Back in June Square Enix sparked quite a bit of outrage when it released a trailer for its upcoming reboot of the Tomb Raider franchise that featured the iconic protagonist Lara Croft being sexually assaulted. Months later—now released from her non-disclosure agreement—Rhianna Pratchett, lead writer of the game, explains how she developed the character and why the trailer was misleading:
According to Pratchett, the sexual assault is “absolutely not” a character-defining moment for Lara, and the trailer is not representative of the game’s story arc - “But I’m not sure it was ever intended to be.” Most of the footage was taken from the game’s first act, she explains. As the game progresses, Lara begins to transform into the strong, capable character her fans are familiar with.
“I know people are concerned we’re making her weaker, but you don’t plop out as a badass.”
Rhianna Pratchett is the daughter of Terry Pratchett, one of my favorite authors. She previously wrote for the game Heavenly Sword, which had a great story and very strong, three-dimensional female lead.
This might be the first Tomb Raider I ever care about even a little.