It is famous worldwide for its archaeological forays, elegant acrobatics and art when beat a T-Rex to death. We speak of a British icon that has spent 20 years facing wolves, giant snakes and tops a little comfortable. Lara Croft is the most famous woman in the history of the game and, from the first Tomb Raider; his character has been the target of criticism and debate about its nature. As a tribute to his recently turned 20 years, we will review the different roles that had Lara, consciously or unconsciously, in our popular culture. Have you created such a school as indicated by their fame?

The pioneer

The first Tomb Raider from Core Design was a heats with more than 7.5 million copies sold. He was acclaimed for its unique range of exotic locales, intelligent puzzles, fluid controls and, uh, giant breasts. The star of the show was his enigmatic and athletic main character, which to the astonishment of many, was a woman.

Lara was not popular only in video games: it became a cultural icon. If there was a moment that marked his transition to general awareness, it was his appearance on the cover of the magazine The Face in June 1997. No mainstream magazine cover story had taken a character in the world of video games. He also shared space with another female culture banner of the moment: Gillian Anderson, Dana Scully X-Files

Tomb Raider triumphed deconstructing the industry standards. She demolished the figure of the damsel in distress expanding the range of female characters, although the rule that they must be objectified continues to sell this.

Heroes are traditionally male, with women stuck in a secondary role; and in this respect, Lara was news to the players. Wrote Nikki Douglas in 1999: “There was something refreshing to look at the screen and see myself as a woman. Even if he was making unrealistic missions, he still felt that was my behalf. In a game. How much have we expected to see this?” Continue reading “Twenty years of an icon named Lara Croft” →