Official TR9 Demo Discussion Thread | update Jan 22: Meagan explains (see OP)

[The Avenger27]

Does anyone think there will be a demo for the new Tomb Raider game?

Edit by Driber Jan 17, 2013 - It's official:

Originally Posted by Karl

There are no plans to release a demo of the game pre-launch.

http://twitter.com/CrystalDKarl/stat...89624538456064
http://twitter.com/CrystalDKarl/stat...90059894628352
http://twitter.com/CrystalDKarl/stat...90493896015873

Edit by Driber Jan 22, 2013 - Meagan Marie explains into detail the reasoning:

Originally Posted by MeaganMarie

Hey guys,

I want to take a moment to jump in and share some of my thoughts on the subject. Explaining the full decision behind not offering a demo isn’t easy, so I took a bit of time to ensure I properly articulate myself and address your concerns.

So here’s the conundrum, as I perceive it. In order to showcase a part of Tomb Raider that dives deep into our three pillars of play – exploration, traversal, and combat – we’d have to feature content at least 90 minutes into the game. That being said, we can’t release a 90-minute demo. By this logic, and in order to properly convey a sense of scope and understanding of our core mechanics, we’d be forced to drop players into the game without proper context, and without having experienced all of Lara’s growth first hand. So when Karl mentions “spoilers,” it’s as much about spoiling the experience as it is revealing actual plot points about the game.

With this in mind, yes, there are some “spoilers” in the 90-minute demo we’ve featured on the various live streams. This isn’t so much a concern for you guys – the hardcore fans. You likely watched the streams from start to finish and therefore understood the context of the footage. We could drop you into any point of the game showcased so far, and you’d get it. You’d understand our intentions.

But what if you’ve not been following Tomb Raider, and simply come across a demo on your dashboard? If we demoed up to Lara’s first kill, you wouldn’t understand the freedom of exploration or the diversity in combat Tomb Raider offers. If we demoed from the night hub to the radio tower, you’d not appreciate Lara’s motivation – what has driven her so aggressively to defend herself.

For those of you bringing up the hunting demo as an example of public, playable code, yes, we’ve allowed people to get hands-on with this particular area at conventions. While the hunting demo is fun and it represented our game well enough earlier in the campaign, it’s not really illustrative of the final gameplay experience. It gives a taste of Tomb Raider and teases some new mechanics, but as you guys know it’s a bit linear and doesn’t touch on any combat or exploration. It is the very beginning of Lara’s journey. Additionally, at conventions we always have staff on hand to chat with fans about the game – the setting, the story, and so on. They can provide context that you wouldn’t get at home.

I hope the above makes sense. I completely and totally understand being bummed out about not getting a demo prior to launch, but ultimately it’s a side effect of being so ambitious with story and character development. Not to mention we don’t want to get you invested in Lara’s journey, only to call it curtains and then force you to wait to continue the experience.

We’re only a month away from launch, and I genuinely believe that Tomb Raider will be best experienced as a whole, curled up on your favorite chair. With a warm blanket. And some snacks. And a kitty.

I really appreciate you guys understanding.

http://forums.eidosgames.com/showthr...50#post1843350

[adobeARTIST]

We can only hope.

mmmmmmmm.... demoooooooo

[The Avenger27]

Originally Posted by adobeARTIST

We can only hope.

mmmmmmmm.... demoooooooo

Well i hope lol.

[chriss99]

I'm sure we'll see a demo but I believe it will be released couple of weeks before the release of the full game, so I guess it's gonna be a looooooooog wait!

[The Avenger27]

Originally Posted by chriss99

I'm sure we'll see a demo but I believe it will be released couple of weeks before the release of the full game, so I guess it's gonna be a looooooooog wait!

I hope you're right about there being one, but i hope you're wrong about it being a few weeks before the release date.

