Moonlight Butterfly said:
And I'm going by what the dev said with the 'protect her' thing so it's straight from the horses mouth as it were.
The only reason I care so much is because Lara is one of my favorite characters and I'm scared they are going to ruin her like Samus. I;m probably going to buy the game but I'm just hoping they don't portray her as a useless wuss.
The original Lara Croft was originally intended as a buxom, big-tittied beauty ( yay, alliteration ) that men would want to protect. I heard that in a Tomb Raider retrospective that I believe originated from GameTrailers. Supposedly, those are the words of the creators, but I can't personally vouch for accuracy. Anyway, when you say she represented a power fantasy ( don't remember the exact wording ), that is only your interpretation. Back then, gaming among women was almost unheard of so they had no reason to appeal to women. I know you're saying: you don't want to see a character you like get hurt and I can sympathize, but Lara Croft was intended for men to enjoy.
Furthermore, when you describe Lara Croft as a power fantasy, there are some interesting feminist implications.
First, what are you saying? If Lara Croft is raped, all her prior / future accomplishments will be nullified? That she'll become an useless wuss? Trash? Meat?
Because I'm pretty sure it doesn't. And I'm also pretty sure feminism wouldn't put it in those terms either. If the story consistently portrays Lara Croft's transformation as a weak, terrified mouse to the proud, strong, witty modern Lara Croft, even if a rape, or near-rape is involved, then I would say well done. If she wildly fluctuates between frightened pre-teen and modern day powerhouse for no real reason, or she's introduced some dumb weakness ( wasn't Wonder Woman's original weakness to be held by a man or something? ), then hey, you have a point.
Showing Lara Croft's eventual triumph, hole in belly and all, could very well be as close to the greatest feminist Tomb Raider game ever.
And according to feminism and the patriarchy, as it is ( maybe you've picked up I don't put much stock on it ), the societal expectation IS for men to triumph over their ordeals, and as they emerge on the other side, to crack a smile. "Haha, that wasn't so bad." Maybe a "Hey, miss me? How does a cold beer sound to everybody?!" So maybe that's why you can't think of any male characters who've gone through the shitter. They've been trivialized by our societal expectations.
I didn't play Gears of War II, but wasn't one of the major plot points Dom dealing with the recent death of his wife? And wasn't that more or less panned by critics? Sure, a lot of people have said the development was out of place, or poorly handled, but at the same time, I've seen a lot of people say it was stupid and emo. You might argue that losing a wife isn't equivalent to rape, but the point is, EPIC attempted to add some depth to what would be an one-dimensional character by making him lose his wife, AND WE LAUGHED IT OFF. Because, serious Dom, there's genocidal, subterranean aliens at the door so grow a fucking pair.
Sure, that whole losing a family member thing is pretty cliche, but have you considered that point of view?
The way I see it, besides the 'please don't get feminism involved' point of view, is that Lara Croft's ordeal could be an ordeal for gaming to overcome. To become accepted as not just dumb, power fantasy, entertainment, but as a powerful medium. Gaming has come very far, but its not quite at the level of, say, literature. And literature had Lolita. One book I read that I thought was absolutely terrific ( Out by Natsu Kirino ) involves rape ( for the record, the book has won a ton of awards and even my mom hugely sympathized with the characters and thought the book was great, so I'm not being some creeper; I highly recommend the book ). Just look at comic books. Superman denounced his American citizenship or something right? Then there was that gay marriage. And this potential rape isn't happening to some nobody, new IP, this is happening to one of gaming's greatest, stalwarts, The Lara Croft.
Let me tell you, I'm extremely excited about The Last of Us because the game is going to involve a twelve-ish year old girl. Children have always been a holy grail in media. In Fallout 3, you could kill practically anybody you wanted, BUT The Children. I am really, really hoping Naughty Dog gives her character due diligence. I am hoping she can be hurt, and I am hoping the player will feel terrible about that. I'm even kinda hoping the game will continue if she dies. Maybe the plot is to return her to her parents, and in the end, you meet them and tell them, "your daughter is dead." I think a game willing to go that far will be mind blowing.
So just wait and see.
