What makes Lara, Lara?

[Ivana KC]

Originally Posted by dark7angel

Stuff That Can Be Changed
Equipment - including dual pistols, backpack and medkits
Biography - Family dying/Origins/etc.
Always working alone - like Priscillia said, something like Chase from the comics would be really nice.

How come you wouldn't mind if they change/remove Lara's dual pistols? I'm just curious, isn't that part of her identity?

[dark7angel]

Originally Posted by Ivana KC

How come you wouldn't mind if they change/remove Lara's dual pistols? I'm just curious, isn't that part of her identity?

For me no, it was always just part of her equipment and not so much part of her identity.
For example, AoD Lara didn't have dual pistols and that didn't make her any less Lara for me!
Don't get me wrong, I love the dual pistols and they do look cool, but I don't think they are irreplaceable. I see it as something like the braid - I think it was as much part of Lara's image as the dual pistols, and if I accepted that change, I don't see why I wouldn't accept this one.

[Ivana KC]

Originally Posted by dark7angel

For me no, it was always just part of her equipment and not so much part of her identity.
For example, AoD Lara didn't have dual pistols and that didn't make her any less Lara for me!
Don't get me wrong, I love the dual pistols and they do look cool, but I don't think they are irreplaceable. I see it as something like the braid - I think it was as much part of Lara's image as the dual pistols, and if I accepted that change, I don't see why I wouldn't accept this one.

Oh, I didn't think of it that way. But AoD Lara still wasn't Lara for me. I appreciate your opinion nevertheless.

[Elliot Kane]

I'm in two minds with the pack & the pistols, I must admit. Both are iconic, but are they essential, or just props? Hmmm...

I like them, but that's not to say they are needed... I think I'm persuadable on those. The pack especially is not really essential to making Lara who she is.

Medi-packs are definitely not essential, though, to me. Easily replaced with other options, IMO. They are simply a convenient game mechanic and nothing more.

[Metalrocks]

you have a good point angel. i think i can accept this change as well wihtout her having all the time two guns. why not have one gun.
if you look at the trailer, she only shoots one handgun.
realistic anyway. its anyway very hard to aim properly with two guns and lara is inexperienced at this stage.

@kane
dont you think medkits are better? how else would like to heal lara? regenerating health is not very survival like when you just have to hide behind something until your health is restored.
unless you mean lara can collect herbs like in resident evil or uses plants to heal her self she finds across the island.

if i got you wrong, please tell me.

[Timberley]

It's an interesting question, and one I've been dwelling on since the whole Tomb Raider - Uncharted comparisons started taking place.

In essence, I'm with Elliot on most things, but I still think there's some thigns that can be changed or are up for debate.

Lara's essentials:
* Wealthy Aristocrat - born into the right sort of family, went to the right schools, etc. to prepare her for a life as an aristocrat, but went into tomb raiding instead. Obviously has all the hallmarks of such an upbringing (accent, bearing, CROFT MANOR, etc).
* English - So very much a well-spoken lady, goes hand in hand with the right schooling, plummy accent, etc.
* General appearance - by that I mean brown hair, brown eyes, etc. The large bust is not essential, particularly as she's been 'reduced' in recent escapades.
* Loner - Not so much in the "one woman versus the world" sense, but more in the sense that Lara does her exploring with only voices in her ear and a compact video camera to record stuff. For the love of God don't make Tomb Raider a co-op experience.

Lara's Malleables (can be changed):
* Tomb Raiding Origins - By that I mean the incident that got her started on the path to becoming the greatest tomb raider in the world. In this case, I think this game is built from this idea.
* Equipment - I think Lara's shorts, wee rucksack and twin pistols mark her out as Lara, but not as much as her attitude. As dark7angel said, the Lara from AoD was still Lara as far as I was concerned, just without her trademark equipment. Usually, I tended to put Lara in trousers where possible, as I felt they were more practical for the 'woman of adventure'.

But, that's just my immediate thoughts...

Tim

[Elliot Kane]

Originally Posted by Metalrocks

@kane
dont you think medkits are better? how else would like to heal lara? regenerating health is not very survival like when you just have to hide behind something until your health is restored.
unless you mean lara can collect herbs like in resident evil or uses plants to heal her self she finds across the island.

if i got you wrong, please tell me.

