Hi I am Karl Stewart, Global Brand Director for Tomb Raider with me is Noah Hughes, Creative Director for Tomb Raider........ask us anything :)

Thank you. Just, thank you.

You are very welcome

What were your personal reactions when the initial controversy started snowballing regarding the role of sexual assault in shaping Lara's character?

Having played the game, I thought it was a decent way to handle her first kill and solidified the player-character relationship. However, when the first marketing came out, I can see why people thought this scene might be even worse than in the trailers.

Also, here's a fanart I did for the game. Just wanted you guys to see :)

Thank you, i'm glad you enjoyed the game. It was very unfortunate that the situation went in the direction it did. our goal was to make the scene feel real, and for you to understand that Lara had been pushed to her limits and had to fight back. it took the focus off of a area of the game that we truly believed was right.

How do I submit my own question for Noah??? I have so much I need to ask him :)

How did you go about ensuring you pleased the old school Lara Croft fans while at the same time updating the look, the story, and how the game plays?

From day one we kept a focus on the original pillars of what made Tomb Raider the phenomenon it was back in 1996. We tried to ensure that even with a new vision, we stayed true to the pillars of Combat, Exploration and puzzle solving.

Why did you include multiplayer in the game? It feels sooo tacked on, while the main game was perfect on its own right.

Also, will we have campaign dlc? I don't care about mp.

We honestly believe that creating a multiplayer experience was and is the right thing to do. This is our very first attempt to create a MP experience and with that comes a lot of learning. We will continue to monitor and tweak the experience until we get it right.

At this time there are no plans for single player DLC

What can we expect for a DLC for Lara in a Single Player expansion?

There are currently no plans in place for any Single Player expansions. All of our DLC is based around the Multiplayer experience for now.

First and foremost, thanks for doing this AMA!

• Were you nervous that longtime fans of the series would be disappointed in a reboot of the Tomb Raider franchise?

• Was Square Enix quick to jump onboard this reboot?

• What has been your favorite part of working on/with Tomb Raider?

• Would either of you be interested in coming on my podcast to nerd out about video games?

Thanks again for the AMA and look forward to your responses!

Were you nervous that longtime fans of the series would be disappointed in a reboot of the Tomb Raider franchise? We were very nervous. The fans mean a lot to us as they've followed us through the highs and lows.

Was Square Enix quick to jump onboard this reboot? We had already begun the reboot back in the Eidos days, and when SE purchased Eidos, they loved the direction we were taking the game and fully supported our vision.

What has been your favorite part of working on/with Tomb Raider? The travelling and meeting all the fans around the world.

Would either of you be interested in coming on my podcast to nerd out about video games? Of course, we love podcasts. much easier to talk then type!!!!

Thank you for doing this!

Tomb Raider was a great game and you guys should be very proud of your work. The cover system of the game was revolutionary and has been receiving a ton of praise. Someone wouldn't typically associate a great cover system with a Tomb Raider game, so was there a moment in development when you realized you needed a more fluid cover system then what is currently seen in gaming?

The game is also very cinematic and the removal of any HUD while not in combat definitely adds to this. Did you go into the game with this planned? Or did you have an always active heads-up display initially designed for the game?

First off, thank you for the compliment on the cover system. We loved it from the first day we implemented it, and believed it was something that supported the style of game we were developing. With regards to the Hud, from day one we were big fans of letting the world and game speak for itself on screen, we want the player to become as immersed in our world as possible. Having constant distractions on the screen pulled you out of the experience to much so we never even went there.

Bought 3 copies of tomb raider, 1X Steam, 1X Gifted, 1X Xbox. Thank you for not following EA's/Ubisoft DRM hell! This game easily goes first at my top fav list of all time. Thank you for delivering one of the best gaming experiences imaginable!

Larger companies could learn a thing or two from you guys <3

Just some love from Califorina -Daniel L. Sabbagh

Even though there's no question here, I feel compelled to say thank you :)

Thanks for doing this AMA guys! The new Tomb Raider is amazing and definitely my favorite game of the year so far!

My question is this: What advice would you give a small indie dev team looking to create a good brand for a game and generate interest in it?

Do something different and make sure it's something you can own. Make it yours. Try to make sure that it's got your identity and uniqueness. If it's yours then you'll believe in it and you'll always talk about it with passion. Once you have a passion for something then any idea will take a life of it's own around you.

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I think your doing this proposal thing all wrong!!!! You know how it works right?

First of all, thank you for doing this AMA I'm a big fan of the Tomb Raider franchise! My questions is this - What is the criteria for choosing the actress to play Lara Croft?

WOW, that process was both awesome and tiring. Darrell, Noah and I watched hundreds of videos and whittled it down to a few who we thought would be the best candidates. Camilla rose to the top, and very quickly made the character her own.

Any interesting tales from within the office? Funny,Mystery ext.

There are tons and tons of interesting tales, probably far to many to list out here. One which always made us laugh was when we put Lara in a giant bunny outfit and we played through an entire level. It was hard to feel the emotion of the scene when you think it was Lara dresses up as a bunny.

Will you guys be a call-in guest on my weekly radio show about gaming?

