Lara Croft Crowned Most Iconic Video Games Character of All TimeAccording to BAFTA PollOFFICIAL PRESS RELEASENEWS PROVIDED BY BAFTA 4 April 2024 – BAFTA has revealed the results of its landmark players’ poll to establish the Most Iconic Video Games Character of All Time. Launched to celebrate the 20th BAFTA Games Awards on Thursday 11 April, the poll was engaged with by over 4,000 players from all over the world. Today’s top 20 list features characters of all shapes and sizes from anthropomorphic animals to gun-wielding spies and brings together the most recognisable faces from across the world of games. These characters, and the games in which they star, boast a collective 44 BAFTA Games Awards between them over the past two decades, and make up some of the best-loved entries into the canon of video game history, and some of the most memorable characters of any medium. Taking the number one spot is the generation-spanning heroine Lara Croft, star of the Tomb Raider franchise. Lara Croft first appeared in 1996, nearly three decades ago, and since then she has been remastered and evolved several times for television, film, video games and even her own live immersive experience in London, England. This year alone, Tomb Raider I–III Remastered was released across multiple platforms and the highly anticipated Netflix TV show Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft is scheduled for release later in the year. Shelley Blond, the original voice of Lara Croft, will also present an award at the 20th BAFTA Games Awards on Thursday 11 April, in the official ceremony hosted at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. Jumping into the second spot is Mario, of the eponymous Nintendo franchise. Created by the legendary Japanese game designer and recipient of BAFTA’s prestigious Fellowship, Shigeru Miyamoto, Mario has been the face of Nintendo and a highly recognisable character in the wider world of video games since he first appeared as Jumpman in the 1981 arcade game, Donkey Kong. Since then Mario has featured in many games - including this year’s BAFTA-nominated game, Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Taking third spot is Agent 47 from the Hitman series. Conceived by Danish video game developer IO Interactive in 1998 and debuting in 2000 with the release of Hitman: Codename 47, Agent 47 has become an icon in the games industry, captivating gamers worldwide. The genetically engineered assassin has since appeared in eight mainline games, two spin-offs, two books, one comic series and two films.
The Most Iconic Video Games Characters of All Time (ranked in order of votes received):
Lara Croft, Tomb Raider
Mario, Super Mario
Agent 47, Hitman
Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic
Sackboy, LittleBigPlanet
Pac-Man, Pac-Man
Link, The Legend of Zelda
Master Chief, HALO
Kratos, God of War
Shadowheart, Baldur’s Gate 3
Arthur Morgan, Red Dead Redemption 2
Pikachu, Pokémon
Steve, Minecraft
Solid Snake, Metal Gear Solid
Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot
Cloud Strife, Final Fantasy VII
Astarion, Baldur’s Gate 3
Kazuma Kiryu, Yakuza
Ellie Williams, The Last of Us
Nathan Drake, Uncharted
Shelley Blond, performer and first voice actor for Lara Croft (number one in the poll), said: “I had no clue when voicing the original Tomb Raider game that it would be such a global phenomenon and neither did Eidos or Core Design. They had only ever done children’s games before and of course they hoped it would be a success, but I think it went above and beyond any and all expectations. When creating the voice for Lara Croft, it came just by looking at the rough sketches I had in front of me and I took note of the fact that she was a female Indiana Jones type of character, ballsy and well spoken. Lara is very special to me purely because she means so much to the gamers. I love hearing stories from people around the world who played the game and channelled Lara to escape their bullies or to help them feel stronger when they wanted to come out to their loved ones. And most beautiful of all is hearing how gamers used to play it with their parent/s who are no longer with us and the sound of my voice, the music from the game and sound effects are all wrapped up in their memories of that loved one. I’m honoured to play a part in that for them.” Blond goes on by joking, “I found out well into dating my husband that he had played Tomb Raider and used to enjoy hearing Lara scream and say ‘No’. Now of course he has to put up with that on a daily basis." Shigeru Miyamoto, legendary game designer, creator of Mario and BAFTA Fellowship recipient (2010), told Variety last year: “When I first came up with the character, and we created the first Mario game, we had a limited capacity of the pixels that we could use. It was technically a 16x16 pixel square that we were able to use for characters – but as a designer, I thought that I needed to make the best out of those 16 dots. I felt it was my job to draw a character with recognisable features, so if I draw a big nose and a moustache