In a lengthy interview published by GameReactor, Quantic Dream's Adam Williams (Lead Writer on Detroit: Become Human) tried to address the controversial statement originally made by the studio's founder David Cage at E3 2017 to Kotaku. At the time, Cage said:
I don’t want the game to have something to say, because I don’t see myself delivering a message to people. But I’m definitely interested in asking questions to the player. Questions that are meaningful and that resonate with him as a person and a citizen
Here's how Williams expanded on this thought.
In reality, we don't have a message for the player in terms of when androids will appear, or if they will be dangerous. Our goal is to introduce interesting questions and dilemmas to the player and allow [them] to form [their] own opinion. I think these technologies will look like science fiction to us until they suddenly become reality. I think we will be caught by surprise, and the more pertinent question will become: will we be able to control it? The book The Singularity Is Near was obviously an inspiration for us, and we found its implications very interesting. There are many opinions around, but most form a consensus: as far as true artificial intelligence is concerned, it will mean a bigger transformation for humanity than internet and cars.
One of the issues that I think it will raise, and that's one of our main topics, is; what does it mean to be human? If you look at Kara in the Paris demo, I think she is a more humane character than the father, despite her being a machine. I think that humanity goes beyond the physical element, I think it is related to intellect, spirit, morality... and this is one of the issues we want to develop with the game, understand what the player thinks that being human really is.
In our opinion, it is more important to put these issues on the table then necessarily share answers. We want to transport the player to our screenwriting room and ask [them] this question, this dilemma, and understand what [their] opinion is. That's why Detroit: Become Human is such a formidable experience, and that's why two players will hardly have the same exact gaming experience. Their experience will somehow become a reflection of what they think, what they feel.
In short, expect to get questions rather than answers. It will be up to you to ultimately interpret what's on the screen.
Detroit: Become Human is now scheduled to hit Sony's PlayStation 4 console in Spring 2018.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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