Tomb Raider

3D Game Comparison - Game vs. game. No hype; just facts.™

engine

• collision detection: mostly 2D, Lara slides down vertically angled slopes
• lighting: static, white
• physics: Lara, NPCs, Thor's hammer, sand
• shadows: polygonal, ovalular, horizontal, flat (2D)
  • size: width/length adjustment
    • Lara: dynamic
    • NPCs/darts: static
• texture
  • filtering: bilinear
  • palette: 8-bit
  • tile resolution: 64x64
• transparency: full (masks)
  • sprites: blood squirts, fire, water splashes
• camera: underwater distortion

atmospheric/environmental effects

• dust: shooting darts
• shooting lava
• particle effects: shooting lava

character

• footsteps: land, water
• # polygons: 380
• textures/skin: normal, grey tanktop
• view: 3rd-person
  • pan: static (locked behind character) & dynamic (keyboard-controlled)
  • zoom: slightly when panning
• water tinting

non-player characters

• alligators/crocodiles, bats, bears, cats (cougars, lions, panthers), centaurs, demons, dinosaurs (Tyrannosaurus Rexes, Velocoraptors), gorillas, humans, mummies, rats, wolves
• AI: attack immediately

environment

design

• # levels: 15
• cutscenes: 4
• FMVs: 10
• level editor: Room Editor
• linear level progression
• locations: Atlantis, Egypt, Greece (St. Francis' Folly), Peru (Qualopec)
• outdoor terrain/landscaping: gridlike

damage

• arrows (shooting), blades (floor, rolling, vertically swinging), boulders (rolling), darts (shooting), doors (split-shutting), falling, fire, floors (crumbling, falling-anchored), lava, lightning bolts, Midas' golden hand (crushing), swords (falling), spikes (ceiling, floor, wall), Thor's hammer

puzzles

• find keys/items, gears, ordered levers/switches, pressure-sensitive floors, timed doors/levers

interaction

• buttons, levers/switches
• collapsable scenery
• pick up: ammo, artifacts, keys, weapons
• pull: levers, switches, stone/wood blocks/crates
• push: pullable objects

weapons

• guns: Colt pistols, Magnums, shotgun, Uzis

inventory

• design: passport, rings
  • store and use
• objects: artifacts, bars (gold, lead), cogs, compass, flares, keys, weapons/ammo
• pickups: sprites

other

• sound: stereo