NOTHING in terms of charisma and for all her supposed depth, her motivations are pretty basic and lacking in agency. Fact of the matter is that NOBODY wanted a Lara Croft origin story because that's not the point of her. And for all the update they have to the character, she's still uninteresting and is utterly trounced by tons of far more complex, sympathetic, and unique women in gaming such as Aya Brea, Tifa Lockhart, Lenneth Valkyrie, Elly van Houten, Samus Aran, the women of Persona, etc. If this is as good as Pratchett can get it's clear she's never going to have a truly great character written.

 

[Zhukov]

Fun fact: Rhianna Pratchett actually has an account on these forums.

I wonder if she'll hear about this article.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Fun fact: Rhianna Pratchett actually has an account on these forums.

I wonder if she'll hear about this article.

I had a job interview with a man named Robert Brockway. Turns out, not the same guy from Cracked.

OT; You can't have character development in action game, not really anyway. As an action game, the whole objective is to go from A to B to C and destroy anything and everyone in your way. This is why Lara's evolution from a simple girl to a hardened adventurer is flawed, there was no real development there. Development implies choice. If they had made the change gradual, making the first third of the game combat optional and increasing the encounters difficulty to the point where killing is no longer an option, then we might get the sense that she is a changed person. But instead, in the first 20 minutes, she has put arrows through the faces of (now, heh) faceless mercs. No development, no appreciation for the kinds of change such actions can force on a person.

 

[synobal]

Yep I miss the old Lara who did stuff because she was rich and bored.

 

[Lazule]

Tomb Raider is taking "realism" too seriously. Swims for 1 minute = panting like crazy, climbs 30 seconds = panting like crazy.

It's like everything is dangerous. That or Lara likes being dramatic I guess, its like Lara is socially awkward and thinks of herself as a literal videogame protagonist.

 

[Darth_Payn]

I can't help but think this portrayal of Lara is part of a larger trend in video game design that punishes us, the players, for just playing through these things.

I should pay more attention to who writes video game stories. Good lord this lady is terrible. She should write daytime crime dramas for Fox or something. She'd fit right in.

If I'm reading all the hate for Rhianna Pratchet correctly, the Tomb Raider series needs a new writer. If it has to be a woman, may I suggest someone form the world of comic books? How about Gail Simone? She wrote at least the first arc of the Tomb Raider tie-in comic books for Dark Horse, and she has time to write Red Sonja for Dynamite and maybe Secret Six for DC. I know for sure she's not writing Batgirl anymore.

You know I just wish there were more female killers in fiction. Women that are just cold blooded killers that are driven by lust or revenge. Men have gotten that role for too long.

You'll love Drakengard 3 then.

Unlikely, because you'd also have to play Drakengard 3.

Uhm, if I just add "because the voices are telling me to" after every "I've got to" Lara says, will that fix things somehow?

Maybe it's some kind of meta genius. She "HAS TO" because she's a marionette controlled by a god manipulating her actions with a video game controller. She has no choice, really. She can't go back - there's invisible walls....

OK, if we're going full breaking through the 4th wall, IMHO, NOTHING tops the fight with Psycho Mantis from Metal Gear Solid. The opening cinematic for that in MGS: The Twin Snakes made it weirder.

 

[Amaror]

The thing is, while the game attempts to say a lot about Lara by her circumstances and the things around her, all of that is being constantly refuted by the way Lara acts in person. Yeah, she's technically going on adventures of her own free will, but she herself doesn't seem to think so, mouthing off constantly about how this is something she's 'GOT to DO'. That's the classic cheap-ass writer trick for avoiding having to think of proper logic or motivation.

snip

This so much. That one was just petty and purposefully ignorant of what was happening. There's so much to criticize about this game's story, you don't have to nitpick, yathzee!
For example the "Mysterious, neboulus organization" as the enemy with the "Because my dad was interested in it"-motivation.
And not to forget both the bad guys and the good guys being idiots *Cough* Hiding in crypt *Cough*

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

Maybe old Lara Croft wasn't as complex a character, but maybe uncomplicated is the right way to depict the main character of an escapist adventure fantasy like what the Tomb Raiders were. We're naturally more interested in the world, the architecture and the quest for hidden treasures than we are in our viewpoint character and how much her splintered ribcage hurts.

Yes, finally someone gets it. Tomb Raider was better when it wasn't ALL ABOUT LARA. This reboot is as self-centered as it gets.

 

[josemlopes]

For example, if my kids were the captives in Far Cry 3, and I was Jason Brody in Far Cry 3, and I had to do what Jason Brody does in Far Cry 3 to save them.

If Far Cry 3 was about captives, It would end in about 1/3 in.

