When I play a game, I prefer to play as a woman, wherever possible. When it comes to triple A titles, that option is comparatively rare to the indie industry, which is doing more and more to recognise female gamers with the inclusion of fleshed out female characters and avatars.
I eagerly followed Tomb Raider‘s development, beyond hopeful that this game would be the one to smash through the glass ceiling and finally prove to the industry at large that games with female leads can – and will – sell just as well as those without. I was not disappointed. The game sold 2.56 million units across all platforms, and brought in a plethora of awards.
Then there was the more personal impact of Lara’s story on me. I’ll be honest, I was a little worried about what the writers were going to do to forge her into the Lara Croft of the films, more so after the trailer incident where it looked like one of her trials would be recovering from sexual assault. Thankfully, that was misinterpreted. Instead, I followed her on a brutal, terrifying journey across the isle of Yamatai, where the dangers came from every angle – including within. I found myself cheering Lara on, encouraging her to rise beyond the crippling self-doubt that assailed her more than once on her deadly journey.
The motion capture used in this game was simply incredible and Lara’s expressions had me in tears more than once. Seeing the weariness and pain on her face as she forced herself to take just a few more steps, to keep going to save her friend – it hit home.
This was not just a triple A title with a female lead tacked on for an experiment in marketing. There was a complex, engaging story at work and the characterisation took my breath away. I felt Lara’s struggle, every action she took rang as authentic, and she inspired me to be a better person. My younger sister, a gamer herself, watched me play, and she wants to be as strong as Lara when she grows up. We need more strong female role models, and I’m proud for my sister to latch onto this incarnation of Lara. I certainly did.
