crystal dynamics
darrell gallagher, boss of tomb raider developer crystal dynamics, has quit the company .
veterans from the industry assemble for the avengers project... | official crystal dynamics blog
naughty dog, visceral, and sledgehammer veterans get recruited to crystal dynamics' avengers project .
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happy # chocolatefondueday! we' re always eager to participate in sugar - coated celebrations at crystal dynamics. urltoken
brian horton, who also worked on the 2013 reboot, has left crystal dynamics for a
new adventure .
crystal dynamics is reportedly working on a third new tomb raider game, and has considered a new legacy of kain .
internship availability at crystal dynamics and criteria will be listed as job postings on our careers website, if and when applicable .
the typical crystal dynamics designer salary is $ 65, 000. designer salaries at crystal dynamics can range from $ 57, 067 - $ 81, 280. this estimate is based upon 5 crystal dynamics designer salary report (s) provided by employees or estimated based upon statistical methods. when factoring in bonuses and additional compensation, a designer at crystal dynamics can expect to make an average total pay of $ 65, 000. see all designer salaries to learn how this stacks up in the market .
i’d like to work for crystal dynamics but i am not authorized to work in the united states. can i still apply ?
crystal dynamics' noah hughes looks at the character' s — and the industry' s — evolution over the past two decades .
crystal dynamics supports 10 national holidays throughout the calendar year. the holiday schedule is provided to employees towards the end of each calendar year .
how much do crystal dynamics employees make? glassdoor has salaries, wages, tips, bonuses, and hourly pay based upon employee reports and estimates .
# girlsbehindthegames i’m a writer at crystal dynamics and former proponent of all things lluna on minecraft story mode season 2. game dev ladies are the bomb !
crystal dynamics has discussed its new ip, saying it' ll be
fresh and familiar
and offer a similar experience to the new tomb raider game .
per company policy, please observe that crystal dynamics does not allow unsolicited visitors into the offices. similarly, applications are tracked electronically, so no phone calls please .
crystal dynamics veterans scot amos and ron rosenberg have replaced gallagher as co - studio heads, positions which the pair have been acting in for
a few months
already .
today at crystal dynamics, we’re proud to announce that we’re continuing to expand our award - winning studio by adding 15 top industry talent to our development team in january alone .
crystal dynamics believes in working hard and taking time off to recharge our batteries. to make sure our employees have that ability we have the following paid time off plan available to our employees .
today at crystal dynamics, we’re proud to announce that we’re continuing to expand our award - winning studio by adding 15 top industry talent to our development team in january alone. learn more :
crystal dynamics accepts applications from foreign nationals; however, certain eligibility criteria must be met to legally be considered for any fulltime position in the united states and employer sponsorship may not always be available .
we are proud that many incredible women empower our studio every day. crystal dynamics' legendary work would not be possible without the help of these fantastic ladies, and many more working behind the scenes !
crystal dynamics have been responsible for the development of tomb raider since tomb raider: legend onward, replacing original developers and creators core design, being in charge of both reboots, and all spin off games .
# happyinternationalwomensday! we are proud that many incredible women empower our studio every day. crystal dynamics' legendary work would not be possible without the help of these fantastic ladies, and many more working behind the scenes! urltoken
founded in 1992 crystal is an award winning, leading game studio located in the heart of san francisco’s bay area .
i’m a technical designer at crystal dynamics! i’ve worked on rdr, max payne 3, and the tomb raider franchise. next year i celebrate my 10th year in the game industry! i love my job as much as i did on day one. # girlsbehindthegames
crystal dynamics provides a flexible spending account (fsa) program that enables you to set aside money on a pre - tax basis to pay for health and day care costs. an fsa is the only benefit that saves you money on the cost of health and daycare expenses .
noah hughes, the franchise creative director for crystal dynamics — the developer of the tr games since 2003 — spoke with thr about what it was like to take over such a huge franchise, lara' s legacy, and how the character has changed over the last two decades .
veterans from naughty dog, visceral games, monolith, sledgehammer games, and more assemble for the avengers project development team today at crystal dynamics, we’re proud to announce that we’re continuing to expand our award - winning studio by adding 15 top industry talent to our development tea ...
