Crystal Dynamics doesn’t want Lara to be just a “sex symbol”

Crystal Dynamics feels that it’s created something very intimate and personal with the upcoming Tomb Raider, and especially so for the leading lady, Lara Croft, who the developers feel should be more than just a “sex symbol”.

“We want to dial down the sexiness, the depiction of Lara as a sex symbol,” gameplay director Daniel Bilson told IB Times after talking about some of the characters in the game. “We wanted to focus more on the internal part of our character. Imagine the old Lara, with the sunglasses and the shorts and the tight top breaking down and starting crying – it doesn’t work”

“We wanted to make something more intimate,” he continued. “If we gave her a relationship with a guy outside of this father figure relationship we would be de-focusing. The game is about Lara growing herself and finding out who she is. There’s a line where Roth says “you can do it, you’re a Croft” and Lara says “I don’t know if I’m that kind of Croft.” She doesn’t know who she is yet.”

Tomb Raider releases on March 5 for the PS3 and Xbox 360. Stay tuned for more info.