Detroit: Become Human and What Death Means to Androids

Detroit Become Human delved into more than a few heavy themes meant to thrust the player into a place of discomfort and revelation. With the overlying theme of consciousness and awakening, it does bring up the question about endings and what they mean for these evolving androids? Luckily, Quantic Dream boss David Cage was more than willing to tackle this interesting issue.

During a recent Reddit AMA, one fan asked “What does death mean to Androids,” a question that we’re sure they weren’t alone in wondering. In true philosophical form, Cage didn’t have an absolute answer, because there really isn’t one, but he did apotheosize what he felt could be the closest truth:

“What death means for a machine is a very interesting question that we asked ourselves a lot during the course of the development. We had some interesting discussions about the fact that maybe being human means being afraid to die… This is quite a philosophical question, and I don’t have the answer to this…

I imagined in the script of Detroit that androids had very similar existential questions about death than humans. There is a dialogue between Connor and Hank near the bridge about this when Hank asks “what’s gonna happen if I pull the trigger?”. It is up to the player to give his own answer based on what he believes in…”

He also discussed the potential of a future sequel, which we talked about earlier. He said, “We will work on a sequel if we feel we have ideas, passion and excitement to do it, and if we feel we have something more to say about this world,” the Quantic Dream boss told Reddit. “We are driven by passion more than anything, although it is not always something reasonable … but we enjoyed working on Detroit a lot, and there are many exciting stories that could be told in this world for sure.” However, he reiterated that Quantic Dream doesn’t want to work on the sequel just to make “easy money.”

We can’t wait to see what the future holds for Detroit Become Human, which is available now exclusively on the PlayStation 4.

“Enter the near-future metropolis of Detroit in 2038 – a city rejuvenated by the introduction of highly advanced androids that exist only to serve mankind. But that’s all about to change…

Step into the shoes of three distinct android characters as this brave new world teeters on the brink of chaos. Your decisions dramatically alter how the game’s intense, branching narrative plays out. With thousands of choices and dozens of endings, how will you affect the future of Detroit?”