this week fred and trees are talking about the tomb raider series and its busty protagonist lara croft that shadowed the video game as a pop culture icon in the late 1990s. we discuss development, creation, and production of both core and recent crystal dynamics’ vision for lara and her many adventures .
the following is a list of 3do games published by crystal dynamics in the centre for computing history collection. it is not an exhaustive list of and other games may have been published. if you have any games or software that you would like to donate to our collection, please view our donations page .
that’s the slogan of this multi - game partnership, based on square enix and marvel’s announcement. crystal dynamics and eidos montreal are leading development on the new series of the avengers games. those studios are best known for action - adventure franchises like tomb raider and thief, as well as the deus ex games .
it' s been a huge honor to be a part of the tomb raider franchise and the team at crystal dynamics ,
horton said in a statement .
i' ve met fans from all over the world, both in person and online, to share in our love for the franchise and lara croft .
square enix holdings co. , ltd. with headquarters in tokyo, japan, is a holding company leading the square enix group with a diverse range of content and service businesses. the square enix group publishes, distributes and licenses entertainment content around the world under its internationally renowned brands including square enix®, eidos® and taito®. crystal dynamics is a part of that global family and is located in redwood city, ca, about 20 miles south of san francisco. other studios in the square - enix family include eidos montreal and io interactive in copenhagen. for more information about crystal dynamics, visit here. for more information about square - enix, visit here .
rise of the tomb raider game director brian horton has left developer crystal dynamics, the studio announced on its tumblr page today. horton was the senior art director on 2013' s tomb raider reboot and moved into the director' s chair for the follow - up, which was released at the end of 2015 on xbox platforms .
rich has been in the industry for 15 years, and is now responsible for the brand identity of crystal dynamics and its projects. the best part of his job is talking to people about the games we develop. any spare time is spent late night gaming, watching movies, discovering new music, and reading the occasional book .
on tuesday 11 october, rise of the tomb raider finally launches on playstation 4. this you already know, since we recently flew out to crystal dynamics for a world - exclusive hands - on with lara’s playstation homecoming. one major thing we didn’t get to do during our time at the home of tomb raider, however, was tour the studio itself .
crystal is craftsmanship, transparency, and impact at its core. our passion is for great gaming; our mission is to tell a story through art, animation and innovation. we are crystal dynamics. “we embody our games. we choose games that push boundaries, we persevere, we believe in ourselves, we push ourselves. i think this is why we love working in the tomb raider universe. we embody lara. she is a fighter. she goes after what she believes in, and she never gives up, ” says chris hudson, director of operations. this is the studio at which you will make the games of your career. this is the studio dedicated not only to quality, but to making groundbreaking games that turn into lifetime memories. backed by a twenty year history of developing franchises like tomb raider, legacy of kain, and gex, crystal dynamics is a place for excellence .
scot’s been living his dream of making video games for the last 24 years. from six - man startups to global giants like electronic arts, scot’s worked on all major platforms and on many fan favorite franchises at visceral games, maxis, midway, accolade, sierra on - line, and is now proud to be a part of the tomb raider legacy at crystal dynamics since 2011 .
since he was 5 years old, chris (aka the “dancing destroyer” in gaming circles) has played and had a love affair with video games. mirrored with a passion for finance, eagerness to learn how things work and wanting to work with the best developers in the industry, he came to crystal dynamics where he seizes the opportunity to do everything he loves all day, everyday .
the original tomb raider was more than just a 32 bit title that launched a strong playstation franchise, it was a cultural phenomenon. for those that have ever played it, especially if you’ve recently gone back, it’s rather difficult to appreciate that game without the amazing strength of nostalgia. fortunately when crystal dynamics took over for the franchise with legend the company’s second project was to remake the original. as the following reviews will attest, it was a good faith effort to not only switch up the mechanics and polish the weaker points of the first game, but ultimately the need to keep many of the levels and designs intact tarnish the experience. crystal dynamics played it safe with how little it tweaked of the original formula and what resulted was a game that feels so updated and tight at some points and so sluggish and archaic at others .