Oops! I'm exposed... I'm currently playing through the game for the first time and I'm not very far in.

EDIT: Hence the reason I used it as an example above. It's on the forefront of my memories.

So get ready for some dumb shit

 

[Vladimir Eremeyev]

Rhianna Pratchett AKA "The Script Writer Woman".
Known offenses: Ruined multiple (former) successful franchises with plot full of contradictions, nonsense and general lack of common sense as well as staining her father's legacy.

While not questioning her writing abilities one has to wonder, what were they (publishers and developers) thinking?
Continuously hiring her again and again, fail after fail - massive critique both from regular users and reviewers alike, any sane person with an ounce of common sense would not step on the same rake again, right?
Either they are deliberately trying to ruin their games via bad scriptwriting or she's 'in bed' with someone upstairs.(has relatives, friends, admirers or really are in bed with somebody)

I'm done.

 

[DrownedAmmet]

Rhianna Pratchett AKA "The Script Writer Woman".
Known offenses: Ruined multiple (former) successful franchises with plot full of contradictions, nonsense and general lack of common sense as well as staining her father's legacy.

While not questioning her writing abilities one has to wonder, what were they (publishers and developers) thinking?
Continuously hiring her again and again, fail after fail - massive critique both from regular users and reviewers alike, any sane person with an ounce of common sense would not step on the same rake again, right?
Either they are deliberately trying to ruin their games via bad scriptwriting or she's 'in bed' with someone upstairs.(has relatives, friends, admirers or really are in bed with somebody)

I'm done.

In her defense, I don't think it's all her fault. If the main problem is ludonarrative dissonance, then its not only the writers fault, but also the ones who had to mesh it with the game. There were parts of the 2013 Tomb Raider that I really enjoyed, I thought it was done really well how one moment she is freaking out about killing a deer, then she gets a machinegun and goes all Jon McClane "I have a machinegun now motherfuckers!" But then it all falls apart when she is forced back into "scared little girl box," then back out of it to triumphantly climb a radio tower, then back into it next time she is thrown into a cutscene where she has to hide scared from one dude. Don't know how much you can blame ludonarritive dissonance on one writer

Haven't played the new one yet, but seems kind of shitty if they are still doing that

 

[Shannon Spencer Fox]

(Mind you, the whole deal with the Microsoft exclusivity then happened, and since I don't own an Xbone, nor do I plan to get one, was a rather aggravating blow. But that's another subject.)

You know it's just a timed exclusive, right? It'll be out on PC and PS4 sometime next year.

Oh, I'm quite aware of that. It doesn't change the fact that it happened in the first place, though. Up until recently, I was torn between getting it when it comes out on PC, or passing it all together as a sign of protest... the game's crap quality helped make that easier, though. That said, however, I may pick it up when it hits the 75%-off section on Steam however into the future that is. Maybe.

This so much. That one was just petty and purposefully ignorant of what was happening. There's so much to criticize about this game's story, you don't have to nitpick, yathzee!
For example the "Mysterious, neboulus organization" as the enemy with the "Because my dad was interested in it"-motivation.
And not to forget both the bad guys and the good guys being idiots *Cough* Hiding in crypt *Cough*

That's another thing that bugged me: say what you will about the first game's story, it at least had an attempt at giving Lara agency, at least from the 'so me and my friends don't get shot in the face' department. In the new one, however, it's more 'so I can prove my dad wasn't crazy'?

Personally, I originally thought what they should have done is have Lara try to get back to her life, but suffering from at least some kind of issues from the previous game (like what any sane person would experience), but then have these Trinity jerks break into her house looking for her father's research... admittedly, though, that's kind of both trite, and also more rehashes the first game by making Lara involved only due to the threat of violence.

My current theory, however, is this: Lara trying to get back to her old life, etc, and someone from Trinity approaches her openly asking for her help going through her father's research... which instantly gives the antagonist a bit more dimension, and also gives Lara a reason to look into it. She'd likely find out what they're really up to later, but it would be more interesting if the plot took a more Princess Mononoke route, where both sides aren't quite so blatantly black and white: Trinity may want to control the artifact for power, but also to end sickness in the world, etc.

But that's just my thinking, anyway.

 

[Amaror]

That's another thing that bugged me: say what you will about the first game's story, it at least had an attempt at giving Lara agency, at least from the 'so me and my friends don't get shot in the face' department. In the new one, however, it's more 'so I can prove my dad wasn't crazy'?

Personally, I originally thought what they should have done is have Lara try to get back to her life, but suffering from at least some kind of issues from the previous game (like what any sane person would experience), but then have these Trinity jerks break into her house looking for her father's research... admittedly, though, that's kind of both trite, and also more rehashes the first game by making Lara involved only due to the threat of violence.

