Former Core Design Staff reminisce about Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness’ development
To celebrate Tomb Raider’s 25th Anniversary, Square Enix is dedicating each month this year to a different entry in the series, with July dubbed Angel of Darkness month. Renowned Tomb Raider podcast Raidercast has teamed up with Tomb Raider community manager Meagan Marie to interview several former Core Design employees about the original Lara’s final, and most controversial, adventure. The Angel of Darkness was the sixth entry in the main series, and the last Tomb Raider title developed by Core Design.
The hour-long interview showcases loads of renders, animations, and gameplay concepts that were cut from the game’s notoriously large scope (and hastily cut development time). Developers Richard Morton, Murti Schofield, and Jerr O’Carroll, along with composer Peter Connelly, reminisce about the game from its conceptual stage (Which would have featured Lara begin the game trapped in a jail cell, breaking free only to discover she is prisoner on a remote island, and hunted by rich lunatics. Where have I heard that one before?) through to its ambitious development, exploring all of the content and mechanics which eventually had to be removed.
The cut chapter in Turkey is explored in detail, as are Kurtis Trent’s superhuman abilities which never came to fruition in-game. The developers also speak about their frustrations with Sony, having received a PlayStation 2 development kit that far exceeded the actual specs of the final hardware (Morton claims the kit they were working with was actually closer to the PlayStation 3).
Other fun revelations (pardon the pun) from the interview include when Morton explained how they didn’t know how to end Tomb Raider IV: The Last Revelation, prompting him to table the idea of killing Lara to Core Design lead Jeremy Heath-Smith (Heath-Smith responded by telling Morton to get out of his office).
Connelly also reveals a bit about his creative process for composing music, and how he ended up using the Tomb Raider IV theme as a basis for the fully orchestrated Angel of Darkness soundtrack.
For those interested in more Angel of Darkness history and lore, you can visit Schofield’s recently launched website to explore the various concepts and art he had for the broader Angel of Darkness trilogy. Furthermore, Schofield states he is working on a story to bridge the gap between Tomb Raider IV and The Angel of Darkness (thus nullifying the official novels, The Amulet of Power, The Lost Cult, and The Man of Bronze).
Have you been celebrating Tomb Raider’s 25th anniversary? What’s your favorite title in the series? To follow the celebrations or contribute your fan work, visit the Tomb Raider social media feeds. And for those interested in seeing how Tomb Raider IV ends, you can snag a brand new copy for the SEGA Dreamcast from PixelHeart.