life and ad & d insurance is a benefit that helps you plan for your family’s financial security. the benefit is equal to salary paid by crystal, and voluntary life insurance is also available for your dependents .
given a single word to describe noah, it’d have to be passion. for over 15 years, he has retained a passion for design that is just as consuming as the day he got his first shot at it and has made vast contributions to the gaming industry, most of which spent at crystal dynamics. he contributed to the reimagining of lara croft in the latest tomb raider reboot and continues to guide her trajectory as the studio’s creative franchise director .
here at crystal, we craft games that make an impact. crystal is the studio that will teach you, encourage you, and challenge you to be your very best. we want our team to succeed and we achieve this by working together. have an idea? go ahead and share! want to learn something new? let’s do it. with twenty years of history and over thirty games developed we know what we want: top talent who are dedicated to making amazing games .
tomb raider and its infamous heroin, lara croft, are a culture phenomenon. while ms. croft garnered more attention and mass appeal – both from a gaming and culture standpoint – in the uk rather than the us, it was nearly impossible to live in the late 90s and not know about tomb raider. with countless ports and even an anniversary face lift thanks to now series developer crystal dynamics, we delve into the original game once and for all. join special guest andy urquhart along with fred and jam as they discuss lara’s first adventure .
our plan offers both short and long term disability (std, ltd) coverages to allow employees protection against times when they may not be able to maintain a regular work schedule due to an illness or injury. crystal offers both pre and post tax options .
crystal dynamics has some of the best benefits in the gaming industry. we currently track in the top 96th percentile of benefits packages in the bay area, and have created an environment where employees can focus on work and play instead of doctor’s pay. in addition to our amazing personal benefits we offer a host of perks including free gym memberships for our full time employees, discounts on games, access to industry events and conferences, more celebrations than a joint birthday party on the 4th of july, and a generous pto program in addition to normally celebrated holidays .
for crystal’s career openings and for other information regarding studio culture, news, and benefits, please visit our career page. each square - enix studio has their own website and career page; for a list of other studios in the family, please visit urltoken .
so 2006, lara croft was at a nadir in her popularity. it had been three years since angel of darkness — the sixth game in the series, which was not well - received by fans. and cradle of life, the second and so - far final tomb raider film, also came out in' 03, and paramount blamed its poor performance on angel. but then legends comes out and enjoys a lot of critical acclaim. what is the impact that you guys at crystal dynamics felt from that game, the critical and consumer response to it ?
crystal dynamics inc (‘the company’), and parent company square - enix, is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to a program of affirmative action and diversity for our employees. though our logo is black and white, we welcome persons of all colors, patterns, prints and designs. the company seeks to employ the best qualified individuals and company policy prohibits unlawful discrimination based on race, color, creed, sex, religion, marital status, age, medical condition, sexual orientation, or any other consideration made unlawful by federal, state or local laws .
as sad as i am to leave the team at crystal, i' m excited to play their future games as a fan ,
he added .
thanks again for the years of support and feedback and i hope to stay in touch with you all online .
at crystal dynamics we believe in providing our employees with top notch additional benefits in addition to those benefits we have covered so far. pacific shores fitness center you have available a world - class, 38, 000 sq. ft. facility which offers: rock wall junior olympic pool and outdoor spa cardiovascular and strength - training equipment group exercise classes personal training available day spa you are eligible to use the fitness center immediately from date of hire and at no cost to the employee employee product purchase we don’t just create games; employees have the opportunity to purchase a game as offered by the management team .
we present a mesoscopic approach to granular crystal dynamics, which comprises a three - dimensional finite - element model and a one - dimensional regularized contact model. the approach investigates the role of vibrational - energy trapping effects in the dynamic behavior of one - dimensional chains of particles in contact (i. e. , granular crystals), under small to moderate impact velocities. the only inputs of the models are the geometry and the elastic material properties of the individual particles that form the system. we present detailed verification results and validate the model comparing its predictions with experimental data. this approach provides a physically sound, first - principles description of dissipative losses in granular systems .
