When we set up Tomb of Ash a few years ago, we strove to make it a different, unique and exceptional website; a website that would deliver original content and not rely on official news posts.

Last year we created a number of incredible projects, such as providing our English and Russian speaking audiences with up-to-date media and news from E3 and other events.

You can read about our projects from last year in the End of Year report 2015. Truly, 2015 was very productive for us and we knew that it would be hard to top that year. 

From the beginning of 2016 we started producing unique projects, such as our Baba Yaga video, that was nominated for the Royal Television Society Award. Our ultimate pride however is our efforts to create the largest 20th Anniversary Celebrations for the fans, which we did with PLAY Expo.

We also tried to re-unite our divided community with our upcoming 20th Anniversary Video Project and we thank everyone who joined us on that journey.

Lastly, from mid-October until the end of November we had a number of Super Tomb Raider weeks, during which we would post exclusive Tomb Raider related content DAILY.

Core Design, Natalie Cook, Tomb Raider fans  and 2/3 of Tomb of Ash team at PLAY Expo. Photo by the Big Issue North

Below is the full list of our accomplishments this year.

We thank every single one of our readers for their help and support. We really can’t thank you all enough for helping us weather the negativity of the last year. We are still not certain about our future as an “official fansite” outlet but we definitely won’t be quitting, even if we do go “rogue”, as we feel we owe that to our readers and friends who have stuck with us through uncertain times. We also would like to thank every single contributor to our website, be you anonymous or not. Your submissions are greatly appreciated by us and Tomb Raider fans worldwide. Lastly, thank you to those of our readers who’s generous donations allowed us to upgrade some of our photo equipment.

~Ash, Terenete, April and Tatiana 

EVENTS

• PLAY Expo – we were co-organisers, coordinators and stage directors for the Tomb Raider celebrations at the expo
• 20 Years of Tomb Raider at the QUAD 
  
• MCM Comic Con Manchester
  
• Chester Comic Con
  
• Reboot Infogamer
  
• Gamescom
• insomnia 59
• Tomb Raider LIVE in Concert

ARTICLES

• A Guide To The Real Locations In Tomb Raider 3
  
• Exploring Aldwych – The Real Location In Tomb Raider 3
  

• Easter Eggs In The Angel Of Darkness

INTERVIEWS

As usual, a number of exclusive interviews were conducted throughout the year

• Judith Gibbins
• Natalie Cook
• Jill de Jong
• Nathan McCree
• Murti Schofield
• Richard Morton
• A number of ex-Core Design team members were interviewed in our PLAY Expo video recap

VIDEOS

We were super busy with creating visual content, such as our Baba Yaga project (below). However, we felt it was important to cover all of the major “TR20″ events this year so we released a number of recap videos for those who could not attend.

PLAY Expo recap

• Tomb Raider 20th Anniversary Panel at PLAY Expo
• Nathan McCree at PLAY Expo
• Lara’s Diary – Baba Yaga
• Core Design Panel at the QUAD, Derby
• Murti Schofield – Writing Games (Chester Comic Con 2016)

IMAGES

We released NUMEROUS  unseen screenshots and renders, notably from

• Tomb Raider the 10th Anniversary Edition
  

• Tomb Raider the Angel of Darkness
  

• Classic Tomb Raider Series

We also released some fan-art, such as

• 3D renders
  
• LED Art

OTHER TOMB RAIDER 20 CONTENT

• 20th Anniversary Project
• Croft Confessions
• PLAY Expo Guestbook
• Natalie Cook – Raider (single)

PRESS AND PUBLICATIONS

Our website and our projects made it into online and print-based media!

• Retro Gamer titled Ash Kaprielov, the creator of Tomb Ash, as “Lara’s Biggest Fan” and wrote a feature about him in their huge TR20 article.
• The Big Issue North
• Liverpool Screen School
• The Arcade 
• Cherrylight (Russia)

Awards

We were overwhelmed to learn that our Baba Yaga video is nominated for a Royal Television Society award. The Royal Television Society is a British educational charity for the discussion and analysis of television in all its forms. It is the oldest television society in the world! We thank everyone who helped us with this project, including those who translated it to multiple languages <3

The post Tomb of Ash – End of  Year Report appeared first on Tomb of Ash.

Here’s my Master’s dissertation on Let’s Play. It will also be interesting for those who want to learn more about fan-produced content, active audience and fan motivation. Could actually update it in light of recent events…maybe one day

Abstract 

For this study, I conducted qualitative research to explore and identify key aspects of Let’s Play production and consumption. This involved interviewing three individuals who had been involved in Let’s Play production for a long time. All of the informants came from very diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, and produced very different types of Let’s Play videos. As a result, this research provided an insight into Let’s Players’ motivations, selfrepresentation, and methods of video production. Based on these interviewees’ responses, we can infer that Let’s Play videos contribute to a contemporary need-fulfilment related to both socialisation and entertainment. This need, however, comes not only from the audience but also from the Let’s Player themselves. The research investigated how Let’s Play communities and producers contribute to the contemporary videogame industry, and how the phenomenon is used by videogame producers to market their products. The research also explored ethical issues, censorship, and harassment. Ultimately, the research aimed to provide a foundation for further academic research in the field.

The post An Analysis of the New Media Phenomena known as “Let’s Play”. The Evolution of Production and its Effect on Consumption appeared first on Tomb of Ash.

Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/gladygamer and YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/GLaDyGamer 

Stroopwafels,
finding a Bacon-Lara cosplayer, and silly faces on Snapchat!

Huh? Are you trying to
tell me that has almost nothing to do with Tomb Raider? Oh, you’re actually
wrong, because this article is about the post-Gamescom “Tomb Raider Community
Dinner 2016”, hosted by Meagan Marie, community manager at Crystal Dynamics. 

