Tomb Raider Creator On Galleon Delays

Thanks to C+VG for their interview with Toby Gard, original creator of Lara Croft, as he talks about his horrendously-delayed console action title, Galleon. This title, which was started after his company Confounding Factor was formed in April 1997, and was at one point in development for the Dreamcast, is now due on the Xbox, with GameCube and probably PS2 versions to follow - Gard says of development: "It's just been incredibly difficult. It's taken enormous will power for us to keep going; it's been a huge struggle for a long time. Our biggest problem is that we're too small... There's less than ten people here now, and that's just crazy." He also comments briefly on the latest Tomb Raider title: "I don't know about that - you've played it, haven't you? It crashed after ten minutes when I played it, which is a bit of a shame really."

Comments

Let's all pile on!

[jvmatthe]

With respect to Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness (TR:AoD) he complains that it wasn't finished, and I think that's a fair criticism, but doesn't tell the whole story. What I don't find fair is all the complaining about the controls and bugs and design that have made up most of the press for TR:AoD. I recently finished it (and reviewed it) and I think people have found it fashionable to yammer on about how much the new game sucks. I think that is has some really good qualities that most people miss.

First, the controls: they're not awful, they're just different. After the first couple of levels, I never thought about the controls because I knew how to do what I wanted. Essentially, they became transparent.

Next, the bugs are there, let there be no doubt. However, the only persistent bug is the slowdown (something that can be fixed on the PC, while the PS2 users, like me, have to suffer a tiny bit) and it's a minor annoyance. The main gameplay bugs are all in the first third of the game. I did not see a single gameplay bug after that point.

Also, the design is a fair bit better than TR2 and TR3, but not nearly as good as TR1. (Those are the only ones I've played. The heartbreak of TR2 and TR3 made me give up...until TR:AoD.) Because it was pushed out the door early, I believe that some parts of later levels were left out, which is a real shame since they were very promising.

Finally, the bit that most people won't get because they give up too early is the story and the characters. This is actually supposed to be the first part of a multigame story arc. (SPOILERS IN THE FOLLOWING LINK!!!!) This page puts it all in context, and having finished TR:AoD, I can appreciate what they were trying to do. Additionally, the new character, Kurtis, was worth adding to the series. Now there is another persistent character in the world and Lara's not quite sure what to make of him, and neither are we. Throw in the twist at the end of TR:AoD and I feel it's one of the more coherent attempts at a sustained storyline in recent videogames.

I'm sure I'm in the minority. Most people hate the game. I fully expect to be flamed and modded down for my view. :^)

To get back to Galleon, I'm curious to see how it turns out, but most of my interest waned before the turn of the century. ;^)

Control issues

[silentbobdp]

First, the controls: they're not awful, they're just different. After the first couple of levels, I never thought about the controls because I knew how to do what I wanted. Essentially, they became transparent.

Bullshit. The TR series controls have always been right up there with Resident Evil when it comes to cumbersomeness. Just because you "get used to it" does not make the controls good. There should be no learning curve when you're controlling a character in an action game. Core still doesn't understand that Lara should fucking JUMP WHEN THE BUTTON IS PRESSED, NO MATTER HOW REALISTIC IT IS TO SHOW HER PREPARING FOR THE LEAP! It's ridiculous choices like that that ruin the game's control, and always have.

And every bad review I've read does point out that there are good things about the game. Just not enough to make it worth playing.