Ever wanted to see some of the earliest possible footage of Lara Croft’s first adventure? Here you go.
It’s a video of a pre-alpha build from Lara’s first outing. It was uploaded a few days ago to the YouTube account of the now-defunct fan site Planet Lara, which dedicated itself to every medium that the intrepid archaeologist-adventurer touched.
According to the video description, the footage shows some features and additions that were later removed from the full release in 1996 for various reasons.
The animation for jumping vertically, for instance, was changed into a full-body leap in the alpha into a more traditional jump that was probably easier to render. Lara’s hair braid didn’t make it into the full game either: it was instead tied back at the end, although the braid made a return for Tomb Raider 2’s release in 1997.
If you’d like to compare and contrast with how the animations, styling and visuals have changed, here’s a walkthrough of Tomb Raider’s second level. Notice the hair, jumping and particularly the difference in the camera.
I wish they’d left the bear as-is though. It’s kinda cute as-is.
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