Toby Gard

Profession: Video Game Designer

Biography: Toby Gard is best known for creating Lara Croft, the main character in the Tomb Raider series.

Gard started working in video games in 1994 at Core Design. There he helped make the first Tomb Raider game, released in 1996. He designed and animated many of the characters, including Lara Croft.

Gard wanted Lara to be a strong, capable heroine, who was not overly sexualized. He left Core Design in 1997, however, due to disagreements about the character.

After leaving Core Design, Gard co-founded a new company called Confounding Factor. There he worked on a game called "Galleon" which spent many years in production before finally coming out in 2004.

In 2004, Gard returned to the Tomb Raider series at Crystal Dynamics. He helped redesign Lara for "Tomb Raider: Legend" (2006) and worked on the stories for "Tomb Raider: Anniversary" (2007) and "Tomb Raider: Underworld" (2008)

From 2010 to 2019, Gard worked on several other projects. He made a webcomic, directed a Ninja Gaiden game, and started two game studios: Tangentlemen and Cathuria Games. At Tangentlemen, he directed a virtual reality game called "Here They Lie" (2016).

Gard's work has had a significant impact on video games, especially through his memorable characters: with Lara Croft being named the most successful human video game heroine by Guinness World Records in 2006.

Born: June 8, 1972
Birthplace: Chelmsford, Essex, England
Age: 52 years old

Generation: Generation X
Chinese Zodiac: Rat
Star Sign: Gemini