If you liked my demo deconstruction of the brand swanking new Tomb Raider, then you will love my exclusive interview with the games creative director, Noah Hoges. This creative genius has been working on the Tomb Raider franchise for the past ten years and definitely knows a bit in the PhysX department.
I was fortunate enough to land an interview with him to ask him all the stuff I wasn’t supposed to ask, so that he wouldn’t have to say that he could answer the questions I was asking… but it’s me, so I did anyway. Hit the jump!
Lazygamer: Hi Noah, thanks for taking the time to sit down with me today. So to get our South African readers up to speed, tell them a bit about yourself and your background in the gaming industry.
Hoges: Sure, my name is Noah Hoges and I am the creative director on the new Tomb Raider game from Square Enix and I have been working on the franchise for the past 10 years.
Lazygamer: Great, let’s get down to the questions. First off, I am sure all our readers want to know is the voice of the new younger Lara Keeley Hawes?
Hoges: I can say that it isn’t Keeley Hawes, but what I can tell you is that while we have yet to reveal the actress, the one heard in the trailers and demo is the final voice.
Lazygamer: What platforms can we expect to see Tomb Raider on?
Hoges: We have confirmed Tomb Raider for PS3, Xbox360 and PC coming out in the fall of 2012.
Lazygamer: After sitting in on the demo, it is clear that you have spent a lot of time getting Lara to look as realistic as possible. Will the rest of the world be as detailed as Lara?
Hoges: Yes, we try and put as much effort into the each aspect of the game and this includes the environments.
Lazygamer: A lot of people at the E3’s have been wondering why the game allows water and blood to splash onto the camera following Lara?
Hoges: It goes with our goal to really deliver a sense of being with Lara in the world she inhabits. We believe that through camera performance and what people are familiar with when they share an experience with a character like that comes alive when the camera interacts with that character.
Lazygamer: An impressive factor of the demo was how Lara dies. I have never seen that in a video game, especially with a female character. I don’t think people are used to that and it is going to be interesting how they will receive it.
Last Updated: June 8, 2011
