Published on 5/30/2018
MARKUS
HOW FAR WILL YOU GO TO RESIST?
Played by Jesse Williams
Markus, like Kara, is a service android, but his ‘master’ is very different from hers. Markus works for Carl Manfred, a paralysed painter whose life is made immeasurably better by Markus’ presence, and who, in turn, treats Markus with care and respect. Through Carl, Markus learns how to paint, how to appreciate art, literature and music, and, over time, develops a greater sense of personal value. Like Kara, he realises that he can be more than just a machine that follows orders, and that he’s capable of experiencing emotion and appreciating beauty. The friendship between Carl and Markus is unlike many of the human/android relationships seen throughout much of the rest of the game, but players will have some say over how much Carl’s kindness impacts upon Markus.
The respect Markus is treated with leads to him becoming passionate about android rights, and as the game goes on he becomes the defacto leader of the ‘deviant’ androids – the very same ones that Connor has been contracted to hunt. Not all deviants are necessarily violent, though, and it’ll be up to the player to decide how Markus should guide his followers. He’s at the heart of an eventual robot uprising as the androids revolt against Cyberlife, their creators, who have limited their development and potential. Players will be able to determine what kind of leader Markus becomes – will he lead the other androids into violent upheaval, seizing their freedom by striking out, or will he be a peaceful leader who encourages non-violent resistance?
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KARA
HOW FAR WILL YOU GO FOR LOVE?
Played by Valorie Curry
Kara was the star of the original PS4 tech demo that would eventually become Detroit: Become Human, and as such she’s a character that the team at Quantic Dream are hugely attached to. Players will find themselves equally invested in Kara’s journey through Detroit: Become Human, as she discovers – much to the shock of her owner – that she can experience tangible human emotions. She’s able to feel conflicted about her life and the situations she finds herself in, despite being designed purely for a function. She develops an artificial consciousness, something that wasn’t part of her original programming, which allows Kara to act in unexpected ways.
Kara is a service android – she cooks, cleans, and generally looks after the home of her owner, Todd. Todd is an outwardly aggressive man, whose harsh nature have driven away the other people in his life, including his ex-partner. Kara’s also in charge of looking after Todd’s daughter, Alice, but over time Kara begins to realise that Alice is being mistreated by her father. Depending on the choices the player makes, Kara may choose to stand up to Todd, breaking protocol to help Alice, setting Kara on a path where she’ll have to come to grips with her new emotions, and learn to truly care for others. Kara and Alice can escape their abusive circumstances together, but how their friendship develops will depend on the choices you make.
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CONNOR
HOW FAR WILL YOU GO TO BE LOYAL?
Played by Bryan Dechart
Connor is a controversial figure in the world of Detroit: Become Human, a robot designed for a role that many believe is best left to humans. He is a police android, designed to assist in cases in which other androids have deviated from their programming (known as ‘deviants’). Working alongside his human partner, Lt. Hank Anderson, Connor is a master at crime reconstruction and hostage negotiation. He investigates crime scenes and negotiates with androids who seek to endanger or hurt humans. He’s known to some as ‘The Deviant Hunter’: they bring him in when a rogue android needs to be set right or put down.
Connor, who dresses sharply and can frequently be seen calibrating his cognitive functions by dexterously flipping a coin quickly between his fingers, outwardly seems less ‘human’ than the game’s other two protagonists, with his precise, perfect diction and a face that shows little emotion. But Connor perhaps places great value in humanity as something worth protecting – depending on how you play, Connor may even be willing to sacrifice himself for a human life. As an android willing to hunt other androids, Connor will catch hatred from both sides – humans don’t trust him to work the cases he’s assigned to, and other androids may view him as a traitor to their kind. When you play as Connor, you’ll be able to investigate crime scenes to determine what exactly has happened, who was responsible, and what their motives were.
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DISCOVER DETROIT
In 2038, androids are ubiquitous throughout American society, living and working alongside humans. They were created to serve and protect us, to function within society as perfect tools, artificial humans with tremendous capabilities and patience. But as technology has improved, and artificial intelligence has evolved, many of the androids have started to question their purpose, and to wonder why they are treated like lesser beings by the humans who created and use them. The androids of Detroit: Become Human can make choices, feel emotions, and even turn against humanity.
At the start of the game, the relationship between humanity and the androids is coming apart at the seams. While people have come to rely on androids in their daily lives, there’s pushback on whether or not they have rights, whether they should be trusted, and where, exactly, the line between humanity and artificial intelligence sits. Players of Detroit: Become Human will be able to explore these questions directly, with their actions and choices influencing the game world and the characters who inhabit it.
As the name suggests, Detroit: Become Human is a game not only about what it means to be human, but how beings with artificial intelligence could become human. In this interactive drama, players will experience a future where evolved technology has forced people to face their prejudices – and they’ll see it all through the bionic eyes of three androids who are coming to grips with their own relationships with humankind.
