July 28, 2014

Core Design's Andy Sandham Talks Tomb Raider

Andy Sandham
Andy Sandham, formerly of Core Design, now teaches game design at NHTV in The Netherlands
It's been more than a decade since The Angel of Darkness, Core Design's last Tomb Raider game, was released. Even so, fans of the classic games are still sifting through the historical record for clues about the evolution of the series.

Recently my friend Ash Kapriélov had the opportunity to interview Andy Sandham, who was part of the Tomb Raider dev team from TR2 through Chronicles. Check out their Q&A on Ash's Tumblr blog.

Croft House
Croft House, located next door to the old Core Design building, may or may not have been influential.


UPDATE - 7/29: In a follow-up post, also on Ash's Blog, Andy provided several previously unseen pieces of TR 3-5 concept art, including this gem. Did you know Lara could swim 72 blocks before drowning? ;)

Tomb Raider 3 concept art
Tomb Raider 3 concept art courtesy of Andy Sandham. Click to enlarge. More sketches here.

Ash has also interviewed other former Core Design team members. Check out his blog for classic Tomb Raider info.

July 23, 2014

December 9 Release Date Set for Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris

Yesterday Crystal Dynamics announced that Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, the sequel to the acclaimed arcade adventure Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, will be released December 9, just in time for the holidays.

Executive Producer Scott Amos has been previewing the game for journalists since it was announced at E3 last month. He sat down with IGN's Greg Miller, Naomi Kyle, and Daemon Hatfield to try out the 4-player co-op mode, which you can see in the video below.

The game will be available for Windows PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. According to Amos, both online and local co-op for 2, 3, or 4 players will be included at launch. Guardian of Light players may recall that game originally released with only the single-player mode; co-op was added in a later patch.

Check out the preview below, then visit IGN for more info.

July 22, 2014

Archaeology of Tomb Raider Interview

Me in July 2014
I recently completed a fun Q&A with one of my favorite blogs, The Archaeology of Tomb Raider. I hope you'll have a look. If you agree or disagree with any of the points I made, please leave a comment on their site. While you're at it, be sure to check out the rest of the fan interviews and the other fascinating articles about the locations, artifacts, and ancient cultures featured in the Tomb Raider games and movies.

So, tell us a little about yourself.

I'm Stella and I live in upstate New York, about 100 miles north of New York City. I'm in my 40's and married, with a soon-to-be 21-year-old son. I run several walkthrough sites. You may be familiar with Stella's Tomb Raider Site, though I also have guides for LEGO Indiana Jones and Space Colony. I'm addicted to social media in its myriad forms, and I struggle against my couch-potato nature every blessed day.

When and how did you learn about the Tomb Raider series?

If you follow my site, you've probably heard this story before. Shortly after the original game was released, a friend of my husband's gave him a copy....