User blog:JAlbor/GDC 2013: Creating Emotion in the Systems of Tomb Raider

The 2013 Game Developers Conference in coming to a close, but before it does, Wikia visited a fascinating talk by Johnathan Hamel, Senior Systems Designer at Crystal Dynamics on Tomb Raider. Check out the talk highlights below to see how Hamel and the team shaped the world of Tomb Raider to build a new and compelling Lara Croft.

Creating Emotion
From the beginning, Hamel explains, the goal for the latest Tomb Raider was to maintain "emotional synchronization," the alignment of game narrative and game mechanics to maintain an emotionally compelling experience. Hamel and the team knew they were building a "survival action" game on three pillars: "desperate combat, traversal and exploration, and a smart and resourceful Lara."

To accomplish the Herculean task of reimagining a new Lara, the developers at Crystal Dynamics sought to meld some of Lara's emotional state with the player's emotional state as they traversed the world. This combination of "theme and meaning" drove much of the team's design decisions throughout the process.

Fluid Cover System
Initially, Tomb Raider had no cover mechanic at all. Heavily inspired by the Resident Evil franchise, Crystal Dynamics sought to make a game that pit ranged attacks (Lara) vs. melee assailants (enemies). However, this approach undermined their core tenant of making the game feel like a "survival" experience. It made players "feel detached," Hamel explains.

As a result, ranged attackers were added to the game, forcing them to implement a cover system for both Lara and the island inhabitants. The team also initially tested tactical cover systems, like those found in Gears of War, but finally settled on a fluid cover system in which Lara's movements took precedence.

Creating Melee
Similar to the game's cover system, Hamel and the team had not planned to give Lara a melee ability. The decision to include non-ranged combat fell out of several factors. Primarily, they knew the game should not have infinite ammo, as it would undermine the sense of survival and desperation. Also, during play tests, the vast majority of players really wanted to use Lara's axe as a melee device.

With the addition of melee, Hamel explains, the team had to adapt Lara's movements and abilities. In particular, the Scramble maneuver, which Lara implements to dodge attacks and get behind opponents, offers both an incredible way for players to move about the field and a unique animation that expresses Lara's desperation as she moves about the environment. Interesting, the scramble also gives Lara a relatively large window of invulnerability, subtly incentivizing its use in combat and encouraging players to see context-specific attack options.

Designing the Skill Trees
The decision to implement skills and upgrades also proved difficult for Hamel and the team. The ability for Lara to upgrade her own abilities is revolutionary for the franchise. To find a good fit for the new Lara, the team mapped out the amount of skills and options in other games and settled on a comfortable range for Lara.

At first, Lara had too many skills. For example, the team had to cut an early ability called "Death from Above" that allowed Lara to drop on enemies from ledges and bash their skulls in with the climbing axe. It created what Hamel calls an "emotional desync" as players do insane murder techniques in one scene and then immediately watch a cut scene that depicts Lara as threatened, vulnerable, and emotionally distraught.

Scrap and Collectibles
It was important to the team, Hamel explains, to ensure the game systems resonated with the narrative of the world. The ability for players to upgrade their weapons with scrap, for example, is essentially an in-game store. Yet the idea that Lara must put together these items herself create a narrative that highlights Lara's survival skills while also incentivizing exploration.

Hamel and the team took the same approach to collectibles. While there are lots of hidden things to find in the game, from Relics to Diary Entries, they wanted to give meaning to each. Many of these minor and optional features of the game illuminate some aspect of the story. Although they are theoretically the most "game-like" aspect of the series, they also provide some of the more interesting narrative turns in the story.

As Hamel puts it, it was paramount to maintain an "emotional synchronization" throughout the entire design system. From movement, to fast travel, to weapons upgrades, every piece of Tomb Raider was built to support a narrative that took both players and Lara on an unforgettable journey.