Detroit: Become Human - Three Characters, One Story
Many extraordinary stories have already been told about androids, whether it be in literature, film or television. But after having worked on Kara’s short video, I knew that the story I wanted to tell was different.
My first decision was to take the androids’, rather than the humans’, point of view. Instead of the wicked AI who wants to destroy good humanity, I preferred a different angle: my story would talk about humanity on the decline: selfish, dependent on technology, concerned only with comfort. Opposed to this: a new, intelligent species that we created, which discovers the world, feels emotions and asks only to live.
I wrote this story with the personal conviction that it was not only a story, but a vision of the future: how will we react when machines we’ve created become more intelligent than us and show signs of consciousness? Moreover, is consciousness only a question of computing power or is it something else?
Rather than a single, grand narrative, I chose to tell the story of three androids, three characters who discover their emotions and must choose their destiny.
I have been working on “multi-character” storytelling for several years (since Fahrenheit in 2005, even though Nomad Soul in 1999 already allowed control of dozens of different characters). It is a complex and exciting form of writing: it allows the player to stand in the shoes of several protagonists at the same time, to tell independent stories that meet, collide, intermingle, and above all tell the central narrative in a unique way.
This approach, originating in literature (Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, for example), popularized nowadays by many TV series, works in my opinion particularly well in an interactive experience: the player passes quickly from character to character, between different contexts and scenes, discovering the story from several points of view, enriching his experience.
We pushed this idea as far as we could, having three different composers (one per character) with radically different musical styles, three different moods, three different cinematographies, so that the player has a sense of playing three different games as they move from one character to another.
Through the player’s decisions and the intersecting destinies of these three characters, the player tells their own story. Every decision is important because it may impact not only the fate of one character, but also that of the other two, or even change the course of events for the wider world.
The destinies of Connor, Kara and Markus will be in your hands on May 25th. It will be up to you to tell their story.
Connor is a prototype, named the RK800, created by CyberLife. His initial goal is to assist human detectives in their investigations by offering them technological assistance. He is also equipped with a social module specially developed to create the “ideal partner”, capable of integrating into any team. He is also equipped with special features, such as a real-time molecular analyzer and a sophisticated simulator that can reconstruct past events. He is exceptionally intelligent, cold and determined, ready to do anything to succeed in his mission.
When the first cases of androids with abnormal behavior are reported, CyberLife offers to send this prototype to assist Detroit police. Connor has already undergone field tests involving androids, but this is his first investigation.
Connor is sent to join Lieutenant Hank Anderson, a grizzled, alcoholic detective who hates androids. Connor will need to make use of his “psychology” module to earn the respect of his partner and discover the truth about deviants.
Markus is an android who belongs to celebrated painter Carl Manfred, an old man who has lost the use of his legs. If at first Markus was only a machine in Carl’s eyes, a paternal affection has gradually developed. Carl treats Markus as if he were human, teaches him to paint, exposes him to literature and music; develops the android’s spirit a little each day.
Eventually Carl comes to think of Markus like a son, much to the dissatisfaction of Carl’s biological son, Leo.
Markus’ journey will take him from caregiver in the service of an old man to leading the historic android revolution. But to lead a revolution will be much more difficult than anything Markus can imagine: he must contend with the factitious disagreements of his people, face insoluble dilemmas, moral choices and sacrifice.
He must choose a path between violence and pacifism, between a closed fist and an outstretched hand. Through his choices, Markus will write the history of his people and lead them to freedom… or destruction.
Kara is an AX400 domestic assistant model created by CyberLife. The AX400 is a common model, designed to take care of the housework and look after young children. They can speak 300 different languages, cook more than 9000 dishes, help children with their homework and play with them.
Kara is owned by a former unemployed taxi driver, called Todd Williams, a strange and unpredictable character. He is the father of a little girl named Alice, with whom Kara is tasked with taking care of.
Under harsh circumstances, they quickly learn that they are not safe with Todd. Both will run away and struggle to find a path to freedom.
Becoming fugitives, they will discover a disjointed world falling apart and understand the strange feeling that unites them. They will journey from encounter to encounter, confronting violence and hatred but also the empathy of those who keep hope.
How Three Composers Created the Soundtrack of Detroit: Become Human
How Three Composers Created the Soundtrack of Detroit: Become Human
In Detroit: Become Human, players will be able to control three very unique characters. Although Kara, Connor and Markus are all androids, they are of different makes and have a very different background and function in society. To emphasize these three very different stories, we decided to entrust the original soundtrack to three composers with the aim to create distinct musical colors fitting our main characters’ identities and to sustain their individual arc.
To stress Connor’s very cold and mechanical behavior, we chose a primarily electronic soundtrack. For Kara, we wanted a music that would be emotional and moving, underlining her quest for identity, love and empathy. For Markus, we needed a soundtrack that would be epic and represent the grand aspect of his journey.
