The Times

[Tomb Raider]

Play for Japan: The Album

An industry update for those of you who are interested!

After the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami struck Japan on March 11, a group of video game*professionals*created Play for Japan. The campaign was designed as a means of aiding emergency and reconstruction efforts overseas. I was honored to be a part of the administrative team, and even worked closely with Crystal Dynamics (I was still with Game Informer at the time) to promote several rare Tomb Raider items up for auction.*

While auction listings have slowed down, another exciting Play for Japan effort is ready for primetime. Play for Japan: The Album*is now available for purchase in the United States, UK, and Canada. The digital album will launch worldwide via iTunes and Amazon on July 15. All of the proceeds generated by Play for Japan: The Album will be donated to the Japanese Red Cross.*

You can check out the full track listing below. Superstars are abundant.*

• Akira Yamaoka (Shadows of the Damned) | “Ex Animo”*
• Arthur Inasi (Harmonix) | “We Are One”*
• Bear McCreary (SOCOM 4) | “Maverick Regeneration”*
• Chance Thomas (Lord of the Rings Online) | “Rise Up”*
• Hip Tanaka.? (Metroid) | “HVC-1384´´*
• Inon Zur feat. The Lyris Quartet (Dragon Age) | “Remember“*
• Jason Graves (Dead Space) | “Necromancer”*
• *Koji Kondo (Super Mario Bros.) | “Super Mario Medley On Two Pianos”*
• Laura Karpman (Everquest II) w/Lisbeth Scott | “Pine Wind Sound“*
• Laura Shigihara (Plants vs. Zombies) | “Jump“*
• Mitsuto Suzuki (The 3rd Birthday) | “Play for You”*
• Nobuko Toda (Metal Gear Solid 4) | “Reminiscence”*
• Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy) | “Every New Morning“*
• Penka Kouneva (Prince of Persia) | “White Cloud”*
• Sean Murray (Call of Duty) | “The Temple Stone”*
• Tommy Tallarico (Advent Rising) | “Greater Lights“*
• Woody Jackson (Red Dead Redemption) | “Moshi Moshi”*
• Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Trigger) | “Dimension Break”

If you’ve got a few coins to spare, the purchase will be well worth it. I’m listening to my donation as we speak!

*Koji Kondo’s “Super Mario Medley On Two Pianos” will only be available via iTunes.

[Tomb Raider]

Are you trying to trick me into revealing juicy new details about the upcoming game? Your thinly veiled scheme will not work on me!

In all seriousness my answer is easy and sort of obvious. It’s hard to trump the latent evil in Jacqueline Natla. Not only is she the queen of an ancient alien race, but she’s also indulged in attempted fratricide, and has an unsavory opinion of what an ideal world would look like.

I’ve always been conflicted about Amanda, Marco Bartoli makes me laugh, Van Eckhardt is a vanilla villian, and the Doppelganger is too badass to dislike. Except for when she is in her “Bacon Lara” form.

Gross.

Natla it is.

[Tomb Raider]

Fanart: Lara Croft Tomb Raider by Illyne

Take a second to check out Illyne’s DeviantArt account. Not only is she a fantastic illustrator, but a very talented cosplayer, too!

[Tomb Raider]

Crystal Tidbit #5

This bench is full of cold hard cash and expended ammunition. Any idea what Eidos game it was created to promote?

[Tomb Raider]

Fanart:*A survivor is born by ClaireLyxa

[Tomb Raider]

Haha. Granny Croft, eh?*

insanelygaming:

The Age Slider - by*David Stonecipher

[Tomb Raider]

Fanart: Alison Carroll - Lara Croft by Ashley Quenan

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tombraider: This weekend a group of industry talent ran 10K for the SpecialEffect charity. A pair even dressed as classi? (cont) http://deck.ly/~QMEpz

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tombraider: RT @CrystalDKarl: The team (@_MeaganMarie_, @blijack, @CdotJohnston and myself) are quietly scheming some new intergations for @tombraid ...

[Tomb Raider]

Fanart: Lara Croft by Orphen5

[Tomb Raider]

This past weekend a group of game industry professionals tackled the Asics British 10K to raise money for SpecialEffect. SpecialEffect is a charitable organization that focuses on game*accessibility. Per the official website:*

“SpecialEffect is a charity dedicated to helping ALL young people with disabilities to enjoy computer games. For these children, the majority of computer games are simply too quick or too difficult to play, and we can help them and their parents to find out which games they CAN play, and how to adapt those games that they can’t.”

As someone with an avid interest in how the industry can make games more accessible to everyone, I was very pleased to learn that the runners raised an estimated*£11,000 for SpecialEffect.*

The event looks like it was a blast. The bulk of the runners decided to dress up as iconic gaming characters, including two gender-bending tributes to classic Lara Croft.

Overall this was a*fantastic*event for a fantastic cause. Thanks to everyone who donated!

[Tomb Raider]

Localized "Making Of The Turning Point Trailer" : Hello all!

In case you missed it last week, we recently released a behind-the-scenes look at making the Turning Point trailer. After a week-long exclusive at Gameinformer.com, the feature is live and localized in several languages up on our official YouTube channel! Check it out!

[Tomb Raider]

tombraider: Yahoo News: The genesis of a game trailer - How the new Tomb Raider trailer was made - http://bit.ly/ncjbWe

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Fanart: Lara Croft - A Survivor is Born by Karigan-GLadheon

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Fanart: Forty Fathoms by Tansy9*

Stunning! And one of the reasons I loved Tomb Raider II so much!

[Tomb Raider]

Fanart: A survivor is born” by Tsukishibara

[d1n0_xD]

^ So awesome

[Driber]

You meant the TR2 art, right?

Yeah, that's really beautiful

[Tomb Raider]

Fanart:*Tomb Raider by ~Nine-chances

[Tomb Raider]

Looking for your community manager? Here I am!*

Chances are you won’t notice a slight decrease in blog activity this week, but if you do, it’s because I’m out and about at the anual San Diego Comic Convention. The rediculous project above has kept me busy for several months now, and I’m excited to show it off on the convention floor.

I’ll keep my eyes open for Lady Lara cosplayers, and update the blog with anything interesting I see along the way. Have a great week everyone!

meagan-marie:

Anya Progress: Polished off the armor last night. Now I just need to make a trip to the electronics store and get a LED kit to wire this weekend!

[Tomb Raider]

Fanart: Tomb Raider by Mihawq

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Fanart: Lara Croft by VirusRedsox

[Tomb Raider]

Interview: Tomb Raider’s Karl Stewart: Rock, Paper, Shotgun chats with Karl about making Lara Croft culturally relevant again.*

[Tomb Raider]

Fanart: Tomb Raider 9 by Rowsey123

[Tomb Raider]

Want a chance to win some cool Tomb Raider swag? A “guess the number” competition is going on over on the official Tomb Raider Forums! Good luck!