gary’s passion for game development began in childhood. after writing a wireframe rasterizer at age twelve, gary branched into high performance software rendering, networking, stereoscopic graphics, animation, collision, physics simulation, player control, ai and audio. gary is responsible for ensuring that everything related to crystal’s tech and engineering department is robust, performant and cutting edge .
ron is a veteran of the game industry who brings more than 20 years of leadership experience to the studio. prior to joining crystal in 2008, ron worked at mad doc software, now known as rockstar new england. ron leverages the expertise he gained working with great publishers and developers from around the industry to help push the tomb raider franchise to new heights .
yeah, this is the first time, as far as i know, that crystal has created that as a consumer - facing product. for this third era, a lot of our strategy has evolved based on recognizing that we have a more immediate dialogue with our audience. and especially as it relates to the dlc content — which is in particular on display for the 20 - year celebration edition — one of the things we leverage in that context is both providing more story and more tomb - raiding. we have a survival - endurance mode, which, in the release a year ago was a single - player proposition. but then, bringing that to a two - player experience and saying ,
how do we both deliver this awesome, single - player narrative as well as this replayable, shared tomb - raiding experience .
so, we' re dabbling in the future of the franchise in a way that doesn' t necessarily tell the audience ,
this is the entirety of the next product ,
but saying ,
here' s a taste of what this experience means to this franchise. you tell us what you' re liking about it and what you' re not .
and i would say, with vr, it' s kind of that same model of saying ,
this is a really important platform going forward .
it was to continue that dialogue of saying ,
hey, if we could immerse you into a narrative - driven experience of exploring croft manor in a way that you really felt you were there ...
and, more importantly, delivering on some of our aesthetics that we really love, which is atmosphere and immersion and tension and pacing and things like that. we' re like ,
yes. this is a great overlap between the platform and the game .
and it may not be our final answer, but it' s an important step forward .
gallagher also served as square enix' s head of product development and western studios, responsible for overseeing all of the publisher' s output developed outside of japan .
this year square enix' s western division has published rise of the tomb raider, lara croft go, life is strange and just cause 3 .
but it will be gallagher' s service to the tomb raider franchise for which he is most noteworthy .
i want to thank him for his tremendous effort and contribution to square enix, along with the amazing entertainment he has helped create ,
square enix western ceo phil rogers wrote in a statement today .
last month saw rise of the tomb raider launch for xbox one and xbox 360 to generally positive reviews. pc and playstation 4 versions will follow next year .
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ex - god of war director cory barlog on another project. is it a soul reaver reboot ?
in a recent cd podcast, executive producer scot amos explained why the studio had embarked on the creation of a new ip now .
we have all these great ip, now is a great time, looking at what' s coming in the future, what' s coming up in the console space, what' s going to be happening next... let' s start now, with a blank page ,
he said .
we take that kind of bold step of, let' s make something new, something where we don' t already have a finger in that particular pool, and let' s try, from scratch, to make a new game with all of our abilities and skills. what would be a new great experience for our future ?
starting from scratch enables cd to attempt to create something
completely off - the - wall
, amos said .
working from a blank page, and literally saying, we can do anything, we can do something that' s completely off - the - wall and that nobody' s ever heard of, we can go make up mechanics and be completely innovative and inventive .
but, amos said, cd will have to temper this desire to innovate with a need to provide players with a somewhat familiar experience .
problem is, if you go too far away from what people are familiar with, one of the phrases we use a lot is' fresh and familiar'. where something is similar enough that, oh, i understand that, i' ve seen something like that. immediately, people can get bought into it and say, i kind of expect a certain type of experience. and then you put a couple of really unique twists on top. like, oh, i haven' t seen anybody combine these types of mechanics or this type of world with that type of system. and you start putting a little bit of that new, fresh face on top of something familiar, and you get people hooked .
so i think... trying to take what you know, build on top of that, and then take something that they don' t expect and just blow them away .
cd' s new ip remains a closely guarded secret. while we know the developer is hiring a team to build it, we do not yet know the intended launch platforms or what type of game it will be .
but amos suggested it' ll offer an experience similar to the new tomb raider game, due out early next year .