The world of Detroit: Become Human will not be unfamiliar to people in 2018 – it’s a world where technology has advanced exponentially, to the point where androids are not just common-place, but extremely advanced. The game’s version of the city of Detroit is a world leader in technology; it’s a future that, in many ways, echoes the city’s past. The production of androids by Cyberlife, the game’s tech conglomerate, echoes Henry Ford’s car production at the Highland Park Ford Plant in 1910 and the massive expansion of industry that accompanied it. Detroit’s history as a city is rich and varied, with many ups and downs – it’s the perfect setting for a game where the world is once again changing dramatically, with new technology fundamentally altering the way we live our lives.
In 2038, the success of Cyberlife’s android production has allowed them to open five stores across Detroit, where human customers can purchase robots that will help them live their lives. The most common models are service androids, which will help with daily tasks and perform functions that allow people to live without needing to worry about cleaning up, cooking, or other daily rituals. Advancements in technology have meant that androids are appearing in other capacities throughout society too. There are now androids that operate in law enforcement, for instance, working alongside human cops and detectives to solve crimes. But as androids become more intelligent, crimes committed by them are also increasing, and relations between humans and androids grow more tense as the boundary that separates the two blurs. At the same time, the rise in automation is causing problems for humans – unemployment has shot up to 30% - and many people are uncomfortable with the sheer number of androids walking around. Androids are forced to sit at the back of the bus, are barred from entering certain buildings, and are routinely abused.
The player controls three androids – Kara, Markus, and Connor – each of them with distinct personalities, desires, and histories. Each will face prejudice throughout the game, which players will experience from their perspective. Detroit: Become Human will offer players a unique perspective on this world, which for all its technological advancements has inherited many of the problems faced by earlier generations. It’s a fascinating setting for a game, one that will explore issues we might one day find ourselves facing in the real world.
As the name suggests, Detroit: Become Human is a game not only about what it means to be human, but how beings with artificial intelligence could become human. In this interactive drama, players will experience a future where evolved technology has forced people to face their prejudices – and they’ll see it all through the bionic eyes of three androids who are coming to grips with their own relationships with humankind.
The world of Detroit: Become Human will not be unfamiliar to people in 2018 – it’s a world where technology has advanced exponentially, to the point where androids are not just common-place, but extremely advanced. The game’s version of the city of Detroit is a world leader in technology; it’s a future that, in many ways, echoes the city’s past. The production of androids by Cyberlife, the game’s tech conglomerate, echoes Henry Ford’s car production at the Highland Park Ford Plant in 1910 and the massive expansion of industry that accompanied it. Detroit’s history as a city is rich and varied, with many ups and downs – it’s the perfect setting for a game where the world is once again changing dramatically, with new technology fundamentally altering the way we live our lives.
In 2038, the success of Cyberlife’s android production has allowed them to open five stores across Detroit, where human customers can purchase robots that will help them live their lives. The most common models are service androids, which will help with daily tasks and perform functions that allow people to live without needing to worry about cleaning up, cooking, or other daily rituals. Advancements in technology have meant that androids are appearing in other capacities throughout society too. There are now androids that operate in law enforcement, for instance, working alongside human cops and detectives to solve crimes. But as androids become more intelligent, crimes committed by them are also increasing, and relations between humans and androids grow more tense as the boundary that separates the two blurs. At the same time, the rise in automation is causing problems for humans – unemployment has shot up to 30% - and many people are uncomfortable with the sheer number of androids walking around. Androids are forced to sit at the back of the bus, are barred from entering certain buildings, and are routinely abused.
The player controls three androids – Kara, Markus, and Connor – each of them with distinct personalities, desires, and histories. Each will face prejudice throughout the game, which players will experience from their perspective. Detroit: Become Human will offer players a unique perspective on this world, which for all its technological advancements has inherited many of the problems faced by earlier generations. It’s a fascinating setting for a game, one that will explore issues we might one day find ourselves facing in the real world.
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DISCOVER THE STUDIO
Detroit: Become Human is the fifth game developed by Quantic Dream, and their third to be published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The studio was formed by David Cage in 1997 with the goal of creating gaming experiences that could stand up against the cinematic experiences offered by Hollywood, games that play unlike anything else coming out of the major studios.
Their previous two games, Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls (available on PS3 and PS4), set the template for Detroit: Become Human. Each game offered narrative experiences where your choices, your actions, and your performance during action sequences and investigations dramatically impact how the story plays out. This meant that each player had a unique experience, and faced different outcomes and situations.
In Heavy Rain, players hunted the Origami Killer from numerous perspectives, exploring the psyches and personalities of numerous playable characters and making agonizing decisions that led each of the game’s four playable protagonists down paths that were different each time you played. The game was celebrated for its powerful story and engaging gameplay. Beyond: Two Souls followed Jodie (played by Ellen Page), a young girl with psychic powers, through her life as she grew and learned how to harness her unusual abilities. Player choices could lead to numerous different endings, and the game was praised for its cutting-edge graphics and bold performances. These are games that players have gotten extremely emotionally invested in.
Quantic Dream makes games that can rely on recognisably human characters, with some of the best animation in the business. State-of-the-art live motion capture technology, created in-house by the team, is used to create experiences that feel uniquely cinematic. Their games, while full of huge moments and actions, also capture the mundane in ways that are unique and exciting – having the player perform actions like rocking a baby to sleep, preparing dinner, or even having a character clean their house has meant that players form strong attachments to their characters.
