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This E3 spent I had the chance to play a demo of Shadow of the Tomb Raider the third installment of the reboot series since its initial debut in 2013. In this last sequel, the The game moves to the legendary city of Paititi, mixing aspects of Maya and Inca cultures as a backdrop to Lara Croft's adventures in Peru. With the help of academics and historians, developers have blurred the line between the factual and the fictional, bypassing the plausibility to create a game that seems real, but without the weight and time to faithfully create an experience more authentic. This raises the question of whether cultural appropriation can occur in an imaginary scenario. If so, does the accuracy do more harm than good?
The tutorial section of Shadow of the Tomb Raider that I played began with a big warning with words that I did not see on a pre-demo screen , stating that the content of the game was created with the consultation and contribution of historians. The demo ends with a montage sequence that I find very interesting, culminating with a scene in which Lara, who has traveled to Peru in search of a Mayan relic, is facing his tomb for what appears to be the first time. The brief confrontation demands that Lara reconsider her pursuit of the Trinity paramilitary organization and reflect on her role and the impact of her actions in the ensuing conflict. As time went on, I was fascinated by the many years of Tomb Raider's existence and in all the games that he inspired, I've never seen their inherent bravery questioned. Perhaps with this game Eidos Montreal and Crystal Dynamics could try to dismantle the so-called epidemic-white savior trope in the power fantasies of a video game person.
After the demo, I was able to talk with Shadow of the Tomb Raider narrative director, Jason Dozois, who went into more detail about the historical consultations that preceded the preparation of the game and Lara's personal journey. He told me that by embarking on the next phase of his career, Lara was humiliated, despite his initial arrogance in the conflict that she created in Peru. "We are confronting him with the fact that if you do not prepare, if you do not know what you are doing, it can have disastrous consequences not only for you. It puts the world at risk for its lack of understanding or respect for what it is committed to, "Dozois said. "What we wanted her to learn through this story, is to realize that there is a human cost to these things." Archeology at first was all about owning and to get in and take it, bring it to a museum.At today, archeology is about preserving history, celebrating it, finding it and protecting it, so that things stay with people now.So it's kind of the trip that she's doing here, to realize that archeology is not bad, archeology is good, but it can be used – the attacks of graves can be possessive, oppressive, and the attacks of graves can also protect "
During the recovery of a Mayan dagger, Lara finds herself in Peru. Dozois and his team explored this logistical technicality with the help of historians.The goal was to create a realistic scenario, but not so And it was ingrained in the facts, that it was in contradiction with what the game wanted to do.
"We wanted it to be based on facts, but always on fiction," he said. "So we wanted it to feel as real as possible, but the myths we use, they're a mix of different things because we have time to tell the story, we want to tell an emotional story, this n & rsquo; Is not like "let's go in the time machine and see what it looked like in the past", it's a "and if" situation, so we consulted them about the plausibility of the people who come from Mexico to Peru – would it be plausible? Well, there is no evidence that has ever happened, but it was plausible.Then it is a question "and if ":" And if a group came down? And if they had this powerful artifact? How would they create a city to protect it? How would they do that? How would it happen, how would you feed these people? ? "So, all this was inspired by history, so the layout of Paititi, architecture and all different districts, this has been the biggest influence for us.
In the game, Lara tries to keep the dagger out of Trinity's hand, triggering the Mayan apocalypse. The irony, of course, is that whatever his intentions, it only makes things worse. In the scene that I witnessed during the demo, his mate Jonah finally confronts him for the effect his interference has had, telling him that it is not always about # 39; it. This is the key to Lara's bow during Shadow of the Tomb Raider . Dozois continues: "When you saw the scene on the roof, Jonah said marvelously:" It's not all about you, you do not know that you caused all that. "There is a lot of uncertainty with it … because it's been so responsive for so long, just trying to get to the next stage. is the difference between tactics and strategy, in strategy, you have a goal and you know what you are doing, [whereas] she is super tactical and she is so competent that she can be dangerous. It must learn the human impact. "
The human impact of archeology is precisely what I hope Shadow of the Tomb Raider at the both macro and micro level – not just in terms of Lara's impact in the game, but the social footprint of the entire series. While the game may try to dismantle Lara 's right, there is still a lot of possessiveness and exceeding of limits to decide which one to be, which according to Dozois, protects or preserves the history of Lara. a culture, especially one that is not to save first place. In the same way, the game takes cultures that are not its own, and how much it allows the cultures in question to participate (and enjoy) their stories is always in question. Did Mayan or Inca descendants participate in the writing of this story? What was their level of involvement, and did he stop giving tacit permission to fictionalize the subject of Tomb Raider in a "credible" way?