Whatever gets used, the effect is basically 'magical instant healing' Whether that's done through medi-packs, herbs, poultices Lara has to make herself from ingredients, food, automatic at save points, or any other method, the end result is a necessary game mechanic to repair Lara in a hurry, rather than take the month or so's bed rest she would actually need to recover from numerous bullet wounds, etc.

I certainly wouldn't go with 'regenerating Lara', because that would make the TR games far too easy. But anything she can pick up or otherwise use to get the same effect as a medi-pack would be fine with me.

[Lyle Croft]

Her charisma and attitude that pushes her to keep going and be strong there is something motivating her, like my favorite artist Britney Spears.

As well as the English decent, and her famous iconic

Brown eyes
Brown hair
Tied up hair

Her dual pistols, are truly iconic.

[Metalrocks]

Originally Posted by Elliot Kane

Whatever gets used, the effect is basically 'magical instant healing' Whether that's done through medi-packs, herbs, poultices Lara has to make herself from ingredients, food, automatic at save points, or any other method, the end result is a necessary game mechanic to repair Lara in a hurry, rather than take the month or so's bed rest she would actually need to recover from numerous bullet wounds, etc.

I certainly wouldn't go with 'regenerating Lara', because that would make the TR games far too easy. But anything she can pick up or otherwise use to get the same effect as a medi-pack would be fine with me.

sounds good enough to me. as long no regenerating health, im happy

[Elliot Kane]

Agreed, Metal.

Regenerating health works for some games (Mutation, self-repairing systems, advanced tech, magic, etc) but I really don't think it would work for TR. There's just no way to justify it in game and it would seem kinda dumb...

[Darkwoodsoftime]

taking away the Medi Packs in TR is somehow similar to Not having Herbs and First Aids in Resident Evil Medi Packs are part of TR an i guess it mustn't be changed .(but i wouldn't mind ) .... and Regenerating healths ? !! goddamn Call Of Duty

[a big house]

^ Not only CoD. But I agree.

We have already seen Lara with regenerating health, so what's the big deal?

To things that can't be changed; Stylish Arrivals I mean, I want Lara to wake up on that beach in TR9 (before getting kidnapped) and I want her to swish her hair around like a crazy lady.

[Metalrocks]

lol. there are more games with this regenerating health crap. BF, COD, mirrors edge, bulletstorm.... you name it.

like i said before. this shoulndt be changed with medkits. they should stay to at least be replaced with herbs or what ever.

[Ivana KC]

Originally Posted by Elliot Kane

Agreed, Metal.

Regenerating health works for some games (Mutation, self-repairing systems, advanced tech, magic, etc) but I really don't think it would work for TR. There's just no way to justify it in game and it would seem kinda dumb...

I agree. Although some may say that Lara already had regeneration health in Underworld, there were still med-packs. And I think that new TR still doesn't need regeneration health system because, since Lara is in the wilderness, she could find a lot of herbs that could be a perfect replacement for med-packs.

[a big house]

^ Agreed, and since we don't have a health bar, how are we going to know the limit of how much Lara can take before dying and when she is fully healed? I like health bars...

[Metalrocks]

Originally Posted by a big house

^ Agreed, and since we don't have a health bar, how are we going to know the limit of how much Lara can take before dying and when she is fully healed? I like health bars...

yes and we dint see any healthbar in the game. i hope we will have one, otherwise we will have this regenerating health

[Darkwoodsoftime]

maybe they Hid the Health bar and the HUD so in Gameplay vids the screen wouldn't be too crowded ... Just A BIG MAYBE

[Elliot Kane]

Originally Posted by Darkwoodsoftime

maybe they Hid the Health bar and the HUD so in Gameplay vids the screen wouldn't be too crowded ... Just A BIG MAYBE

Hope so. Lack of a health bar would not be good.

TR has never had a huge HUD - never needed one - but the health bar we need.

[Metalrocks]

Originally Posted by Elliot Kane

Hope so. Lack of a health bar would not be good.

TR has never had a huge HUD - never needed one - but the health bar we need.

thats right. and now these days everyone has big screens. so im sure they can squeeze a nice HUD with health bar and ammo counter what what ever the new game will have.