Detroit: Become Human is the most impressive and ambitious Quantic Dream game yet. Fans of their previous work will find a game with more choices, more dialog, and a deeper world than ever before. It’s the culmination of everything the team learned from their previous games with Sony, and an amazing example of the narrative potential of games.
In Detroit: Become Human, you guide Markus, Kara and Connor through their lives, completing tasks, making choices, and experiencing what it means to be an android in 2038. The choice-based gameplay system means that you’ll frequently be asked to choose how to proceed in numerous situations. As Kara, for example, you might be asked early on whether to be calm or aggressive when defending Alice from her father – do you lock the door to keep Todd away, or try to talk to him face-to-face and appeal to his humanity? Alternatively, you can let things play out without intervening. As Connor, the very first sequence you’ll play through is a hostage negotiation where a service android has gone rogue and captured the daughter of the family he once served. Do you investigate the scene of the crime thoroughly before approaching the android and his hostage to get as much information and context as you can, or do you act quickly and confront them right away? Do you offer the android sympathy, or condemn him? Depending on how you act, it’s possible that you, the hostage taker, or the hostage might not survive the encounter.
Detroit: Become Human’s unique style of play means that you’ll never be pulled out of the game, and that you can immerse yourself in the experience, knowing that what you do will have a real impact. You’ll never see a ‘Game Over’ screen in Detroit – if one of the main character dies, the game continues without them. The game features a flowchart for each chapter, showing off how many ways things could have happened based on your choices and discoveries. You can revisit scenes and play through them again to see how many different paths through them you can unlock.
The controls of Detroit: Become Human are unique, making full use of the DualShock 4 to fully immerse players in the experience. Interactive elements in the game world can be manipulated with the right stick, with quarter-circles and other movements giving you a stronger sense of correlation between your movements and what’s happening on screen, and the touchpad can be used for certain actions, like swiping a tablet to unlock. Each character will feel different in how they see and interact with the world, and players will be able to invest each one with unique characteristics.
In Heavy Rain, players hunted the Origami Killer from numerous perspectives, exploring the psyches and personalities of numerous playable characters and making agonizing decisions that led each of the game’s four playable protagonists down paths that were different each time you played. The game was celebrated for its powerful story and engaging gameplay. Beyond: Two Souls followed Jodie (played by Ellen Page), a young girl with psychic powers, through her life as she grew and learned how to harness her unusual abilities. Player choices could lead to numerous different endings, and the game was praised for its cutting-edge graphics and bold performances. These are games that players have gotten extremely emotionally invested in.
Quantic Dream makes games that can rely on recognisably human characters, with some of the best animation in the business. State-of-the-art live motion capture technology, created in-house by the team, is used to create experiences that feel uniquely cinematic. Their games, while full of huge moments and actions, also capture the mundane in ways that are unique and exciting – having the player perform actions like rocking a baby to sleep, preparing dinner, or even having a character clean their house has meant that players form strong attachments to their characters.
Detroit: Become Human is the most impressive and ambitious Quantic Dream game yet. Fans of their previous work will find a game with more choices, more dialog, and a deeper world than ever before. It’s the culmination of everything the team learned from their previous games with Sony, and an amazing example of the narrative potential of games.
In Detroit: Become Human, you guide Markus, Kara and Connor through their lives, completing tasks, making choices, and experiencing what it means to be an android in 2038. The choice-based gameplay system means that you’ll frequently be asked to choose how to proceed in numerous situations. As Kara, for example, you might be asked early on whether to be calm or aggressive when defending Alice from her father – do you lock the door to keep Todd away, or try to talk to him face-to-face and appeal to his humanity? Alternatively, you can let things play out without intervening. As Connor, the very first sequence you’ll play through is a hostage negotiation where a service android has gone rogue and captured the daughter of the family he once served. Do you investigate the scene of the crime thoroughly before approaching the android and his hostage to get as much information and context as you can, or do you act quickly and confront them right away? Do you offer the android sympathy, or condemn him? Depending on how you act, it’s possible that you, the hostage taker, or the hostage might not survive the encounter.
Detroit: Become Human’s unique style of play means that you’ll never be pulled out of the game, and that you can immerse yourself in the experience, knowing that what you do will have a real impact. You’ll never see a ‘Game Over’ screen in Detroit – if one of the main character dies, the game continues without them. The game features a flowchart for each chapter, showing off how many ways things could have happened based on your choices and discoveries. You can revisit scenes and play through them again to see how many different paths through them you can unlock.
The controls of Detroit: Become Human are unique, making full use of the DualShock 4 to fully immerse players in the experience. Interactive elements in the game world can be manipulated with the right stick, with quarter-circles and other movements giving you a stronger sense of correlation between your movements and what’s happening on screen, and the touchpad can be used for certain actions, like swiping a tablet to unlock. Each character will feel different in how they see and interact with the world, and players will be able to invest each one with unique characteristics.
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