The Lara Croft Redesign

[Brawndo]

Tits too small!!

Now the developers will have to try to sell the game based on its actual gameplay... good luck with that.

 

[Something Amyss]

I think it looks good, she looks more like a proportioned human being now but
ATTENTION DEVELOPERS!
you do NOT make a strong female character by making her manly, the original Laura Croft was fairly feminine and flirtatious then she turned into the emotionless tough girl that everyone expects from games and abandoned every personality aspect that made her female. so far the best representation of a strong female character is Bayonetta.
http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/2/20608/1238292-bayo_bayonetta_super.jpg
so quick checklist
strong willed and doesn't need a man but is still attracted to them and shows it: check
still maintains a love for stereotypically "Girly" things because she personally enjoys them and knows it doesn't make her "weak": check
in touch with and in complete acceptance of her sexuality: check
maternal instinct without being "Baby crazy" or wanting children: check
one statement in Bayonetta summed up the whole character
"Do I look like I enjoy children? well making them, that's another story"
wow that was quite a rant.

If Bayonetta is a representaation of a strong female character, we're all screwed.

That was just silly.

 

[higgs20]

the point is she ISN'T a fearless treasure hunter who will go anywhere and do anything, i was under the impression this was an origins story, meaning this is before her balls were firmly encased in brass.

plus i still would

 

[WanderingFool]

I love the redesign.

I think the more realistic proportions make a much more attractive character than the Lara of old.

I do agree with your mom though, she does look like she's fresh out of college, I think that's kind of the point. I imagine she'll grow more "sexy" as she becomes more experienced, more jaded, etc.

The Tomb Raider franchise hasn't been held in very high regards over the years, distancing itself from its past can only be a good thing in my mind.

This. I agree with.

 

[mirror's edgy]

Well, if people get this worked up over some concept art, let's just pray we don't get another Other M on our hands... Lara does not deserve that. Fuck, Sonic the Hedgehog doesn't deserve that!

 

[Ace of Spades]

I like the redesign, mostly because Lara Croft as she stands is a rather unlikable character. This suggests that they're at least trying to alter the character to suit the times.

 

[Something Amyss]

She's basically got the personality and attitude of a dominatrix, teasing you with her body, but with her entire attitude saying that you're not man enough to enjoy it. It's still a male fantasy, just a slightly deviant one.

Being a dominatrix is very strong, even though that power is an illusion put in your hands by those who willingly come to you.

It's an interesting look into the sort of self-deception people will operate under to find a hero.

 

[automatron]

This looks like the main character from the tomorrow when the war began movie.
I'll have to wait until the game to have an opinion really

 

[Netrigan]

She's basically got the personality and attitude of a dominatrix, teasing you with her body, but with her entire attitude saying that you're not man enough to enjoy it. It's still a male fantasy, just a slightly deviant one.

Being a dominatrix is very strong, even though that power is an illusion put in your hands by those who willingly come to you.

It's an interesting look into the sort of self-deception people will operate under to find a hero.

The whole thing is a bit of a tricky area. What is or isn't a strong female hero is something that almost no one can agree on. If legions of women think Bayonetta is an ideal to aspire to, then I wouldn't argue with it. She at least comes across as her own person... even if the whole thing is ridiculously sexualized.

But I don't think she's really had much of a social impact thus far. And what impact I've seen has mostly been men praising her for being a strong female character... which might say something about those men

Then again, Wonder Woman was born from one man's domination fantasies, hence all the bondage scenes in early Wonder Woman comics. But she inspired quite a number of women over the years, so good things can come from perverted fantasies.

 

[CK76]

So many of you may know my opinion on the new Lara Croft "design". Which for those still unaware, goes a little something like this......

My two thoughts.

1. Completely get why long time Lara fans might be put off by the change.
2. I am not a long time fan, I actually prefer this design (which is more attractive to me).

 

[Phlakes]

I like it, there's finally some human with the breasts.

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

Then again, Wonder Woman was born from one man's domination fantasies, hence all the bondage scenes in early Wonder Woman comics. But she inspired quite a number of women over the years, so good things can come from perverted fantasies.

There's a little bit more behind his motivations than that, but I won't deny they played a role in shaping her as a character to begin with.

That said, Wonder Woman and Bayonetta......thats a cross over comic just waiting to happen.

 

[Something Amyss]

She's basically got the personality and attitude of a dominatrix, teasing you with her body, but with her entire attitude saying that you're not man enough to enjoy it. It's still a male fantasy, just a slightly deviant one.

Being a dominatrix is very strong, even though that power is an illusion put in your hands by those who willingly come to you.

It's an interesting look into the sort of self-deception people will operate under to find a hero.

The whole thing is a bit of a tricky area. What is or isn't a strong female hero is something that almost no one can agree on. If legions of women think Bayonetta is an ideal to aspire to, then I wouldn't argue with it. She at least comes across as her own person... even if the whole thing is ridiculously sexualized.

But I don't think she's really had much of a social impact thus far. And what impact I've seen has mostly been men praising her for being a strong female character... which might say something about those men

Then again, Wonder Woman was born from one man's domination fantasies, hence all the bondage scenes in early Wonder Woman comics. But she inspired quite a number of women over the years, so good things can come from perverted fantasies.

