Rhianna Pratchett Dismisses Lara Croft Assault Controversy

Rhianna Pratchett, the writer working with Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics on the reboot of Tomb Raider, says that the game is not designed to generate controversy but to create discussion among the player base.

Tomb Raider generated a lot of talk due to the E3 2012 demo, which was thought to tackle the issues of assault a little too directly, prompting a strong reaction from the video game fan community.

Pratchett tells CVG that, “I wasn’t able to come out and say ‘actually, this is what we’re doing in this scene’. I can totally understand why, there was limited information out there and some things were said that were just not accurate. I think everyone who’s talked about it since has talked about context.”

She adds, “There’s no flick switch to bad assery, that scene happens, she has to deal with it, but her character is not changed because of it. This isn’t I Spit on your Grave or the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Not to sound dismissive, but when you see it as a whole, she’s gone through lots of challenges before that and there are many more challenges after that.”

The new Tomb Raider video game will give fans a chance to meet a new Lara Croft, which starts off as vulnerable and unable to face the challenges that the mysterious island environment throws at her.

As the game progresses, the character toughens up and players will see her explore a number of hostile environments in order to save her friends while also dealing with a number of unfriendly characters, including the one seen in the E3 2012 demo.

Her main weapon will be a bow and the game will have a strong survival element.

Tomb Raider is expected on the PC, the PlayStation 3 from Sony and the Xbox 360 from Microsoft on March 5, all over the world.