I’m not particularly into video games, I’m simply too impatient for gameplay. I just want to get right to the story and don’t want to jump through hoops to find out the plot and the ending. For this reason I prefer to watch movies, but every once in a while I will find a video game whose story piques my interest.
What’s the newest video game to catch my interest? “Detroit: Become Human.” Quantic Dream and Sony released the teaser trailer for this video game on Oct. 27.
Android Kara. Photo by Quantic Dream.
The plot of “Detroit” revolves around an android named Kara (Valorie Curry). Kara escapes the factory where she was made to explore life outside and relish in her newfound sentience.
In the trailer we find Kara walking through the futuristic city of Detroit, USA aka “Android City”. Exploring her surroundings she discovers that the relationship between humans and androids is conflicted. While androids are clearly very passive and serve as tools to humans, there are some who feel angry towards androids and appear to protest their existence.
A man angrily shouting at an android while protesters hold signs in the background. Photo by Quantic Dream.
Kara finds the world to be nothing like she imagined, “It is dark and cold. It is harsh and violent, unfair, and brutal.” She struggles to find her place in a world where other autonomous androids have yet to achieve the artificial consciousness she has.
An android looking at Kara as she passes by. Photo by Quantic Dream.
As the teaser ends, Kara catches the attention of her fellow androids who look towards her as she walks by. Kara must decide how she will make use of her life and her consciousness
“Maybe I will change the world, maybe I will choose a different path. Now, it’s up to me to decide. My name is Kara. I am one of them. This is our story.”
For you sci-fi and vide game aficionados, if this video game and character sounds/looks familiar, that’s because it is based on Quantic Dream’s tech demo “Kara” from 2012.
“Kara” first caught my interest when the video made its rounds on Tumblr a few years back. The demo shows Kara’s origin, how she was created, and how she was nearly disassembled and scrapped for good because her consciousness and feelings were found to be a defect.
The video’s graphics were stunning and I found it’s eponymous character captivating. Kara clearly thinks differently than how androids ‘should’, but it is her human characteristics and fear that deeply touches viewers.
Android Kara being disassembled in the “Kara” demo. Photo by Quantic Dream.
“I’ve only just been born you can’t kill me yet. Stop, will you please stop! I’m scared! I want to live. I’m begging you.”
While the trailer seems to point to all things sci-fi, creator David Cage says it shouldn’t be called science fiction.
Though no official release date has been announced, gamers can likely expect the video game to be released sometime next year.
What are your thoughts on Kara and “Detroit: Become Human”? Will you purchase the game when it releases, or are you only interested in the storyline and will watch the story like me?
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