Actually, from the writings on the subject I find little actual basis for the widely propagated notion that Wonder Woman was based on one man's "domination fantasies." Wonder Woman's creator had quite a history that I would consider at least somewhat feminist well before WW's debut, even if some of it does sort of read as a "Noble Savage" thing.

I'll agree that what defines "strong" is hard to nail down. Similarly, people have different ideas of what "feminist" is. Bayonetta strikes me as fairly ridiculous as both, however.

 

[Netrigan]

So many of you may know my opinion on the new Lara Croft "design". Which for those still unaware, goes a little something like this......

My two thoughts.

1. Completely get why long time Lara fans might be put off by the change.
2. I am not a long time fan, I actually prefer this design (which is more attractive to me).

If Lara can start wearing a belly shirt half-way through the series, then I think she can start wearing long pants.

Still think that teaser image is meant to shock people into re-evaluating the character. Clean her up and she wouldn't look completely out-of-place in that line-up of Lara's.

 

[Harrowdown]

I quite like the new look. I'm more interested to know what they're doing with the characters persona, though. I liked Lara as the witty, refined, terribly British woman. As long as her identity as a woman doesn't tie her to any cliche, i'm sure they'll do a good job.

EDIT: Didn't realise it was a prequel. Surely given that context, any complaint about her youth is silly.

 

[Burningsok]

She's a dirty girl... seriously, she needs to take shower... a hot, steamy...

ah what the hell lol

 

[Netrigan]

She's basically got the personality and attitude of a dominatrix, teasing you with her body, but with her entire attitude saying that you're not man enough to enjoy it. It's still a male fantasy, just a slightly deviant one.

Being a dominatrix is very strong, even though that power is an illusion put in your hands by those who willingly come to you.

It's an interesting look into the sort of self-deception people will operate under to find a hero.

The whole thing is a bit of a tricky area. What is or isn't a strong female hero is something that almost no one can agree on. If legions of women think Bayonetta is an ideal to aspire to, then I wouldn't argue with it. She at least comes across as her own person... even if the whole thing is ridiculously sexualized.

But I don't think she's really had much of a social impact thus far. And what impact I've seen has mostly been men praising her for being a strong female character... which might say something about those men

Then again, Wonder Woman was born from one man's domination fantasies, hence all the bondage scenes in early Wonder Woman comics. But she inspired quite a number of women over the years, so good things can come from perverted fantasies.

Actually, from the writings on the subject I find little actual basis for the widely propagated notion that Wonder Woman was based on one man's "domination fantasies." Wonder Woman's creator had quite a history that I would consider at least somewhat feminist well before WW's debut, even if some of it does sort of read as a "Noble Savage" thing.

I'll agree that what defines "strong" is hard to nail down. Similarly, people have different ideas of what "feminist" is. Bayonetta strikes me as fairly ridiculous as both, however.

William Moulton Marston lived with his wife and Olive Byrne in a polymorphic relationship. I've heard that Olive Byrne wore collars and wrist cuffs much like the ones featured in Wonder Woman on a regular basis.

http://geekscape.net/history-of-the-nerd-part-i-3-the-creator-of-wonder-woman-a-portrait-of-a-bondage-fetishist.html

And Marston was quite interested in notions of domination and submission, leading him to posited that there is a male notion of freedom that is inherently anarchic and violent, and an opposing female notion based on "Love Allure" that leads to an ideal state of submission to loving authority.

And just to steal a bit more from Wikipedia, he would also say "The only hope for peace is to teach people who are full of pep and unbound force to enjoy being bound ... Only when the control of self by others is more pleasant than the unbound assertion of self in human relationships can we hope for a stable, peaceful human society. ... Giving to others, being controlled by them, submitting to other people cannot possibly be enjoyable without a strong erotic element".

 

[Savagezion]

What really surprises me is how many people are saying that she has no feminine features or that she looks like a guy. The no breasts thing really throws me for a loop too... those are like c-cups [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6751443.stm], and there's really nothing wrong with that breast size.

I always though the stereotype that gamers were socially inept and were, for a lack of a better term, afraid of woman was wrong... but I guess it has some basis in the truth, because anybody who can't tell this drawing is of a woman (And an attractive, if dirty and rugged up, one too boot) obviously doesn't hang out with many real women.

Really surprising, dare I say shocking even. One can only hope they are using sarcasm to emphasis their point because they lack any real argument and that this isn't what they really think.

QFT. I think it is kind of like culture shock. The real argument here is "She doesn't look like a pornstar, booth babe, A-list actress." Instead, she looks like any regular chick who doesn't have make-up on. That's right, make-up is spoofing a lot of people in this thread. The Lara Croft from the past wears make-up on expeditions and after gun fight and lugging ridiculous boulders from place to place, never gets a scratch, make-up run/smear, or even so much as sweat or dirt on her.

 

[coalheartly]

EDIT: Didn't realise it was a prequel. Surely given that context, any complaint about her youth is silly.

Reboot, not prequel.

there is a difference.