Why couldn't Lara get a jacket or coat from her fallen enemies?

[bastardofmelbourne]

When has a video game character ever taken clothes off a dead enemy?

Most of them stay with the same model for the entire game. Why wouldn't they? That's how games are designed.

 

[Garland]

When has a video game character ever taken clothes off a dead enemy?

Most of them stay with the same model for the entire game. Why wouldn't they? That's how games are designed.

Referring to your second claim, the original Prince of Persia had the Prince's attire change during the course of the game (tearing off a sleeve here or there) and used it as a means to portray character growth. As the life he knew drifted farther and father away he changed, not just mentally, but physically.

Star Wars: Force Unleashed (although a very flawed game) changed Starkiller's outfit every mission to do much the same as he moved between the light and dark side of the force.

Physical appearance is a great way to deliver character narrative and clothing is the easiest way to do that. To reboot a character like Lara Croft without the sensibilities discussed here and to relegate outfits to DLC or Pre-order bonuses misses a major opportunity to further flesh out the character (which, from what I read could have been done more thoroughly and gradually). It would not have been difficult to have her stumble upon a jacket of a former cremate among the debris or discover some rock-climbing gloves to further Lara's character development.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

The jacket would get in the way of the fanservice?

 

[VanQ]

I'm surprised people think her outfit has been done for sex appeal I thought it was pretty practical and iconic.

But then again I'm female so I probably just see a tank top...as an ordinary tank top :/

I didn't even think about her clothes until they brought this up besides the "it's nice that her clothes actually rip and tear after some of the shit she went through." That and the cuts and bruises added a little bit of impact to what she was going through.

 

[Aaron Sylvester]

I'm getting the feeling some people just aren't going to be happy until Lara Croft, along with pretty much EVERY female character in video games looks like this:

Spoiler: it is super revealing, don't look

If you dare reveal anything then it becomes part of the whole "gaze" thing. There are currently some feminists saying that Lara's pants were too tight, her beautifully-shaped ass is too much on display.

I'm thinking this has less to do with sexism and more to do with real-life women being jealous that a video game character can look so much nicer than them thanks to current-generation graphics. There's a term for this (don't say "jealousy" lol) but I'm forgetting it.

 

[VanQ]

The jacket would get in the way of the fanservice?

I'm getting the feeling some people just aren't going to be happy until Lara Croft, along with pretty much EVERY female character in video games looks like this:

Spoiler: it is super revealing, don't look

If you dare reveal anything then it becomes part of the whole "gaze" thing. There are currently some feminists saying that Lara's pants were too tight, her beautifully-shaped ass is too much on display.

I'm thinking this has less to do with sexism and more to do with real-life women being jealous that a video game character can look so much nicer than them thanks to current-generation graphics. There's a term for this (don't say "jealousy" lol) but I'm forgetting it.

I'll be honest here. Nothing stopped me from gazing at Lara's least revealed parts. Sometimes it's better to leave things to the imagination. Who knows what lies beneath that burqa?

Spoiler

Is the word you're looking for "envy?"

 

[bastardofmelbourne]

Referring to your second claim, the original Prince of Persia had the Prince's attire change during the course of the game (tearing off a sleeve here or there) and used it as a means to portray character growth. As the life he knew drifted farther and father away he changed, not just mentally, but physically.

Star Wars: Force Unleashed (although a very flawed game) changed Starkiller's outfit every mission to do much the same as he moved between the light and dark side of the force.

Physical appearance is a great way to deliver character narrative and clothing is the easiest way to do that. To reboot a character like Lara Croft without the sensibilities discussed here and to relegate outfits to DLC or Pre-order bonuses misses a major opportunity to further flesh out the character (which, from what I read could have been done more thoroughly and gradually). It would not have been difficult to have her stumble upon a jacket of a former cremate among the debris or discover some rock-climbing gloves to further Lara's character development.

I'm not saying it wouldn't be narratively useful. I've played Arkham Asylum and Max Payne - both games that make excellentuse of alterations to the protagonist's appearance to indicate progression through the plot. I'm just saying that the first thing you do in a video game is the art design and initial renders, and it's not unusual for a protagonist to stick with one rendered model for the entire plot despite being given good reasons to change clothes at one point. Developers are lazy like that.

