As a professor who studies the politics of games, I’m fascinated by the late 1990s. This period of massive technological innovation was also the crucible in which modern gaming culture was forged. When researching the era I sometimes encounter such an odd piece of gaming ephemera that I can’t resist tracking it down – like Lara Croft: The Art of Virtual Seduction, a book published by Prima Games in 2000. “Everyone knows how to make this tomb raider jump, shimmy and swim,” the ad suggested, “but do you know what makes her tick?” I did not know what made Lara tick, so I rushed to eBay to purchase a tattered copy. What arrived at my doorstep is a fascinating window into gaming at the turn of the millennium.
It’s difficult to overstate the impact Tomb Raider had in 1996. Riding the wave of early 3D gaming, Tomb Raider helped redefine the action-adventure platformer and spawned numerous copycats. Tomb Raider had something going for it that its imitators couldn’t match: Lara Croft.
VIRTUAL SEX SYMBOL
Today asking “who is Lara Croft?” would sound almost as absurd as asking “who is Mario?” Lara remains one of the most iconic characters in gaming history. But when Lara debuted, female protagonists were still quite rare - especially female action heroes. As a quippy gun-toting lead, Lara Croft occupied a space typically reserved for the Duke Nukems of the world. While the team at Core Design initially envisioned a male protagonist, the decision to change their hero into a heroine ended up dramatically shaping how Eidos would market the series.
Denne historien er fra September 2023-utgaven av PC Gamer.
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Denne historien er fra September 2023-utgaven av PC Gamer.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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SUNDOWNER
Wipe out a cult with one bullet in CHILDREN OF THE SUN
KENWAY AHEAD
Smooth sailing and pearly whites in ASSASSIN'S CREED IV BLACK FLAG
COUNTER INTUITIVE
PICK & POKE your way through this gorgeous tabletop roguelite
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Whatever happened to MULTI-GPU setups?
MICROPHONES
A good microphone can be the difference between a professional sounding triumph, or a crackly, tinny disaster
BORING PLATFORMER
In a good way! The superb drilling of PEPPER GRINDER is sublimely chaotic
MEIER'S BASTARDISATION
MILLENNIA attempts a spirited but messy coup to Civ's throne
LOOSE MORALS
BROKEN ROADS: a cerebral narrative adventure
CROWN WARS: THE BLACK PRINCE
Tactical medieval combat with a gory edge
NO REST FOR THE WICKED
One of the smartest Soulslikes I've played in a long time