so we' re still very much in the early throes of creating both the team and this product ,
he said .
but certainly from a conceptual level, we' re on a path that we' re very happy with. we can' t go into details until we actually announce it .
if you look at what we just showed at e3 for tomb raider, you get a sense of the kind of experience and expertise that this company and this studio has. the kind of things that the talent, the tech, and the tools can do .
but if you look at what we just showed at e3 for tomb raider, you get a sense of the kind of experience and expertise that this company and this studio has. the kind of things that the talent, the tech, and the tools can do. being able to take that and leverage that into a future product, again, an original world, original script, all new content, all kinds of new mechanics... but taking that as a starting base gives us a huge advantage for making a new game. honestly, that' s as much as i can say right now .
meanwhile, amos confirmed that ex - god of war director cory barlog, who recently joined cd, is working on a separate project. is it the rumoured soul reaver reboot ?
wesley is eurogamer' s deputy editor. he likes news, interviews, and more news. he also likes street fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it .
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horton said he' s moving to southern california with his family to
start a new adventure ,
though he didn' t say anything further about whether or not he' ll stay the in the game industry. there are quite a few game developers in southern california, including naughty dog, riot games, infinity ward, and blizzard .
rise of the tomb raider launched in november 2015 for xbox one and xbox 360. the game comes to pc later this month and will debut on playstation 4 this coming holiday season. on xbox platforms, the game has sold
well over
1 million copies, according to microsoft .
the game' s new endurance mode was released at the end of 2015, while even more expansions are planned for later in 2016 .
rise of the tomb raider has been nominated for a total of nine awards, including game of the year, at the upcoming d. i. c. e. awards. the action - adventure game received more nominations than any other game in the field .
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urltoken
square enix and marvel entertainment have partnered to create multiple games based on the avengers franchise, the companies announced today. a debut teaser for the project can be seen above .
the teaser is short, but shows obvious hints of heroes like captain america and iron man. their mission, it seems, is to not just assemble — but reassemble .
there’s no release date yet for the avengers games from square enix and company, although fans should expect several titles to arrive over a period of multiple years. square enix will reveal more details about the project in 2018, the publisher said .
the next entry in marvel’s series of avengers films, infinity war, is due out on may 4, 2018 .
fallout 76’s todd howard: no cross - console play because ‘sony is not as helpful as everyone would like. ’
this article has a component height of 5. the sidebar size is short .
like eidos' worldwide studios combined with various european sales and marketing personnel from existing square enix and eidos lineages. current eidos ceo phil rogers has been selected to raise the baby branch, which replaces eidos as a publishing label, though the eidos brand will live on through its studios' credits. additionally, eidos' north american marketing, sales and distribution operations have been delegated to the territory' s square enix office, which is led by john yamamoto .
to square enix and the subsequent birth of square enix europe is the anticipation of an unknown number of layoffs .
unfortunately we are expecting some jobs to be impacted directly by this in both europe and north america ,
an eidos spokesperson
.
we are hoping to minimize this wherever possible and offer support and advice to any employees directly affected .
hidden code for a' visual search' feature hints at snap' s next move .
law enforcement may have a tough time cracking your phone with a usb device .
tapping into the same creative well as' minecraft' could be the key to long - term success .
our health care plans provide our employees with premier and comprehensive benefits with access to extensive, nationwide network of doctors and hospitals, with choices from anthem blue cross hmo, hsa, and ppo and kaiser permanente .
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blue view by anthem, our vision program, provides a cost - effective, comprehensive vision plan that includes eye exams and eyewear available through a broad range of eye care providers and locations .
the health care fsa reimburses out - of - pocket health care expenses for you and your dependents. you can elect to contribute a maximum of $ 2, 550 annually. (* 2015 amount )
the daycare fsa reimburses day care expenses for your child or elder care. the daycare fsa limit is established by the irs and has a calendar year limit of $ 5, 000 per household. (* 2015 amount )
the commuter fsa reimburses expenses related to commuting up to $ 130. 00 a month. (* 2015 amount )
our eap program through anthem is available to you and dependents at no cost, is 100% confidential, and is available 24 - 7. the plan offers information and access to trained professionals to help you with a wide range of life’s surprises (everything from relation and family concerns to stress and even financial or legal issues) .
