Tomb Raider Forums  

Go Back   Tomb Raider Forums > Tomb Raider Series > Tomb Raider

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 30-06-12, 12:40   #1
Spong
Beyond The Floating Islands
 
Spong's Avatar
 
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 45,256
Default Karl Stewart: Don't blame us, it was all Rosenberg's fault...

Hopefully this will be the last word on the so-called 'rape controversy'. I'm sick to death of hearing about it to be honest...

Quote:
Crystal Dynamics: Controversial Tomb Raider scene is "close physical intimidation," not rape


Crystal Dynamics has continued to backpedal away from comments made by executive producer Ron Rosenberg that Lara would be the victim of attempted rape in the forthcoming Tomb Raider reboot and players would want to "protect" her.

In response to Rosenberg's quote, Crystal Dynamics global brand director Karl Stewart stated, "He said something which is certainly a word that is not in our vocabulary and not in our communication," in an interview with Kotaku.

Stewart distanced the comment from the game by claiming it was just his colleague's opinion. "He did say it... It's his personal opinion and certainly... like I said, it's not something that we communicate."

Instead, Stewart referred to the scene in question - where a filthy bandit rubs Lara's thigh menacingly - as a "pathological situation" and "close physical intimidation."

He admitted that this scene wouldn't have happened if the protagonist had been male, but denied that that inherently made it sexual assault. "By giving her motivation to become the stronger action-adventure hero and the girl that's willing to fight to stay alive and move forward throughout the game, we use that device and that intimidation to make her stronger. To make her feel empowered and to take her beyond that breaking point where she realises the severity of the situation and she's willing to fight to stay alive."

A PR rep shut down this line of questioning and stated, "Nothing sexual occurred. Violence occurred as a result of that. I just don't think you're going to get any further than what you're getting out of Karl."

Stewart also claimed Rosenberg's quotes about protecting Lara was the result of how the game had tested with focus groups, rather than telling players how to feel.

"We are not building a game where we're basically saying 'Hey... our goal is to have the player protect Lara.' That's your choice in playing the game. How you interpret it is your choice. What Ron is saying... that's the results from fairly significant amounts of play-testers."

Earlier this month Crystal Dynamnics head Darrell Gallagher claimed that "Sexual assault of any kind is categorically not a theme that we cover in this game" in response to Rosenberg's comments.

"We take great care and pride in our work and are focused on creating a release that will deliver meaningful storytelling, drama, and exciting gameplay. We're sorry this has not been better explained, we'll certainly be more careful with what is said in future." And by careful, he means awkwardly tongue-tied.

The scene in question is featured below- make up your own mind.


From Eurogamer
So Karl says Ron's "wanting to protect her" comment came from focus group testing? How convenient is that? A focus group is something no one outside Crystal/SquEnix has access to information from, the people who took part certainly can't verify or deny it because they'll have no doubt signed NDAs.

Also, this comment from Karl...

Quote:
"We are not building a game where we're basically saying 'Hey... our goal is to have the player protect Lara.' That's your choice in playing the game.
It's my choice is it? You're not forcing it on us? Hmmm...so what happens if I choose to do nothing during that infamous cutscene/QTE (or any QTE for that matter)? Will I still be able to go on and finish the game having screwed it up? Me thinks not

Last edited by Spong; 30-06-12 at 12:42.
Spong is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-06-12, 12:45   #2
Avalon SARL
Member
 
Avalon SARL's Avatar
 
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 5,639
Default

^ Who even told ya that this particular scene is playable; it may be a cutscene by itself
Avalon SARL is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 30-06-12, 12:46   #3
lcroft_lc
Member
 
lcroft_lc's Avatar
 
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 15,557
Default

So true. Ban Rosenburg from CrystalD. Fire him.
lcroft_lc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-06-12, 12:46   #4
Zebra
Member
 
Zebra's Avatar
 
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 26,911
Default

The Kotaku articles concerning this were complete bull****, anyway. I hate that Crystal are tip-toeing around this the way they are. They should just say "Yes, this is a scene with a sexual undertone but it is something that only appears once in the game and it makes sense in the context of the story."
Zebra is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-06-12, 12:47   #5
ajrich17901
Member
 
ajrich17901's Avatar
 
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,726
Default

How is this still an issue, people love making something out of nothing. Pretty sure we've all seen worse in other games yet TR is the one that gets the highlight, I'm gonna laugh if it backfires and just gives the game some much needed promo even if for the wrong reasons. Honestly when you think of it from a PR stance it does sound like they wanted this to get the TR name out there even if for the wrong reasons, gotta sell the game somehow.

Last edited by ajrich17901; 30-06-12 at 12:50.
ajrich17901 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-06-12, 12:47   #6
domina
Member
 
domina's Avatar
 
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 3,862
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Avalon SARL View Post
^ Who even told ya that this particular scene is playable; it may be a cutscene by itself
It's playable as a QTE.
domina is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-06-12, 12:53   #7
Shark_Blade
Member
 
Shark_Blade's Avatar
 
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 36,597
Default

It's true then. Karl has no dick.
Shark_Blade is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-06-12, 12:56   #8
Spong
Beyond The Floating Islands
 
Spong's Avatar
 
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 45,256
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Avalon SARL View Post
^ Who even told ya that this particular scene is playable; it may be a cutscene by itself
As Domina said (and she's played the demo herself or at least seen someone play it in front of her), that scene is a QTE. There's also been footage of that scene where the on-screen button prompts are visible.
Spong is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-06-12, 12:56   #9
LENGuin
Member
 
LENGuin's Avatar
 
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 489
Default

I just love how Lara knees the guy in the balls, it just screams Classic Lara....except in AOD when she allowed herself to get felt up haha
LENGuin is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 30-06-12, 12:57   #10
Zebra
Member
 
Zebra's Avatar
 
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 26,911
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by LENGuin View Post
I just love how Lara knees the guy in the balls, it just screams Classic Lara....except in AOD when she allowed herself to get felt up haha
Who wouldn't let Kurtis feel them up ?
Zebra is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT. The time now is 11:47.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Tomb Raider Forums is not owned or operated by CDE Entertainment Ltd.
Lara Croft and Tomb Raider are trademarks of CDE Entertainment Ltd.