Rhianna Pratchett

Things We Saw Today

Things We Saw Today: What Batman Characters Do On Their Day Off

by Rebecca Pahle | 5:00 pm, May 6th, 2013

“Day Off,” by Deviantartist botjira, via Screen Rant.

MGM Announces New Tomb Raider Film in Development

by Susana Polo | 10:56 am, March 28th, 2013

Rumors of a Tomb Raider movie inspired more by the current reboot of the series in video games rather than the two previous installments of the movie franchise have been swirling for a few months now. The putative film had even acquired a production company and producer, GK Films, whose pedigree is anything but marked by big budget blockbuster shlock, what with Traffic, Argo, The Departed, Gangs of New York, and The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys. But the project crossed an important line yesterday by partnering with a larger distribution studio. With the involvement of MGM, this is now a film that will probably get made.

Lara Croft Is Dead, Long Live Lara Croft: Reflections On Tomb Raider

by Becky Chambers | 12:27 pm, March 8th, 2013

On Tuesday, I sat in front of my computer, not playing the new Tomb Raider. I had preloaded the game on Steam days before. I was wearing comfy pants. I had prepared some snacks. I was alone in my apartment. Nothing was preventing me from clicking “Play.” Yet my attention was focused away from the screen, just a few inches from my keyboard. You see, on my desk, I have five small pieces of artwork, each featuring a game character that serves as a touchstone for my personal history. The second of these is Lara Croft.

Tomb Raider: A Chance to Make a Difference

by Susana Polo | 11:23 am, March 4th, 2013

I’ve had an up-and-down relationship with Lara over the years. I played the first game, in fact [my] dad did and spoilt the bit with the T-Rex but it was still awesome. Then I felt she’d become reduced to a pair of boobs, a pair of pistols and a hair plait.

She became bigger than the games and was over-sexualised. I’m fairly used to that in games but it gave the impression that ‘ladies, this isn’t for you’ and yet she was very popular with female gamers.

The chance to get my hands on her, so to speak, gave me the chance to make a difference. — Rhianna Pratchett, head writer on Tomb Raider.

The Tomb Raider franchise’s imminent reboot hasn’t had the smoothest of PR roads, what with letting its executive producer say some really unfortunate things about rape, victimhood, and how men connect with female characters, days before they were ready to announce and confirm that Tomb Raider (2013) was that rarity in the video games industry: a game about a woman, written by a woman. Pratchett herself has talked publicly about how problematic those statements were and how they’re not representative of her approach to Tomb Raider‘s story. Gamers can finally get their hands on the long awaited reboot tomorrow, and we should have a review for you at the end of this week.

Previously in Tomb Raider

Terry Pratchett to Leave Discworld in His Daughter’s Hands

by Susana Polo | 11:42 am, November 14th, 2012

Don’t panic, Discworld fans, to use the words of another British humorist. Terry Pratchett hasn’t given up the writing ghost yet, he’s just planning for the future. And those plans include his only child, Rhianna Pratchett, already a pretty accomplished writer in nerd spheres.

Ask Me Again In 2013: Thoughts on Tomb Raider and the Woman Writing It

by Becky Chambers | 12:27 pm, July 17th, 2012

If you get me talking about my early gaming years, you will learn very quickly that I love Tomb Raider. The original game was a favorite of mine back in middle school, and I was over the moon when the reboot was announced in 2010. When the rape scene controversy hit, several friends and acquaintances asked me for my two cents. I gave them all the following answer:

I don’t know. I haven’t played the game yet.

The controversy has had its back and forth between press, bloggers, and developer Crystal Dynamics, and one part of that back and forth was the reveal of Rhianna Pratchett as the game’s head writer, which many seem to interpret as either a panacea absolving the game of any poorly presented gender issues, or that her appointment as head writer was obviously primarily so it could be interpreted as a panacea absolving the game of poorly presented gender issues. I’m not fond of either of these reactions.