My current theory, however, is this: Lara trying to get back to her old life, etc, and someone from Trinity approaches her openly asking for her help going through her father's research... which instantly gives the antagonist a bit more dimension, and also gives Lara a reason to look into it. She'd likely find out what they're really up to later, but it would be more interesting if the plot took a more Princess Mononoke route, where both sides aren't quite so blatantly black and white: Trinity may want to control the artifact for power, but also to end sickness in the world, etc.

But that's just my thinking, anyway.

I think it would have been nice if they had just cut the "dad" thing out entirely. Instead Lara tries to live normally, but quickly gets restless and starts to crave another adventure. Then she discovers the trail to this artifact and tries to find it, maybe the knowledge gained in the first Tomb Raider helps her somehow to get so far.
And then she just happens to come up against Trinity in her search, maybe she comes upon them as they attack some natives and tries to save them. Thinking about it that could actually have been used to get in a neat twist, were Trinity just wanted to destroy the artifact all along and the natives tried to preserve it's terrible power, which Lara unknowingly aided.

 

[1981]

Think Rhianna's problem is that she delibirately tries to write something different from her father's work. No humor, no interesting situations, no larger than life characters. It's just sterile. It's hard to be daughter of Sir Terry, I guess, but that doesn't mean that she can get a pass on sloppy writing.

Since she has the technical proficiency, I wonder why she hasn't improved. Almost anyone can build on the non-technical aspect. Maybe she's coddled because of her name, or doesn't have the ambition (in which case she would be better off using her talent in non-fiction), or no one dares to criticise a woman working in the gaming industry, or any constructive feedback is buried under the so-called hate.

Poor game design and pressure from publishers could only explain a part of it.

 

[remnant_phoenix]

(Mind you, the whole deal with the Microsoft exclusivity then happened, and since I don't own an Xbone, nor do I plan to get one, was a rather aggravating blow. But that's another subject.)

You know it's just a timed exclusive, right? It'll be out on PC and PS4 sometime next year.

*snip*

I think you're missing the thrust of Yahtzee's argument. We all know that, technically, Lara doesn't *have* to do these things. The point is that by sticking her with an emotionally loaded legacy quest Lara is prevented from developing the character's traditional devil-may-care attitude, going on globetrotting adventures and looting ancient ruins for love of money and the fun of it. Lara still isn't raiding tombs because it's something she *likes to do*, she's doing it because it feels like something she is *obligated* to do, and that robs her of a degree of agency.

I don't really see how acting on a strong emotional compulsion to indulge curiosity and honor a legacy is a lack of agency. If one contends transcending one's emotions and giving specific acknowledgement that they are acting on a choice and is required for agency, as Yahtzee seems to be doing, then I would disagree.

"In sociology and philosophy, agency is the capacity of an entity (a person or other entity, human or any living being in general, or soul-consciousness in religion) to act in any given environment." From Wikipedia, but a good definition I'd say.

My exception to Yahtzee's argument comes down to the fact that he called the "I HAVE to do this" as a character motivation "bad writing." I suspect that it make come down to semantics. My immediate reaction was "It's not bad writing. It's just character writing that you can't personally relate to."

As a writer myself, when I hear "bad writing" I think "dysfunctional writing, broken writing, mechanically-unsound writing". In hindsight, I think he may have been speaking more subjectively, calling it "cheap-ass writing" in the sense of "I personally don't like this. This doesn't work for ME. A character who says 'I HAVE to' is unrelatable to ME."

 

[sageoftruth]

This can all be easily explained by the publisher's will, which is something more or less along the lines of; "Hurr dur, more of the first one! More! Better graphics! More fragile woman sounds and animations...MORE!! Do not change a single trait or technique...it is the will of Squeenix. Heed our demands or suffer the dire consequences of no funding...MORE!!"
While a deep, low hum begins to emanate through the pitch black above... the start-up grind of Microsoft's vast, cataclysmic machine, growls menacingly at Rhianna, who stutters her trembling reply, "y-y-y-yes, u-uh-of course...i'll j-just, sorry, what? N-no, it's ok, i g-g-g-got this. P-p-please let me go after?"

...

"We will be watching closely, Rhianna..."

That's more or less what I was thinking as well. Writing for a game imposes you with a ton of limitations. I heard her do an interview on writing for Tomb Raider once. I'd love it if she did another one for what it was like writing for this game. How much control did they give her? How badly did she want to even write for a sequel?

Actually, it would be kind of funny if this whole "This sucks, but I have to do this" thing was really about her attitude towards writing for this game.