We were very fortunate to find three very talented composers who accepted this highly unusual approach.
We first contacted Philip Sheppard, a composer and cellist who composed Kara’s soundtrack. We had chosen one of his compositions early on in the development when searching for a track for the Detroit announcement trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pelrr__9qx8). David was particularly moved by a track called Wind Storm and which featured very pulsating cellos. Philip is a cellist and has been composing soundtracks for film and television for many years.
We then contacted Nima Fakhrara who worked on the movie The Signal (dir. Will Eubank), which had attracted our attention. We were particularly intrigued by the fact that Nima created custom instruments for his projects, something we thought could be very interesting for Detroit: Become Human and Connor’s very special characterization.
John Paesano’s epic orchestral compositions on Daredevil (Netflix) and The Maze Runner (Dir. Wes Ball) got us interested in his work. His approach felt like the perfect pairing with Markus.
We contacted each of them, met them in LA or London, and explained to each what we had in mind for the project. Together with Mary Lockwood (music supervisor) and Aurélien Baguerre (lead audio) we setup a collaborative framework allowing each of them to be fed creatively with game assets exchanges with writer/director David Cage on a regular basis, and communication with the two other composers to be able to create unique scores within the same world.
It has been a complex endeavor but also an incredibly gratifying journey to work with each of them, resulting in a very unique soundtrack for the game, which we hope players will enjoy starting 25th May. Be sure to take advantage of the limited timed pre-order offer of the Digital Soundtrack, or the Collector’s Edition Soundtrack (Upgrade) within the Digital Deluxe Edition.
We are extremely pleased and proud to announce today, that after four years of passionate crafting, Detroit: Become Human has officially gone gold!
During these four years, we have gone through all possible states and emotions that the development of such a challenging project induces: the pride of working on something special and unique, the doubt of attaining all our creative and technical goals, the hope when publicly releasing scenes and trailers and seeing players’ positive reactions, the fear of not having enough time and resources to make everything perfect, the joy of finally seeing all parts of the puzzle come together, scene after scene, and finally being able to play the game from start to finish. And today, I guess it is with a mixture of all these feelings that we stand in front of you.
Detroit: Become Human is no longer our game. Instead, it will soon become yours. Yours to play, to own, to hopefully cherish. The fate of Connor, Kara and Markus is in your hands, along with the fate of all other characters in the game. Through your decisions and actions, you will have the opportunity to become the writer, the director and the main protagonist of the most branching story we have ever created. A story made of hopes, fears, sadness but also of joy and happiness. A story as much about us, humans, as it is about androids.
David Cage, the entire team and myself are proud of the work we have accomplished during these four years. We are grateful to all our wonderful actors, composers, artists and partners around the world who have lent their talent to making Detroit: Become Human the very special experience it has become.
We are also extremely grateful to our fans around the world. We have read all of your emails, all of your letters, all of your tweets and messages. Each of them has given us the inspiration to make the best possible game for our fans. Last but not least, we are extremely thankful to Sony and the whole PlayStation family for believing in us and enabling us to make our dreams come true.
To celebrate this milestone, and to help you pass the time as you hold on just a little while longer for the game’s release on May 25th, I am extremely happy to announce that the very first scene of the game, Hostage, will be available for download on the PS Store starting tomorrow, Tuesday, April 24 at 12:01 AM Eastern Standard Time.
As part of the Hostage demo experience, there’s also an extended Alexa Skill! Properly named “CyberLife,” the Alexa Skill will provide you guidance and additional intel about this near future android filled world. As you take on the role of Connor, a hostage negotiator android sent to take control of this high-stakes situation, the CyberLife Skill will help guide you in your decision making throughout the investigation process, while giving you a deeper look at the various characters involved within the Hostage demo. It will also give you insights on how you can best alter your decision within the experience that could result in a different ending outcome.
With the CyberLife Skill, you’ll be able to learn more about the world of Detroit: Become Human:
• Tell Me About – Get more details as you examine every piece of the crime scene.
Try saying: “Alexa, ask CyberLife to tell me about the fish?”
• What’s Their Story? – Uncover the truth behind any character you find within the demo.
Try saying: “Alexa, ask CyberLife to tell me about the Phillips Family?”
• Alter the Course of History – Using the Flowchart at the end of the demo, use the skill to discover alternate endings.
Try saying: “Alexa, ask CyberLife why Connor failed to reach Daniel in time?”
To get started, all you need is the following:
1. Download the Detroit: Become Human Demo from the PS Store on PS4
2. Have access to any enabled Amazon Alexa Device
3. Download the Detroit: Become Human CyberLife Skill by saying “Alexa, enable CyberLife” or by doing a search for Cyberlife with your Amazon Alexa app (requires Alexa app and Wi-Fi internet connection).
Click here for more information on the Hostage Demo, CyberLife Skill, or Pre-Order incentives.
楼主: kirassss
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发表于 2018-3-2 04:02 PM
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