Former Tomb Raider director discusses highs and lows of Underworld

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Sep 2nd 2009 at 10:00PM }

Meant to conclude the trilogy that began with the franchise's crucial and critically well-received reboot, Tomb Raider: Underworld ended not only Lara Croft's search for her mystically misplaced mother, but Eric Lindstrom's stint as creative director at Crystal Dynamics. He's spoken out on some elements of Underworld's development before -- particularly with regards to its two DLC expansions -- but a postmortem published on Gamasutra features a complete account of his work on the game.

While Lindstrom points out many of the game's successes in terms of design and play mechanics, he admits that several unforeseen factors took a significant bite out of time that was initially set aside for polishing. Getting a shared technology base in place proved unexpectedly difficult, and "acts of god" seemed to target the team, tragically taking the life of the lead level designer during the first half of production.

Eidos may have expressed disappointment in Underworld's sales, but the now Square Enix-owned publisher is rumored to be at work on a new direction for the franchise, overseen by original Tomb Raider designer Toby Gard.

Tags: crystal-dynamics, eidos, erik-lindstrom, tomb-raider, tomb-raider-underworld

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Shadowbender (Sweatshop Supporter In Hiding) @ Sep 2nd 2009 10:03PM

Lara and Nathan should team up. Who's with me?

RobinEivets @ Sep 2nd 2009 10:10PM

And to save money, Nolan North can voice both Nathan and Lara!

Wiizer ($299) Having BC On Your Launch Console? (Priceless) @ Sep 2nd 2009 10:35PM

Lara's gotta clear her head, and get off to a fresh new start again.

It's not you, it's her.

-Jad- @ Sep 2nd 2009 10:09PM

Nice I guess... but I wonder... will be Lara a secret boss on Kingdom Hearts III now ala Sephiroth on both KH games?

[ArchiGamer] @ Sep 2nd 2009 10:25PM

Or a party member along with Spiderman or Iron Man.

-Jad- @ Sep 2nd 2009 11:03PM

or Captain America... double shield weilder along with Goofy XD

Nobledevil @ Sep 3rd 2009 12:01AM

I'll be damned if these aren't all good ideas that will never happen.

Seriously, though, Kingdom Hearts III needs more Square-Enix and Marvel, hella less Disney.

AJ Harper @ Sep 2nd 2009 10:13PM

How was this a conclusion to the Trilogy?! I thought this was the second game in the reboot. TR: Legend, TR:Underworld, and TR:???

Wiizer ($299) Having BC On Your Launch Console? (Priceless) @ Sep 2nd 2009 10:39PM

Guess they're counting the Anniversary remake...

I hated the story aspect of Underworld. The glitches made me cringe, but there was such a build-up in the storyline, I may have been able to overlook them.

Oh well, at least the ball's back in Toby Gard's court. If anything, the prequel will have some interesting new aspects to it... and hopefully, that won't mean attaching bigger balloons onto the front of her.

Snowblind @ Sep 3rd 2009 6:33AM

Anniversary was part of the trilogy, it basically ignored everything past the first Tomb Raider game and made Legend out to be TR2 and Underworld as TR3, even bringing back the best villian from the series :)

Shame Eidos rushed the game out so quickly, it was good, just needed a lot more work.

xGearSecondx @ Sep 2nd 2009 10:41PM

That pic looks like Micheal Jackson with boobs.

..R.I.P MJ

SpyderTaco (PSN: Ar4chNova89) @ Sep 2nd 2009 10:54PM

Michael Jackson died?!

WINterfang @ Sep 2nd 2009 11:18PM

That explain why I jumped a little bit when I saw the picture.

Nobledevil @ Sep 3rd 2009 12:02AM

It would also explain why I hid my young nephew in the closet all of a sudden...

Okay, Anthony, you can come out now, he's still dead!

Amery @ Sep 3rd 2009 4:41AM

Pretty much a smooth criminal lol.

Ark Angel @ Sep 2nd 2009 11:11PM

I personally loved Legend and Underworld.. I didn't really see any glitches in the game. and although I hated that Underworld was going to be the last I thought it was a great ending to the series. and tied up all the loose ends from Legend.

Old Professor Zertoss @ Sep 2nd 2009 11:13PM

I enjoyed Anniversary, Underworld and to a lesser extent, Legend. I hope the next Tomb Raider has more puzzle solving and maybe less QTEs. Also more exploration. The whole trilogy felt a little too linear to me.

I'm looking forward to see what they come up with.

WiredKnight @ Sep 3rd 2009 12:01AM

Wait, what!? Underworld didn't conclude *anything*.

Daffy Duck @ Sep 3rd 2009 1:58AM

Boooo!! Who are you trying to fool? Did that website all of a sudden just appear? I think not. ADS=gtfo

Daffy Duck @ Sep 3rd 2009 7:13AM

they deleted the comment and left mine lol

WiredKnight @ Sep 3rd 2009 3:07AM

You need to stop. Now.

SaMav @ Sep 3rd 2009 3:13AM

This is PS3 related. I don't know why it wasn't posted on Joystiq: http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/09/02/video-sony-confirms-its-bringing-home-3d-starting-in-2010/

Jrinswand @ Sep 3rd 2009 8:46AM

Words can't properly express my love for Gamasutra.

maskedrose @ Sep 3rd 2009 10:04AM

Jee... if anything... Underworld was a cliffhanger. Good thing that asshat is no longer in charge... because if he thinks this was a conclusive game.. uh. HELL. NO.

As someone who has played every game in the series - the reboot plot was a bit frustrating since well...

Lara was disowned by her parents because she refused a marriage and became an explorer...

Soooooooo.. yeah.

Still trying to figure out how her reboot mum became a zombie thing. Perhaps in the next game.

Chris @ Sep 3rd 2009 3:32PM

She ate some Etir. I thought the plot was a let down. Natla was rubbish. And what was with all those "secrets" in every corner?

Ninstation @ Sep 3rd 2009 11:51AM

Here's a thought: Maybe don't castrate and water-down the Wii version unnecessarily next time? Maybe it'll sell better.

Tomb Raider Anniversary was awesome. Underworld on the Wii? Not so much. Too bad, too... the game had so much potential and was good on the other platforms. They randomly decided to leave a lot of things out of the Wii version though without any logic or reason for it.

http://www.ninstation.com/