From Tech Demo to Tearjerker: The Hilarious (and Surprisingly Serious) Birth of Detroit: Become Human
You ever play a game that punches you right in the feels? Makes you question your life choices and contemplate the robot uprising? No? Well, then you probably haven't experienced the emotional rollercoaster that is Detroit: Become Human. But how did this game, with its branching narratives and existential dread, come to be? Buckle up, because it's a wilder ride than Connor chasing a deviant through a cybernetic dog park.
From Kitchen Sink Drama to Sentient Sink Scrubber: The Seeds of Detroit
The story starts in 2012, with a little tech demo called Kara. This wasn't your average "press A to jump" demo. We're talking next-gen graphics, a soulful android named Kara (played by the ever-talented Valorie Curry), and enough emotional depth to rival a Shakespearean play about a toaster. People went nuts (in a good way), and David Cage, the visionary director behind the project, thought, "Hey, why not turn this into a full-fledged game where players cry hysterically over robot liberation?"
QuickTip: Reread tricky spots right away.
Building a World (and Avoiding Paper Cuts): Research and Development
Next came the world-building. Forget your generic sci-fi landscapes. Cage and his team decided to set the game in a futuristic Detroit, a city with a rich history (and probably a lot of abandoned car factories). They even visited the real Detroit, presumably to avoid accidentally placing a futuristic Starbucks on the hallowed ground of a former Coney Island hot dog joint.
QuickTip: Skim the ending to preview key takeaways.
Writing a Script: More Rewrites Than a Tinder Bio
Now for the fun part: the script. David Cage spent over two years crafting this narrative masterpiece, filled with twists, turns, and enough moral quandaries to make a philosopher malfunction. We're talking countless drafts, existential debates about the nature of sentience, and probably a few meltdowns over comma placement.
Tip: Take mental snapshots of important details.
 |
From Actors to Avatars: Performance Capture and the Power of the Eyebrow Wiggle
But a great story needs great characters, and that's where the performance capture comes in. Hundreds of actors were scanned and digitized, their mannerisms and emotions transferred to the digital realm. This meant countless hours in the studio, with actors contorting their faces like human pretzels to express the full range of human (and android) emotions. Let's just say there were probably a few sore muscles and a concerning number of eyebrow wiggles involved.
Tip: Reread sections you didn’t fully grasp.
How to Become Human: A Totally Practical Guide (Disclaimer: Not Actually Practical)
So you're curious about making your own game that explores the depths of artificial consciousness? Here's a handy guide (with a healthy dose of sarcasm):
- How to Channel Your Inner David Cage: Spend years obsessing over robots and existential dread.
- World-Building 101: Just pick a real city and slap some flying cars on it. Easy!
- Scriptwriting for Fun and Profit: Be prepared to rewrite your story until your fingers bleed.
- Performance Capture for Dummies: Hire hundreds of actors and make them contort their faces until they resemble melted wax figures.
- Become a Tech Wizard: Learn to code like nobody's business because apparently, building a game engine is child's play.
Detroit: Become Human - A Game Made With Blood, Sweat, and Probably a Lot of Coffee
Detroit: Become Human is a testament to the power of storytelling and the dedication of a passionate development team. It's a game that will make you laugh, cry, and question your stance on robot rights (turns out, toaster liberation might not be such a bad idea after all). So next time you boot up the game, remember the countless hours, the gallons of coffee, and the existential angst that went into creating this masterpiece.
 |