our 401k retirement plan allows for employees to plan for their retirement utilizing our fidelity 401k retirement plan .
the company will match up to 50% of your contribution up to the first 10% of your contributions .
less than 2 years of service: 4 weeks or 6. 66 hours per payroll accrual
2 or more years of service: 5 weeks or 8. 33 hours per payroll accrual
yes, if you are interested in more than one opportunity and feel you are qualified, you may submit your resume, cover letter, portfolio and other relevant information for each position .
cover letters and resumes are required (single page each, if possible); please include updated contact information on all of your application materials. wherever possible, please also include any relevant portfolio links, samples, or demos with your application the first time you apply and please make sure all links work. * some positions will require special submission materials, including position specific samples. please review the entire position posting to ensure you are submitting all applicable materials .
i don’t have any experience working in the industry yet. do i qualify for a full - time, permanent position ?
we are open to hiring recent graduates and people coming from different disciplines into full - time positions; however, which positions and at what seniority level is largely dependent on the skill set, level of proficiency and other experience that you bring to the table. depending on our criteria and availability of positions, you may also be eligible for contract, internship or temporary positions .
applications may be sent through employee referral, but please also submit an application through the job posting you are interested in referencing your referral so that recruitment can properly track your application .
please send all staffing queries to info @ urltoken. no unsolicited phone calls or visits please. please also observe that we do not accept any unsolicited candidate information, resumes, or portfolios unless a contract and specific terms for the agency relationship are in place or you have written permission from a representative from the hr, legal or recruiting department .
we consider candidates both for the position they’ve applied for and for positions they may otherwise be qualified for, now or in the near future, so it is possible that the review process could take a few weeks; we will attempt to contact you as soon as we are able. unfortunately, we may not be able to get back to every single person who applies and we often put applications on hold for future consideration. rest assured, we do review every single applicant, regardless of position or disciple, that comes through the proper channels and we do accept updated applications and portfolios should you choose to reapply .
morgan has been in the game industry for nearly 2 decades. his passion for game playing and creation has led him through multiple disciplines including both design and production. he has had the pleasure to work in several major franchises including star wars, star trek, and of course tomb raider !
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we' re thrilled to announce that tomb raider has been inducted into the world video game hall of fame! the franchise has now sold more than 63 million units worldwide, making lara croft one of the most recognized and iconic figure in gaming. learn more
took out our entire company to see # tombraidermovie one of the things we are known most for is making the # tombraider game. i love them. @ crystaldynamics # gamedevelopment # gamedev urltoken
alicia vikander' s tour of @ crystaldynamics included a stop on our livestream, a selfie with the team, and checking out the community showcase including art from talented fans around the world. urltoken
# throwbackthursday: set in 2065, project snowblind featured a variety of gorgeous environmental designs incorporating iconic architecture from hong kong. urltoken
on the avengers project. can’t wait to show our fans what we’re cooking .
# throwbackthursday: in these early concept sketches, we get a good first look at what blood omen: legacy of kain would become. urltoken
what' s better than getting creative after a long day of work? add a glass of wine to the mix! some of our staffers recently participated in a
paint night
at a local winery. check out their picturesque work! urltoken
is our executive studio admin, who supports the team in a multitude of ways! she' s also a singer - songwriter and dj in her spare time. she hosts
sabrina signs diary
- a radio show with some of her favorite music as a podcast .
may the force be with you @ starwars. we' ve been fans for a long time. congratulations on the release of # thelastjedi! urltoken
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why? we have our suspicions... between external studio nixxes helping to port rise of the tomb raider and the fact that the main game was actually finished last year ahead of its release on other platforms, it’s fair to assume square enix didn’t want our eyes falling on images for the next tomb raider game, which must surely be well into production by now. sadly, the chance to peek at a potential sequel to rise of the tomb raider must wait for another day, but that didn’t stop us from sitting down with the man in charge of steering the studio’s vision for tomb raider, noah hughes, and asking what’s in store for the future ...