I don’t need to draw a mouth. Also, if I draw a big hat I don’t need to draw hair, etc. And we were able to, within that limited space, create such an iconic character. I was really happy with the result, and I felt that this would be the character who will be my gaming legacy.” David Smith, Co-Founder & Technical Director at Media Molecule and co-designer of Sackboy (number five in the poll) said: “Sackboy started life as a humble yellow and magenta lump of debug graphics, with wiggling legs for running and stick arms for grabbing. Sackboy was never meant to have a gender but the name stuck. Their character is anchored in chaotic fun and creativity with an eager dog-like personality! Beyond this, they are whoever you want them to be. Sackboy grabs on to things with R1, the same as Wander in Shadow of the Colossus and this is no coincidence! The games from Team Ico gave us great confidence that 'grabbing' was an exciting addition to the tried and tested 'run and jump' formula.” As Christopher Judge said in his acceptance speech at the BAFTA Games Awards last year (2023), as he took home the award for Performer in a Leading Role for Kratos in God of War - “it’s the role of a lifetime”. Kratos reached number nine in the Most Iconic Games Character Poll, Christopher Judge reflects on his time creating the character exclusively for BAFTA, ”Playing Kratos has truly been a great joy of my professional career. How often do you play a character that gives you, the actor, as much as you give him? From being a father to even making me redefine what it truly means to be a man. Being a man isn’t about muscle, and it isn’t about how loud you are - ultimately, Kratos gave me that it’s about listening, and loving, and ultimately about opening your own heart and accepting being loved… what a gift!” Neil Newbon, BAFTA-nominated performer at this year’s BAFTA Games Awards for his portrayal of Astarion (number 17 in the poll) in Baldur’s Gate 3, said: “Playing Astarion has been a career highlight for me. To be able to spend so long with a character, work with such an amazing company as Larian and working alongside the gorgeous writer Stephen Rooney, as well the awesome directors and crew at Pitstop Productions and employ every acting tool I’ve ever studied, to go incredibly deep into such a versatile and layer character, has been a dream job. “Streaming has been a wonderful way to extend my work and passion for games and also interview fellow actors, directors and writers in the industry to help spotlight them. Film/ TV writer Tom De Ville and myself have had such a wonderful time creating our comedy/ interview show and the community that has sprung up around it has proven to be so wholesome and inclusive. We have been keen to make a safe space a cornerstone of our shows and thrilled that people have taken that to heart. It’s also super fun to re-experience Astarion as a player especially when our usual brand of chaos erupts (haha!). “I feel so many people have reached out to me , the cast and everyone at Larian saying how they connected with the story and therefore the characters, so they felt seen and understood. For a game to have such an impact is beautiful and to have played a role that has captured people’s imagination is a gift. The community that has been created by the audience around the game I feel largely represents this spirit of togetherness and shared joy, which is the essence of roleplay games. A testament to Swen, Larian, the cast, writers and directors. I hope a legacy that will help further this in future games.” In 2015, Ashley Johnson took home the BAFTA Games Award for her performance of Ellie in The Last of Us - who placed number 19 in the Most Iconic Games Character Poll - during her acceptance speech she celebrated the character for being “a strong female character that isn’t sexualised or a damsel in distress - or even the opposite of that. Ellie is vulnerable, and she’s kind, and she’s loyal and she’s the girl that probably wouldn’t have fit in at school. At times she was allowed to be scared…”. The 20th BAFTA Games Awards take place on Thursday 11 April 2024 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, London. The Awards will be hosted by comedian Phil Wang and livestreamed to audiences across the globe via BAFTA's YouTube, Twitch, and X channels. AboutAbout BAFTABAFTA – the British Academy of Film and Television Arts - is a world-leading independent arts charity that brings the very best work in film, games and television to public attention and supports the growth of creative talent in the UK and internationally. Through its Awards ceremonies and year-round programme of learning events and initiatives – which includes workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures and mentoring schemes in the UK, USA and Asia – BAFTA identifies and celebrates excellence, discovers, inspires and nurtures new talent, and enables learning and creative collaboration. For more, visit www.bafta.org. BAFTA is a registered charity (no. 216726).
Source BAFTA
April 5, 2024 3:00am ET by Newsdesk |