[Lyle Croft]

im so upset i went on tomb raider chronicles theres no TR UNDERWORLD DMEO it drived me crazy

[aussie500]

Originally Posted by Lyle Croft

im so upset i went on tomb raider chronicles theres no TR UNDERWORLD DMEO it drived me crazy

You could not have looked very hard then, the demo for TRU has been on the TRC site almost since the day it was released.

The only reason there was no PS3 demo for TRU was they did not have time to do one before the game was released, not much point releasing the demo after the game. I would expect all three versions of the next game to have a demo shortly before the game is released.

[The Avenger27]

Originally Posted by Lyle Croft

im so upset i went on tomb raider chronicles theres no TR UNDERWORLD DMEO it drived me crazy

But there is a demo for it on Xbox, XD

[xXTombRaiderXx]

i really hope there will XD if there will it will probs be out october some time

[Evitele]

i hope demo version will be released soon !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[The Avenger27]

Originally Posted by xXTombRaiderXx

i really hope there will XD if there will it will probs be out october some time

You're probly right about it being released in October, the Dead Space 2 demo was released in December, and the game was released in Febuary.
So good observation.

[The Avenger27]

Originally Posted by Evitele

i hope demo version will be released soon !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Me too Evitele.

[kazzaRose123]

I think that they should come up with a concept like the game for a demo and release it WAY before the actual game is released (I'm talking months here). It may not be something used in the actual game, but it could be something that they're considering for it, and maybe they could use someone else's input on it (like the people who are going to buy the game???). Concept art put in motion.

[KellyMissMurder]

I just excited for a trailer to come out. Let alone a demo lol.

[Lyle Croft]

Originally Posted by aussie500

You could not have looked very hard then, the demo for TRU has been on the TRC site almost since the day it was released.

The only reason there was no PS3 demo for TRU was they did not have time to do one before the game was released, not much point releasing the demo after the game. I would expect all three versions of the next game to have a demo shortly before the game is released.

nono i did look there but i got this http://eidos.http.internapcdn.net/ei.../trudemopc.exe
saying its not on there i did look for pc only nothing on pc anymore

[LaraRocks2]

Hell if not a demo, at least a trailer or something.. i'm dying here D:

[The Avenger27]

Originally Posted by LaraRocks2

Hell if not a demo, at least a trailer or something.. i'm dying here D:

Arn't we all?

[Ants_27_]

Originally Posted by LaraRocks2

Hell if not a demo, at least a trailer or something.. i'm dying here D:

I'm glad it appears they have no intention of showing a trailer yet... why?

Say the game is released in 2012... release a trailer now and fans will demand another before the years out and before you know it every single 'level' is shown.

[Denis..]

we haven't even seen a trailer yet and u guys talking about a tr9 demo..

[zipi.91]

I think, that the demo the version will be one month prior to release of game. It is natural for games. So, that at us is: a picture from game, the concept of game, the story about a plot. I think, that in some weeks we can see the first trailer.

Originally Posted by Denis..

we haven't even seen a trailer yet and u guys talking about a tr9 demo..

So, that at us are: a picture from game, the concept of game, the story about game. I think, that in some weeks we can see the first trailer.

[The Avenger27]

Originally Posted by zipi.91

I think, that the demo the version will be one month prior to release of game. It is natural for games. So, that at us is: a picture from game, the concept of game, the story about a plot. I think, that in some weeks we can see the first trailer.


So, that at us are: a picture from game, the concept of game, the story about game. I think, that in some weeks we can see the first trailer.

I hope you're right.

[RosePetals]

Forget the demo for the mean time. Trailer, trailer, trailer~ XD

[JapaneseIsland]

Originally Posted by The Avenger27

You're probly right about it being released in October, the Dead Space 2 demo was released in December, and the game was released in Febuary.
So good observation.

lol hopefully the demo will be released on my birthday :P

[The Avenger27]

Originally Posted by JapaneseIsland

lol hopefully the demo will be released on my birthday :P

If it is, you are lucky.

[Natla]

I'm guessing we are talking about the next game? Myself I don't expect a demo for a year at least.