Toby Gard
Co-creator of Lara Croft, iconic video game heroine.
Jon Jordan · via Wikipedia: Toby Gard · CC BY 2.0
Toby Gard (born 8 June 1972) is an English video game designer and consultant. He is best known as the co-creator of Lara Croft, the protagonist of the Tomb Raider franchise, and has worked on multiple entries in the series as well as independent projects.
Gard was born in Chelmsford, Essex, England. He started in video games in 1994 at Core Design, working on *BC Racers*. From late 1994, he was part of the team that designed and developed the original *Tomb Raider* and its character, Lara Croft. His tasks included building and animating most characters (including Lara), animating in-game cutscenes, storyboarding full-motion videos, and managing level designers. Core gave Gard creative control but wanted to market Lara’s sex appeal, even asking him to add a nude code, which he refused. Gard described his vision for Lara as a cool, collected heroine, not a "Page 3 girl." He left Core in 1997 after the company offered him only a Nintendo 64 port or work on *Tomb Raider II*, neither of which appealed to him. He had been headhunted by Interplay and Shiny Entertainment but declined their offers. That year, he co-founded Confounding Factor with Paul Douglas, a *Tomb Raider* colleague. The studio announced *Galleon*, which had a long development and was released in 2004 on Xbox.
After Confounding Factor closed, Eidos rehired Gard to work with Crystal Dynamics on a *Tomb Raider* reboot starting with *Tomb Raider: Legend*. Initially a creative consultant, his role became hands-on, including Lara’s visual redesign, overseeing character design, co-writing the story, designing parts of the movement system, and directing cinematics. For *Tomb Raider: Anniversary*, a reimagining of the original, he served as story consultant and contributed to the audio commentary. On *Tomb Raider: Underworld*, he co-wrote the story, directed cinematics, handled voice and motion capture direction, and directed the European TV advert. He and Eric Lindstrom were nominated for a Writers Guild of America award for Best Writing in a Video Game for *Underworld*.
From 2010 to 2012, Gard worked on a webcomic called *Otherworld*. From 2012 to 2014, he was game director for *Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z* at Spark Unlimited. In 2014, he founded Tangentlemen, directing the PlayStation VR title *Here They Lie*. Since 2019, he has owned Cathuria Games, working on the indie game *Dream Cycle*.
Quick Facts
- Birth Date
- 1972-06-08
- Birth Place
- Chelmsford, Essex, England
- Occupation
- Video game designer · writer
- Years Active
- 1994–present
- Notable Works
- Tomb Raider series
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Toby Gard was born on 8 June 1972 in Chelmsford, Essex, England. He began his career in videogames in 1994 when he was hired by Core Design to work on BC Racers. From late 1994 he was part of the team who designed and developed the original Tomb Raider video game along with the character Lara Croft. His work included building and animating most of the game's characters, animating in-game cutscenes, storyboarding the FMVs, and managing level designers. Core gave Gard creative control, though they wanted to market Lara's sex appeal and asked him to implement a nude code, which he refused. His vision for Lara was 'a female character who was a heroine, you know, cool, collected, in control.'
Gard left Core Design in 1997 after being given the choice of making a Tomb Raider port for the Nintendo 64 or working on Tomb Raider II, neither of which appealed to him. He formed Confounding Factor with co-developer Paul Douglas, releasing Galleon in 2004 on Xbox. After that studio closed, Gard was re-hired by Eidos to work with Crystal Dynamics on a reboot of the franchise, beginning with Tomb Raider: Legend. His roles included Lara's visual redesign, co-writing the story, and directing cinematics. He later contributed to Tomb Raider: Anniversary as a story consultant and to Tomb Raider: Underworld as co-writer and director, earning a Writers Guild of America nomination for Best Writing. From 2010 to 2012 he worked on a webcomic called Otherworld. In 2014 he founded Tangentlemen, directing PlayStation VR title Here They Lie. Since 2019 he has owned Cathuria Games, working on indie game Dream Cycle.
Reader's Guide
Toby Gard's significance lies in his role as co-creator of Lara Croft, a character who became a global icon and was awarded a Guinness World Record as the 'most successful human video game heroine.' His insistence on portraying Lara as a cool, collected heroine rather than a sexualized figure shaped the character's early identity. Gard's departure from Core Design after the first Tomb Raider highlighted tensions between creative vision and commercial pressures in the game industry. His later return to the franchise for the reboot trilogy helped modernize Lara for a new generation while preserving core elements. Beyond Tomb Raider, Gard founded multiple studios and worked on diverse projects including a webcomic, a PlayStation VR title, and an indie game, demonstrating versatility. His career reflects the challenges of maintaining creative control in a blockbuster-driven medium.
Did You Know?
- Toby Gard refused Core Design's request to implement a nude code into the original Tomb Raider.
- He was headhunted by Interplay and Shiny Entertainment after leaving Core Design but did not take their offers.
- Gard and Eric Lindstrom received a Writers Guild of America nomination for Best Writing for Tomb Raider: Underworld.
- His favorite games in 2000 included Ultima Underworld, EverQuest, and Super Mario 64.
More in Characters & Allies
Elsewhere in Tomb Raider
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