Tomb Raider creator exits after nine months on unannounced project
Toby Gard, the creator of the Tomb Raider series, has unexpectedly departed from Crystal Dynamics.
The British-born developer, who had gained a strong reputation from his work on the early editions of Tomb Raider, recently announced he was "leading a design group for an unannounced project" at Californian studio Crystal Dynamics.
However, according to his latest LinkedIn profile, Gard has departed from that role after taking it on in January.
“Obviously it’s confidential what goes on at Crystal Dynamics,” Gard told Develop today, “but the situation is that I’m no longer working with them, and I’ve started up my own consultancy business.”
Gard did not confirm the situation surrounding his departure.
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When Crystal Dynamics developed Tomb Raider Legend, Gard was sworn in as a consultant. As the studio moved on to develop Tomb Raider Anniversary – a retrospective on Gard’s previous work – Gard shifted his role to Lead Designer.
With Crystal Dynamics’ third main Tomb Raider title, suffixed Underworld, Gard moved to serve as Cinematic Director.
Crystal Dynamics could not be contacted at the time of going to press.
Well at least he didn't write the script for Underworld. That job was either given to a six year old or a complete idiot.
Characters that didn't go anywhere, plotlines cut short for the sake of timing and generally just another clusterfuck.
Maybe when Toby gets a chance of complete creative control of a Tomb Raider, they might start being decent again.
But I wish him the best of luck on Galleon 2 :D
There is no Galleon 2 and frankly the first was complete flop anyway. Toby, whilst credited as the "creator" of Lara, is not anything special as his work on Tomb Raider: Legend-Tomb Raider: Underworld has showed us.
Maybe with him out of the picture Crystal Dynamics can focus on their full-franchise reboot.
Hasn't the Tomb Raider Series be 'out-Tomb Radered' by the likes of Uncharted?
I mean when a franchise gets to a point where its big sell is 'Now with added dirt!' then its time to do something drastic.
Uncharted showed us its not about big t*ts, its about a fun, well designed game with a great setting and narrative.
Tomb raider remains fundamentally unchanged since the first one - just more polys. I was trying to play underworld last night and after the 20th attempt to jump from one ledge to an obvious other ledge to my left, which the engine decided was a request to 'dive headfirst into the ground' and I though to myself 'I just don't have to play sh*t games anymore. I just don't. I'm a grown up'. If the biggest challenge in the game is the controls, then its crap.
Uncharted keeps all the good bits, bins the rest and has its own identity. I was amazed that Crystal Dynamics didn't at least try to rob something back but they seemed to prefer the USP of bad controls, half arsed storyline and flogging the skeletal carcass of that donkey one more time.
I've worked with Toby and he's a really talented bloke. And like a lot of talented people, he's creatively driven by his own vision. Maybe his vision didn't match with Crystal Dynamics, which, in this exec/non-creatively driven 'industry' isn't surprising is it? It should be remembered, however, that great games are created by great teams and not by a single individual. Get the creative mix right and you've got a surefire success. Like the first Tomb Raider...
Problem is that Crystal Dynamics ran into many development problems and whilst Uncharted and Tomb Raider have some similarities they are essentially focused on different things. True Tomb Raider could do with more polish and better narrative but I am not interested in a game that wants to play 'copy-cat/'catch-up' with Uncharted. The TR franchise has already confused itself trying to copy other games and the more it tries to carry on like that the worse the situation will get.
