Detroit: Does Quantic Dream of Awkward Subtitles?

[Smart Jason]

 

Detroit: Become Human has just been announced, so it's pretty early to make this thread. Spiritually inspired by their

 (as The Casting preceded Heavy Rain, although apparently more literally this time), the story trailer shows off an android girl roaming free through the futuristic city, juxtaposed against images of (stop me if this sounds familiar) Mechanical Apartheid and apprehensive recognition from her robotic peers, all looking as though it were the next hour of footage after the credits of Ex Machina.

 

So, this post is here for two reasons:

 

1. I love David Cage and Quantic Dream. Let's all come together and reminisce about how good its previous titles were, sharing memories and questions and hopes for this game. (I should tell you all that I spoke to Doug Tabacco privately and we've agreed that the first person who says anything approaching "Press X to Jason" in this thread will be banned for life. This is your only warning.)

 

2. OK, but seriously, how are you going to literally call a game Detroit and announce it with a trailer that makes me feel like I've seen more black people in Hyrule?

[Twig]

I enjoy the activity surrounding these games more than I enjoy the games themselves. (Meaning I basically just don't play 'em.) People sure do love to hate David Cage! 

 

push cross for smart

[tberton]

2. OK, but seriously, how are you going to literally call a game Detroit and announce it with a trailer that makes me feel like I've seen more black people in Hyrule?

 

I mean, they did it with Philadelphia already.

 

I'm in a sense glad that Quantic Dreams games exist, because the early ones proved that you could make modern, big budget games that were about stories and characters and didn't involve repeatable systems or overwhelming violence. But they also proved that for something like that to work you need good writing, directing and acting, which Heavy Rain, at least, didn't have.

[Gaizokubanou]

If this one goes to places like Beyond Two Souls have with its Chineses-underwater-ghost-base level of ridiculousness, then at least I'll get a fun LP out of it.

 

Yeah you read that right.

 

Chinese-underwater-ghost-base.

 

Ellen Page went there.

[Smart Jason]

If this one goes to places like Beyond Two Souls have with its Chineses-underwater-ghost-base level of ridiculousness, then at least I'll get a fun LP out of it.

 

Yeah you read that right.

 

Chinese-underwater-ghost-base.

 

Ellen Page went there.

 

Mock this all you want, but all I remember from that section is the part where you're searching for the base in a snowstorm. Quantic Dream has always done snow and winter extremely well, which is one of those things in games that I find extremely moving. Fahrenheit had an incredible sense of New York in winter that I don't think any other game of the PS2 era matched, and Beyond could actually make the player feel cold empathetically when Jodie's homeless in the snow.

 

 

Snow what I mean?

[brkl]

The way David Cage does black people, it's less offensive if Detroit is all-white.

[Architecture]

If this one goes to places like Beyond Two Souls have with its Chineses-underwater-ghost-base level of ridiculousness, then at least I'll get a fun LP out of it.

 

Yeah you read that right.

 

Chinese-underwater-ghost-base.

 

Ellen Page went there.

Apparently I blocked all of that out.

 

I do, however, remember feeling really uncomfortable when I partnered up with a child soldier in Africa.

[Fingus]

I really loathe David Cage. I do like the games he's trying to make, but he always ends up missing the mark so disastrously I can't shake the feeling he's inadvertently poisoning the well. An unfounded fear of course, since there have been great narrative based games coming out for years now. So I do hope he's been paying attention to what other developers have been doing with storytelling in games, because the reason I'm so bitter towards him is because of all the wasted potential. 

 

Still, I don't have high hopes for Detroit. The premises of his previous games were at least interesting or unique, but this just seems like a blatant analogy for racism that has been done by others much better and given his history he will probably bungle. The trailer was just cringeworthy film student tripe. When she turned to the camera and said "this is my story" I physically recoiled. 

 

I won't dismiss this game outright, but from what I've seen not much has changed. I'll remain cautiously pessimistic.

[Architecture]

David Cage makes games that I rent via Redbox. $10 seems like the right amount to spend playing Quantic Dreams' next game.

[Gwardinen]

When she turned to the camera and said "this is my story" I physically recoiled. 

 

Haha, me too. That was bizarre.

 

I've always had a very up and down relationship with Quantic Dream games, but I do always end up playing them all the way through. I imagine the same thing will happen this time and I'll be left feeling vaguely dissatisfied but broadly glad that it exists.

[Gaizokubanou]

Apparently I blocked all of that out.

 

I do, however, remember feeling really uncomfortable when I partnered up with a child soldier in Africa.

 

Ghosts were just too spooky I guess :/

[kaputt]

I still remember the first time I played Farenheit. It was great seeing a game that focused so much at telling a story, but it already started in a weird fashion when the first thing that happened in the game was seeing a digitalized version of David Cage teaching how to play it.

 

Years have passed and, even though his games improved since then, they still lack the subtlety and good writing that any drama, interactive or not, requires, and the end result is always weird. 

 

It would be amazing if David Cage just gave the writing on this game to Alex Garland, for example, he did such a fantastic job with Ex Machina and already made a great debut in games with Enslaved. But I don't have a lot of hope in this title with David Cage writing (which, unfortunately, seems to be the case, considering the writing on the trailer).