The realistic future in Detroit: Become Human

Detroit: Become Human is a “choose your own adventure” game developed by a French studio called Quantic Dream, a company that focused on games as interactive movies. I like to think them as the Jellyvision of movie industry - they use elements like flowcharts, branches, and variables, to create an experience that’s personalized to each player. Depending on how you play, there are entire scenes that you can see or miss. The player’s decisions and discoveries really have a great impact on the story.

The story is set in Detroit in 2038, and we get to see what it means to be an Android in the future by controlling three different androids across multiple chapters. I’m not going to talk too much about the story of this game because I suggest you to experience it yourself. Instead I want to show you just how beautiful and realistic the future world this game has built. David Cage, the director and writer of Detroit become human said in an interview: “We didn’t want to create sci-fi, with flying cars and laser guns, what we really wanted was a world that would be believable, and would be our world 20 years from now.”

I think the game accomplishes that goal very well, and I want to talk about three things that I find about this game that really helped to build the realistic future in Detroit Become Human.

Transformation of Detroit

The potential of Detroit as a city is something this game does a lot of justice. It shows us what Detroit would look like in the future, by having it rebirth as a tech hub of America. In that world, Detroit is the headquarter of CyberLife, world’s first trillion dollar company that designed and manufactured Androids.

In the opening credit scene, you can see the part of the city with imaginative designs over the downtown architectures and landscapes. You also get to see the poorer parts of the city which still look and feel like Detroit does today. You see the decrepit buildings, and you can feel the people’s struggle. There’s a real contrast, just like in major cities today where the downtown and wealthy parts look like a totally different place than where the majority of people actually live.

The cool thing about having the game set in Detroit is that In the real world, the city of Detroit has also earned the name of “America’s comeback city”. In recent years, there are already many major public projects on building a better future for Detroit. The transformation might take time, but I believe one day Detroit will become a booming city once again, just like that evolutionary industrial rebirth Detroit gets in the game.

The User Interface

As someone who has a passion for user interface design, I find the UI in the world of Detroit very fascinating and grounded. The details of this game is amazing, without being crazy over-the-top flashy like many other sci-fi video games or movies are trying to be.

Some seemingly mundane but well-thought-out elements are ----

Sidewalk design: It’s clearly showing that when you can walk...

....and when you need to stop.

Bathroom UI design: you can walk in and see clearly which one is occupied.

Something as simple as a vending machine: the interface is really practical yet cool looking. I bet some companies are already developing vending machines like this now.

In addition, a lot of the gameplay UI is amazing too. When you play as Connor, an android detective. You can enter into the investigation mode to reconstruct crime scenes based on evidence, analyze the lab results in seconds, and piece together everything to solve the mystery. That’s something humans could definitely build AI for — Robot Sherlock, why not? This leads me to the third thing I want to discuss.

The Impact of Technology on Society

This one is less about the visuals, but more about one of the game’s settings. In the world of Detroit become human, unemployment rate is above 30%. It’s really interesting to start out playing as these different android characters, and see through their eyes on how human treat technology differently depending on their social levels.

If you are on the higher end of social spectrum, technology will have a positive effect because AI will help you, make your jobs easier, and make you more effective and data-driven. So in the game, when you play as Markus, a custom-made android who works for a rich, famous artist that truly sees androids more than just machines, you can see how Androids and humans could work together in harmony.

On the other hand, if you are on the lower end of social spectrum, you probably will lose your job and be replaced by an android. When you play as Kara, a more basic housekeeper android model, you started the game by getting beaten by your owner, because your owner is an unemployed, depressed drug addict who blames everything on Androids.

It’s very interesting because it is a problem we will eventually be facing for real in the near future. For example, the recent Amazon’s AI-powered grocery store, Amazon Go, has been all over the news. It’s a cool concept and probably will be the future of retail stores, but it will also put millions of cashiers out of jobs.

In conclusion, the way Quantic Dream built the world of Detroit become human is unlike your typical sci-fi dramas. They show us a realistic future where the Motor city is turned into Android city, the user interface design is practical, and social impact of Android technology is complicated. The story of Detroit goes deeper but I won’t spoil it too much. I highly recommend it if you like story driven games, or if you simply enjoy good movies and cinematography.