A scene from the Xbox One video game, Rise of the Tomb Raider.
A scene from the Xbox One video game, Rise of the Tomb Raider.
Camilla Luddington, the voice of Lara Croft, says gamers need more female heroes. The Tomb Raider star talks to Tess Nichol.
She's one of the few female characters still kicking butt in the male-dominated sphere of gaming.
But Camilla Luddington, who voices the latest incarnation of Lara Croft, says the iconic character is still evolving.
The British actress lent her voice to the 2013 reboot of the franchise and says the second instalment, Rise of the Tomb Raider, shows an even bolder side to Croft.
"Lara, as a character, has progressed. She's much more driven in a way we haven't seen before. She entered [the ancient Japanese country of] Yamatai in the last game as an inexperienced young woman and this completely changed her forever," she says.
Camilla Luddington, voice actress for main character in Xbox One game Rise of the Tomb Raider. Photo / Martina Tolot
"In this game you'll see she'll do anything to answer those questions she was left with after the island. This game really shows everyone, I feel, a much bolder Lara Croft.
"She's willing to risk everything and anything."
First released in 1996 on the PlayStation 1, Tomb Raider also took risks by giving gamers their first fully formed female protagonist. It became a massive hit, spawned two movies starring Angelina Jolie, and in 2006 the Guinness World Records recognised Lara Croft as the Most Successful Human Virtual Game Heroine.
Despite strong releases in the mid-2000s, the franchise was rebooted in 2013, with Luddington becoming the fifth actress to voice the archaeologist adventurer.
In the sequel, released this week, the game's opening moments sees Croft scaling the snowy peaks and sharp cliffs of a storm-ravaged mountain.
The game's lead designer Mike Brinker, from Crystal Dynamics, says those scenes are directly inspired by a famous Kiwi adventurer.
"If you look at the opening sequence of our game, Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary are our inspiration right there," says Brinker, who was a puzzle designer on Tomb Raider before being promoted for the sequel.
"That's one of the big things we started talking about: how is Lara going to be compared to all these other historical figures? What makes an adventurer an adventurer? Looking at history is one of the best ways of getting to who our character is."
Luddington says Rise is darker than its predecessor but that's what makes it "so interesting and challenging".
A scene from the video game Rise of the Tomb Raider.
"She learns the hard way how to survive and continue on and be brave. She's reached rock bottom and in this game she's haunted by that and even more determined."
Croft is still a solitary figure in a genre dominated by heroes like Uncharted's Nathan Drake and Halo's Master Chief.
Luddington hopes the continued success of the franchise will inspire "more Lara Crofts".
"I'm meeting so many young girls - who, by the way, want more characters like Lara Croft - and they are excited to play a female they can relate to. They relate to it in a way they don't relate to other characters."
Luddington admits she relates to Croft, not that she's ever hunted down a wolf in the snow like her character does in Rise.
"I grew up in a really small town in England so I think even just leaving my family and moving to New York City at a very young age by myself when I didn't know anyone, those experiences in themselves were bold for me.
A scene from the video game Rise of the Tomb Raider.
"Obviously not in terms of Lara Croft bold, but I think there was an element of feeling like I had to be a little bit fearless, leaving everything I knew at 19 to move to a new country and continent. And of course, I'm in an industry where you have to take a lot of risks so I think I have my own version of that [bravery]."
The strides gaming technology has made in the last two years can also be seen in Rise, says Luddington, creating a better gaming experience for fans.
"All of that technology in two years has improved so much. [For example] Lara's hair moves like it never has before, you can see almost every strand of hair."
Tomb Raider is released exclusively on Xbox, and Luddington is confident it will be a hit.
"I'm just really excited for the fans to get their hands on the game."