As a junkie in archeology since a young age, I can understand why the developers seem to expect that the authenticity of the game is appreciated. But I'm wondering about the fact that it always seems based on cultural curiosity and cultural voyeurism that many of us, especially the whites (19459003), are misinterpreted as appreciation or respect . Although there is undeniable thought in thinking of some historical logistics, at the same time, their use in violent entertainment that will be sold for a profit undermines that sincerity. It also seems to suggest that authenticity should be appreciated on its own merits, as if it relied on an arbitrary commitment to principles rather than its role in the visibility of a culture. It mixes virtual tourism with chair anthropology.
Looking back, I realize now that I may have misinterpreted the warning at the beginning of the E3 demo. While I thought their work with historians was out of sensitivity or respect, it seems that the motivation was more to ensure the plausibility of the premise of the game, which is different. While historical accuracy is a form of respect for other cultures, it is not the only factor in the decision to represent or speak for another on a larger platform. Part of the reason we insist is because doing otherwise would be a form of erasure. Mixing or mixing different cultural identities, actively identifying them and ensuring that their use benefits people of these identities does not help preserve the cultures that he claims to admire (a subject that I have treated a little last year in my review of the DLC for Horizon: Zero Dawn ).
The question of whether it is less regressive to fictionalize an existing culture, or simply to bring it into the open, lies in the way of affecting those who actually represent that culture, and they have been a sufficient part of the creative process. allowed to conduct the conversation. The Mayan and Incan cultures that Shadow of the Tomb Raider stand up can no longer exist, but their descendants do. If they do not benefit from the telling and reinvention of their own history by strangers, then, as for Lara's many excursions abroad for objects over which she has no legitimacy they will be treated as if they belonged to everyone. Lara Croft comes from a country known for its long history of imperialism, cultural flight and extreme violence. The British Museum is a monument to its colonialist past, so far refusing to return many of its stolen objects, from the Egyptian Rosette stone to the Greek marbles of Elgin. Since little progress has been made since the early days of early archeology, it is not only valid to ask questions about how we frame the acquisition of cultural heritage artifacts, but also to challenge the idea that our curiosity and desire as knowledge outweighs the need for authorization. When our sense of law is defined as being in the best interests of the people to whom we submit it, it refers to a time when a self-imposed authority to enforce "civilization" was used to justify the subjugation of the law. an important part of the world. . This is the kind of possessiveness that the game professes to challenge.
These were, of course, subjects that I could not fully address in the small window of time filled with pressure, but I hope to explore them further once the game comes out and I 'm not sure. have more information. What I find interesting, is how the game finally seems to challenge Lara's role in the ethics of cultural flight (I mean, it's true in the name, Tomb Raider) but does not can not question his own complicity. In general, given the history of British imperialism and its intersection with archeology, Lara Croft's profession is downright ugly. Even though she had to take the Indiana Jones route and donate all her results to a museum at the end of the day, it's not her choice to go. If the game responds to this, will they also criticize their own contributions to that? Does pointing to Lara point to pointing fingers? Through the events of Shadow of the Tomb Raider Lara triggers the entire Mayan apocalypse gosh dang and – as if she had not already done enough – still decides that she is still the only one can save the world. This insistent interference is in contradiction with the narrative objectives of the game directly stated. But then, I suppose if Lara really had to do things right, we would have no Tomb Raider series .
At the end of the interview, I asked Mr. Dozois if the premises of the game were the ones that arose from the team 's conversations with their outside consultants or if that was the case. was just something that they themselves had found. "It's a bit of both," he replied. "She was doing a lot of research, but she was just looking at the trajectory she had followed since the three games and trying to wrap up as satisfactorily as possible. The attitude and what she will learn in this game is an adult and mature way to see that. She will realize that she has put these things in danger, that she has a sense of responsibility to try to help and repair the problem that she has done. . I think she's learned that you should not play with things you do not understand. "
Do not play with things that do not belong to you and that you do not understand is usually a good policy.After all these years to plunder tombs, Lara Croft will learn his lesson.But as for Eidos Montreal … are they going?
Holly Green is an associate editor of Paste Games and a reporter and semi-professional photographer in Seattle, WA She is also the author of Fry Scores: an unofficial guide to the game You can find his work at Gamasutra, Polygon, Unwinnable, and other video game publications.
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