[Elliot Kane]

Originally Posted by Metalrocks

thats right. and now these days everyone has big screens. so im sure they can squeeze a nice HUD with health bar and ammo counter what what ever the new game will have.

Works for me

[TranceTrouble]

i actually like the idea of no HUD, i hope that if Lara gets hurt she walks slower or grabs her wound so we will know she's hurt. And we already know that the survivor instinct will help you locate your base-camp or target so a map isn't needed. i guess you can also choose not to use the survivor instinct and find your way back the real explorer style

for healing up i love to see her using herbs and plants from the island, instead of the medicpacks or regenerating health.

so a totally different approach from what we are used to in the past games.

[Coralie]

Interesting thread ! IMHO :

What should NOT be changed :
- Englishness : for all reasons you have said
- her confident and her determination : I think the last one is very important, because without it, Lara in TR9 would never become Lara we know
- her apparence : hair, eyes... like LadyRufina, I was very surprised when I saw blue eyes in the trailer ! Concerning the hair, it doesn't matter if it's a braid or a tail.
- her manor and her butler : because I like visiting it ! and who has never closed the cold room's door with Winston inside ?

What can be changed :
- her origins : whether a crash plane with her mother's death or a shipwreck on a mysterious island, it will be a test that Lara have to overcome to become a survivor
- her equipment : dual pistols or not, Lara will always Lara, and healing with plants is a better idea than regenerating health ! I would be disappointed if I find the last one in TR9, even if it doesn't disturb me in other games like Uncharted or Call of Duty. It just can't suit to TR.
- her outfits : as long as they are "practical", I mean that Lara don't wear a dress in a cold place like we can do in TR Legend
- a playable scene with a young Lara at school or university, as Metalrocks has said, would be fun ^^
- her relationship : it isn't very important to me but a bit of complexity could be interesting

Well, I think I don't forget anything ! Fell free to contradict

[Metalrocks]

Originally Posted by TranceTrouble

i actually like the idea of no HUD, i hope that if Lara gets hurt she walks slower or grabs her wound so we will know she's hurt. And we already know that the survivor instinct will help you locate your base-camp or target so a map isn't needed. i guess you can also choose not to use the survivor instinct and find your way back the real explorer style

for healing up i love to see her using herbs and plants from the island, instead of the medicpacks or regenerating health.

so a totally different approach from what we are used to in the past games.

sounds good to me as well.

dino crisis 1 had it and it worked well. either she was limping around and was losing blood or just loosing blood but was able to walk. if you dint stop the bleeding, you will die. just that you dint had to use and find herbs like in RE.
what you also could do in dino crisis 1, was mixing stuff together. use weaker medicine, mix it together with other medicine and you got a stronger med pack to use or create poison darts.

this idea would work pretty well in TR9. some herbs are good for stopping the bleeding, wile the other restores her health. mix them together to do both.
also use the herbs to make poison arrows for her bow.
that would a nice feature as well. so you dont have to aim all the time at the head or body to kill someone.
you get the idea.

[Darkwoodsoftime]

well , we do know two things
from : http://tombraiders.net/stella/tomb9.html , these were confirmed waaay back in GI 2011 January issue if im not mistaken .

• It will be necessary to gather food, water, medical supplies and other items for survival.
  
• Details of the injury/healing system are still being worked out, but taking damage will affect Lara's abilities and, unlike past games, she will show pain and emotion.

so It's all up to Crystal , Im guessing Medi Packs and regenerating health system will be combined . for instance, her Health Regenerates to a Certain Point and for her to be fully healed she has to use medical supplies .... who's with me ?

Edit : ... are we spammin ?! xD

[Metalrocks]

Originally Posted by Darkwoodsoftime

well , we do know two things
from : http://tombraiders.net/stella/tomb9.html , these were confirmed waaay back in GI 2011 January issue if im not mistaken .


so It's all up to Crystal , Im guessing Medi Packs and regenerating health system will be combined . for instance, her Health Regenerates to a Certain Point and for her to be fully healed she has to use medical supplies .... who's with me ?

Edit : ... are we spammin ?! xD

lets hope they stick to this idea. sounds very good to me.