Outside of that question, our show loved the game and just wanted to thank you and the team for doing pretty much the whole thing right. No escort missions, good checkpoint system, no part in the beginning where we're all powerful but then lose all our abilities and spend the whole game getting them back. Just....really good work you guys did here.

Of course we will. Send your request to [email protected]. she'll make sure we turn up :)

Out of curiosity, how did both of you get started out in the gaming industry?

I moved to the US 8 years ago after working in Music and Retail industry in Europe, and being a gamer since I can remember I landed in SF with the goal to follow a lifelong dream to work in the video game industry. Within a few weeks of arriving I took a job as a Graphic Design contractor for a six week period, then got hired as creative director, then onto marketing director for the US...... and the rest is history :) Still loving every minute of it.

Are you happy with the review scores you're getting from the gaming media?

I've really enjoyed the PC version myself despite some of the stability and performance issues on nvidia. Thanks!

I think a few scores were a little harsher then they needed to be, but everyone's entitled to their opinion. We've worked hard to make the best game possible, and were delighted with the response far.

I haven't played yet because I lack the awesome computer to play this game. However, a friend of mine has it and says there is a setting that only effects her hair. Just wondering why you were so specific with the setting. Thanks!

From day one we set out with a goal of making Lara's hair look as awesome as possible, as hair has always been a tough one to get right. We began working with our partners at AMD early on to develop some new tech and break some new ground. Together we created TressFX, which were very proud of. We added settings to ensure that you had the choice to push it as high as your PC would allow.

How long did Camilla Luddington stayed in character during the sessions for Tomb Raider?

Once Camilla walked into the volume each day she became Lara until we wrapped each night. It was easier for her to stay in character as we were asking so much of her in perfomance

Are there any plans to address the lag currently being experienced by players in multiplayer?

Were constantly looking at ways to improve the MP experience. As mentioned, this is our first attempt at MP and as such we always come across small glitches and issues which only ever raise their head when you get thousands of people playing online. Watch this space

Do you feel that there was too much combat in the new TR? Do you want to see future TR games having equal amounts of combat and exploration, or more of one over the other?

Our goal from day one was to ensure that we found the right game play balance. In the past the game relied heavily on puzzle solving and not so much on real exploration or combat, probably 60/30/10. For this game we wanted to ensure that by the time you finished the game you would step back and feel like we tackled each area evenly. I personally feel that we give the player the right amount of combat for the story and experience.

Hi,

My name is Tracie, i attended the BAFTA night in London back in Feb. i have oodles of thoughts and comments, spanning storyline, game play (my fears were realised) and general direction. I think i'm going to ask Rhianna some stuff re: character development, if i send the rest (probs including the stuff directed at Rhianna too) will you guys read it?

Of course we would. Send it [email protected]

As a newcomer to the Tomb Raider series who yet isn't unfamiliar with Lara Croft as a gaming icon, I think you guys have done a fantastic job in refreshing the franchise and the character while keeping her true to her iconic roots. Thank you, Crystal!

My question is: why does Lara's in-game model look so different from what is seen of her in promotional artwork and the Turning Point trailer? In particular, this picture that was tweeted depicts a Lara that in my eyes more closely resembles the in-game Lara, whom I perceive as young, innocent and plain, as compared to Lara in the trailer who more closely resembles spunky, busty Lara from the older games, at least in terms of facial features.

Personally I very much prefer Lara as seen in-game, and considering the direction in which were aiming to take this reboot I feel that you did a great job with her final new look :) But I'm just curious to know why there's such a noticeable difference in how she looks in-game as compared to other official media.

Thanks again for such a great game. Can't wait for the sequel! I know you guys are hard at work on one already :)

Every piece of promotional material, including the in-game Lara was built upon the final model we co-created with our sister studio Visualworks for the Turning Point trailer. Some of the differences may have been because of lighting or perspective. but they were all built using the same model.

Alright, first of all - thanks for this amazing game experience. It's been awesome! Now a juicy question to begin with: Were you guys (Or Crystal Dynamics as a studio) involved when the decision was made that TR will get a MP mode or was that decision made a bit "higher up" at Square Enix? Cheers! :D

The decision to do a multiplayer actually came from Crystal. We truly believe that it was and is the right decision to make. We looked to the future of where MP is heading and made the call to begin the process of setting the foundations. Everyone has to start somewhere and this is our first time.

With the Tomb Raider Reborn we see how Lara becomes the bad ass we know... So my Qeustions is: How will the Future games be based on? Or are u guy just going on with her adventures like the past games?

With ref to future games...........no spoilers here :)

With that said, the goal of this vision was to introduce you to a story of how Lara becomes an adventurer and a true Croft. Future games will be defined by who Lara has become as a result of who she is at the end of this experience.

Hello there! Can you tell us anything about the future of the reboot or perhaps any information regarding a sequel? Or is this stuff a secret? :p

No spoilers here :) your just going to have to wait and see.

hi love new tomb raider game but i wish there was more boos to fight ?

Whats a Boos????

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The development of the game has really been kept to a very tight group of internal studios. The entire game has been developed and built from the ground up on the Xbox platform at Crystal, Nixxes (a long time partner of the studio from way back in the Kain days) built the PS3 and PC versions based off of the code we developed at the studio, and then Eidos Montreal built the Multiplayer.