Sure, it'd be a great idea if Lara changed her top at some point. I liked it with Batman and Max Payne did it. But it's the exception rather than the rule, and generally I don't expect a character's outfit to change over the course of the game, nor do I throw my arms up in the air in outrage when it doesn't.

 

[Happiness Assassin]

I would say it is more in keeping with the iconic look of Lara over the years than any real sexism behind it. Although to be honest, that iconic look was meant to be titillating in the early games, this seems more likely a move by the developers to try and tie the new Lara to the old. I would honestly have no problems though if she were sporting a radically different look for the next game, as her look does have something of a stigma to it.

Also, in game there is no reason to not pick up a jacket the first chance she got. Any normal person would wear it when they are cold and would remove it if it became a bit of a burden.

 

[Voulan]

They actually answered this question on the Crystal Habit Podcast (their Q&A sessions with guests and fans). Other than programming reasons which several people mentioned earlier, they also wanted to keep her outfit and look iconic to the game - if the outfit changed, it wouldn't be as readily recognizable nor as much of a symbol.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

1. Because they had a pre-order exclusive with a jacket.
2. Because she needs to be agile, it would be impractical.
3. Because she's meant to look vulnerable, it's part of the character.

 

[Evil Smurf]

BECAUSE SHE CAN'T FEEL COLD.

I was talking about this last night actually. With all the sliding around on stone/dirt/wood you do in this game I imagine Lara's arms would be nothing but bone by the end of the game >.>

YAY! Mao is back1 I'M SO HAPPY.

 

[wings012]

I put on the Aviatrix outfit and didn't look back.

Though it was sure strange to watch that scene where she heats up that arrow and I can't really see the afflicted area she intends to operate upon.

 

[Ickorus]

Errr... why would there need to be an entire new gameplay mechanic? Why would there be need for any new animation beyond the basic movement of the fabric? And what would they need to program? Just have Lara carry some jacket from a random enemy in the game. Okay, maybe they need to make it more detailed and model it separately, but that hardly seems like the 7 tasks of Hercules. The devs could have just made a cutscene in which Lara puts on a jacket and have her carry the same jacket for the whole game.

Well, without a gameplay mechanic to it then it's just there to play dress-up with Lara, nobody is really going to buy the game because they can put different clothes on her so it's pointless for them to add in since it'll cost them time and money without giving them the benefit of extra sales of the game, by adding a new gameplay mechanic they would actually give a reason for it though I think that whilst that may entice some new players it wouldn't be enough to account for the greatly increased time and money of creating the mechanic.

On the subject of how much work it'd take to put on the jacket and all of that, have you noticed that as the game goes on her clothes get more and more tattered and worn? They'd need to do the same with all the clothes she could wear and then additionally they'd need to store data for what she was wearing when damage to her clothes occured and then make sure that damage didn't appear on clothes she wasn't wearing at the time.

There are a bunch more things to consider but I can't think of them off the top of my head; in the end it's just a lot of extra effort for very little reward.

 

[Auron]

Realistically games very very rarely have characters changing clothes. Only as a chapter change style thing to represent some time has passed and you have no choice over it or a core game mechanic(hitman) or GTA and GTA like games.

So it's just that and the DLC thing above, though I have to say Square has treated customers really really well with totally optional and correctly priced DLC since Human Revolution.

A jacket could potentially be impractical, given all the climbing, ziplining and diving around she has to do. Without a tight fitting, relatively slim jacket she would be risking catching it on something and plunging to her death.

And there's that and the fact something would hardly fit her.

 

[Subscriptism]

Because then all the angsty thirteen year olds who bought the game wouldn't be able to see her magnificently rendered ta-tas.

 

[Richfeet]

Hee hee. Thanks for the responses guys.

 

[TsunamiWombat]

Because then the coat would try to rape her to!

Because there will most likely be blood on it.

I mean, would you wear something that has blood on it that isn't yours?

Kinda weird really.

Uhhhh yeah
It's a jacket, not a hypodermic needle

Actually, Hepatitus can remain active in bloodstains for up to 3 days, and while it doesn't transfer via contact fluid channels are easier to come by then you think

 

[King Aragorn]

Wow, people seriously acting as if cleavage and what not is ''new'' to Tomb Raider?