Is Lara Croft an empowering feminist icon or a digital sex object?
KE – Tricky one. I first played as Lara when I was 18, and I thought she was great. I’ve heard various stories (from people who were there) about the meetings discussing the size of her breasts. We’ve also all seen the PR screen shots that have been released over the years which show her naked (like a pin-up) without any relation to her role in the games. Whether or not titillation was involved in the creation or marketing of Lara, the fact remains, she’s a very adept and capable woman. She’s empowered. She’s not feminist. She is digital. And she is definitely sexy. She gets my vote. MZ – What is to be gained from a more diverse game development community? KE – Masses. The more varied the market and therefore the more varied the games. The golden age of gaming, which many people refer to as the 80s, saw such creativity, diversity and freshness in the games that were developed. We’re currently in the age of the sequel and the copy cat game. Don’t get me wrong, every so often something i