noah hughes: we tend to look backwards as a means of going forwards. i’m always very appreciative of the acclaim we get, but my hunger is for how do we do it better: how do we improve? so immediately i start hearing from fans what they like and don’t like. from my own sense, i get distance and decide what i like and don’t like. and really we just roll that into “how do we 1) take the next logical step on lara’s journey? and 2) perfect the formula of modern tomb raiding? ”
we do that in little and big steps. so a limited example: the ps4 edition’s extreme survivor difficulty. playing it all through, i realised that the original rottr checkpoints were conspiring against the hardest difficulty mode, [ stopping it ] from being as hard as we would have liked. we had a lot of elements that scaled nicely to difficulty, but as long as you could jump off a cliff and respawn where you were, there was still a sense of safety. so that’s a small example of me saying: “hey, i’d really like the time to make the perfect difficulty. ”
that may seem like a really trivial thing, but it gets back to perfecting the experience and recognising some ways in which i want the experience to be better for our hardcore fans .
opm: post - reboot, tomb raider has really focused on just one location at a time, but in the past, lara often visited multiple countries per game. will her globetrotting days, with various different levels, ever return ?
nh: so, the thing that i can say about that... (laughs) is that the commitment to game structure is more important to us than the commitment to one location. so we like players coming into a space and it feeling overwhelming and mysterious, and we like revisiting that space with player progression in a way that makes it feel different. we like the sense that you’re earning progression through the story from things like getting gear that unlocks new spaces .
those facets of game structure are more likely part of the post - reboot franchise, so for me it’s less about that one location. we didn’t answer that question with syria in rise of the tomb raider and the fans recognised that. that [ prologue level ] wasn’t integrated into the wider world structure. and as i said, i wouldn’t want to provide an answer that’s just a series of one - offs that you’re pushed out of, never to return to. that’s something i want to put behind us .
non - linearity is part of the dna of the post - reboot franchise, but the globetrotting aspect, however it appears across or within chapters, is part of the franchise. that doesn’t seem inherently incompatible .
opm: we guess the issue is simply that, mechanically, you could very easily have lara fast - travel back and forth between, say, egypt and peru every time she unlocks a new rope skill – you just need to justify it somehow in the context of the story .
nh: then that becomes an interesting question – how do you resolve these two facets of the franchise? it’s a compelling space to play in. whether i do it multiple times in a game or just one time in a game, discovering a variety of locations is part of the dna. it’s not the sexiest of terms, but i always say there is a “virtual tourism” component. getting to go to these exotic locations is part of the escapism .
nh: one thing we’re always looking for is a variety of locations: contrasts to the last place lara’s gone as well as previous places, so really it’s about trying to find a unique offering in this globetrotting, tomb raiding, larger franchise arc. we’re always asking: “hey, where can we go next that’s different? ”
specifically for rise of the tomb raider, we wanted an extremely hostile environment and a world that’s guarding its secrets. this idea that secrets are lost – and if they were easy to find they’d have been found a long time ago. part of the nature of a tomb raider is to have to penetrate these hostile wildernesses to find the secrets no - one else can .
opm: in the old games, croft manor was a big playground to test lara’s skills, but its return in the blood ties chapter is much slower paced and driven by narrative instead of action. did ps vr inform that design choice ?
nh: it was leaning heavily that way independent of vr conversations. a part of that came from the fact that the game already stood alone without tutorials, so we had less need to bake new tutorials into it. now there’s still an opportunity to have it as a place to test your skills, but one can make the case that when you’re running around the hubs there are lots of jungle gyms for clambering around .
so we recognised that [ the manor ] had more uniqueness as a component of her origin story than as a jungle gym, and took inspiration from some narrative - led games. it was hard to do everything, so we said if we’re going to do just one thing right, let’s have it fill this component of lara’s origin story this time, and then invite fans into that conversation and ask “what did you miss from the manor experience? ” and then we can continue to evolve it going forward .
opm: we’re already picturing a future where lara repairs the manor next time out and then continues to improve it and fill it with trinkets from tombs, similar to how we build up bases in assassin’s creed ...