It’s been almost two
months, since I attended the dinner and it left a huge mark on my heart. I got
invited by Mrs. Marie herself and I couldn’t be more satisfied. The event was set
to take place on 21^st of August, in Cologne’s fancy restaurant,
called “XII APOSTEL”. I was excited, but nervous. Why? Well, let me explain:
I’m quite a shy person, when it comes to meeting new people. Loads of questions
filled my mind. “Will they think, that I’m too weird?” was one of those. One
week before the dinner took place, I finished my Tomb Raider Anniversary Natla
cosplay. It looked neat and I thought: “Hey, you could go to Cologne as Natla!”
And eventually, I did.

My best friend
accompanied me, because I needed someone to take care of my wheelchair. When we
arrived at the restaurant, I recognised many familiar faces. I met many fellow raiders
at last year’s Gamescom and seeing them again made me happy. All my fears were
long gone at that point. I also met new people, like Nathan McCree, composer of
Tomb Raider I/II/III, and Lady Crossader, the second cosplay ambassador, who
worked together with Lena-Lara (a well-known German cosplayer) for the first
time. Everyone was amazingly friendly and absolutely crazy (in a positive way,
of course).

Before I could start
talking, I was squished by many hugs. That was the moment when I realised that
our Tomb Raider community is actually a huge family, where you don’t have to
know everyone in person in order to feel comfortable. You can’t get along with
all the people you cross paths with, but that’s how it goes. Many recognised me
as the evil and immortal queen of Atlantis, which was a wonderful thing. I
joked around with a few Laras, trying to mimic Natla’s attitude. We all had a
good laugh, I take that for granted. After ten minutes, we were allowed to get
inside the restaurant, where Meagan and her colleagues were waiting for us at
two huge table sets. She and Mrs. Barbara Winterfeldt, who works at Square Enix
Germany, were delighted to see me and everyone else again. I got to talk with
almost everyone, including Nathan McCree, Lena-Lara and Lady Crossader, as well
as Meagan and Barbara.

Lara (Marilena/Lady
Crossader) and Natla meet again~

Goofing around with
Barbara, Nathan, and Meagan!

We had to introduce
ourselves as well, which was quite a fun thing to do. Tomb Raider lovers from
all around the world where with us, such as people from Israel, America,
Croatia, and the Netherlands for example – not just Germans. We had dinner
afterwards. The waiters came to us with two kinds of pizza. As a matter of
fact, one of them was vegan. Meanwhile, I took pictures with fellow cosplayers
and other raiders.

Natla and her gang:
Petra as Lara (left), Nathalie (top-left), Nora as Sam (top- right), Lena-Lara
as Lara (right)

A wild Nathalie
appeared!

Here we have Zuzka as
the Doppelgänger from Tomb Raider Underworld and her friend Andrej

Sharing your passion
for something with others is just fantastic and it helps you to find new
friends. Even my best friend enjoyed this special evening, which is a rare
thing. The fact that we even had a chance to meet many people who normally live
far away still blows my mind. As I said before, we’re a huge family full of
lovely, crazy, and brilliant members. You can’t come together all the time,
which is quite obvious, but when you do it’s always fun: Talking about weird
stuff, like who’s going to cosplay Bacon-Lara, sending Snapchat pictures of
yourself to other members of the community, or being “The Tomb Raider
Stroopwafel Troop”, because Nathan posted a picture of himself eating
stroopwafels after dinner, is actually normal. And thanks to Facebook and
groups on WhatsApp you can stay in contact after such a huge and wonderful
event. I seriously can’t wait for another meet-up. Maybe we’re going to see new
faces? The Tomb Raider family will never stop growing.

This evening was an
unforgettable one and will always be one of the greatest days of my life!

Thanks to Jan
Beinersdorf from WikiRaider.com for the high-quality group picture and Meagan for
this wonderful event.

Written by: Fabienne
S.

The post [Guestpost] Gamescom Community Dinner appeared first on Tomb of Ash.

Tomb Raider Community Dinner at the Font

Get together with your fellow Tomb Raider fans and some of the developers after the 1st day of PLAY Expo.
Menu and prices
Facebook Event
Nearest Train Station:
Manchester Oxford Road

10min walk from Manchester Piccadilly Bus Station

The post Tomb Raider Community Dinner at the Font  appeared first on Tomb of Ash.

Calling all Tomb Raider fans to leave their mark on Tomb Raider’s 20th anniversary history!
The main goal of this video project is to connect all sorts of Tomb Raider fans worldwide. Whether you’re a collector, artist, writer cosplayer or none of the above, no matter where you are, you can still participate!
Not to mention we will have a prize draw for members who submit their videos.

To join please visit our Facebook group  tr20.tomb-of-ash.com
There’s a FAQ post that should have answers to all your questions.

Happy filming fellow raiders!

Powered by Survivor Reborn​ & Tomb of Ash

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DO get yourself involved by submitting a video. Every participant will be added to our prize draw. Enlist yourself in Tomb Raider history and win stuff!  

More information

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So pleased I keep transferring my old folder every time I get a new PC .

Went through some old folders and found these.Awards that my old render-portfolio website won in 2006-2009′ish. 

Unfortunately most of these websites, just like my old render-portfolio website are dead.

You can see my 3D renders here and see what was awarded for

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What do you guys think about our new layout? 

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LJMU’s World of Work Programme is a globally unique initiative which aims to make graduates most valued by employers. 

Click on the image to zoom

The post Tomb of Ash Featuring in Liverpool Screen School’s Career Planning Guide appeared first on Tomb of Ash.