nh: i can’t talk about that yet, but i don’t like doing things in a vacuum. one of the things we love about the co - op and the manor is to say: “hey, here’s something we’re excited about – you guys tell us how you feel about it and we can take that as part of the dialogue going forward. ”
we’ve called these [ extra modes ] “pixar shorts” in the past, but as a lean studio we have to do that; we’re not only actively making these big games we have to double down on, but we’re also anxious to innovate and to find the new things that do evolve the experience, whether it’s the manor or virtual reality or co - op in rise of the tomb raider .
opm: the zombies mode harks back to 1996’s tomb raider, where lara fought creatures rather than men with guns. will you be able to explore that aspect even more ahead, or are you bound to focus primarily on human enemies given how established the rebooted projectile - based combat systems are now ?
nh: part of it is just making sure we’re touching on a number of tomb raider facets: scary and creepy enemies in dark, lost corners. although zombies are sort of conventional now, we liked some of the things they brought from a gameplay standpoint, which allowed lara’s movement to be primary. rather than focusing on a cover shooting experience, it focuses on moving and creating space. so from a gameplay space it was a nice, different flavour. and it was an opportunity to make sure we’re not just always fighting human enemies .
it’s dangerous to get into future projects too much, but even in rise we try to celebrate the environment as being an enemy as much as possible. we really love the ranged combat, especially when you bring lara’s flavour to it – things such as the bow and resourcefulness and movement. i was very excited to get more of that in there but we never like it at the expense of the environment being an enemy; tombs as places where unknown enemies lurk. so we came into rise with the sense that we wanted more, and it’s not just the supernatural enemies but wildlife – wolves and bears and things – that are a big part of filling in that body count in the very first tomb raider. i came to rise knowing i wanted to balance that equation .
opm: on ps4, rottr is going to be releasing in a post - uncharted 4 world. what did you think of uncharted 4, and what does tomb raider offer that’s different ?
nh: we’re huge fans of naughty dog! we have lots of brothers and sisters in development who we’ve crossed paths with. we’ve got a very friendly... well, what many people perceive to be a rivalry of products, but what it really becomes is a respect for raising the bar in some of the aspects of action - adventure. as studios we both very much enjoy character - driven narratives and we really like giving players the feeling like they’re on this amazing, hollywood - style journey with all these set - piece moments. so i see a lot of similarities between the games .
but in drake’s case he’s treasure hunting, and in our case we really wanted it to be about these lost secrets. narratively that’s a very important difference for us. when we make lara’s story, it’s not so much about the ruins and the artefacts themselves, but what do they tell us about our past that may be lost? so those physical things are really just a means to an end that is about knowledge and power. for me, that’s a nice fictional distinction .
from a gameplay perspective, we really push our hubs and player - driven narrative experiences. i love playing uncharted, but one of the cool things about tomb raider is just getting lost in a hub. you may know where you’re supposed to go next, but sometimes the most fun thing may not be to go where you’re supposed to. it’s not something unique to tomb raider, but it’s a nice flavour we add.
crystal dynamics , inc. is an american video game developer that was founded in 1992 by judy lang , madeline canepa and dave morse . based in the san francisco bay area , it was acquired by eidos interactive in 1998 . after square enix 's acquisition of eidos in 2009 , it became a subsidiary of square enix . crystal dynamics was the first licensed developer for 3do . the company 's mascot was the video game character gex the gecko . 
crystal dynamics, inc. is an american video game developer that was founded in 1992 by judy lang, madeline canepa and dave morse. based in the san francisco bay area, it was acquired by eidos interactive in 1998. after square enix's acquisition of eidos in 2009, it became a subsidiary of square enix. crystal dynamics was the first licensed developer for 3do. the company's mascot was the video game character gex the gecko.
crystal dynamics, inc. is an american video game developer that was founded in 1992 by judy lang, madeline canepa and dave morse. based in the san francisco bay area, it was acquired by eidos interactive in 1998. after square enix's acquisition of eidos in 2009, it became a subsidiary of square enix. crystal dynamics was the first licensed developer for 3do. the company's mascot was the video game character gex the gecko.