Paris: Quantic Dream debuts ‘Detroit’ in first trailer [UPDATE]

[UPDATE] Find PlayStation’s video below of Director David Cage as he discusses the game, themes and location.

[ORIGINAL ARTICLE] The city of Detroit has had its ups and downs over the last two centuries. Once the heart of the manufacturing world, it produced the majority of automobiles that the US put on the streets. After a period of economic meltdown, the city is beginning a resurgence, thanks to a technology and development boom. It’s being called the “Silicon Valley of the Midwest”, but it’s still Motown. It’s still the city that puts wheels on out roads.

Perhaps that’s why developers Quantic Dream are using the city as the backdrop — and namesake — to their latest game. Detroit is set in the near future and stars an android named Kara that is searching for what it means to “become human.”

The cinematic trailer video begins with an homage to Detroit’s industrial past, showing us protagonist android Kara being “born” in a factory. Androids in the video seem to be viewed as unfeeling robots, designed to serve a purpose much like the cars that are made there today. Could we imagine a world in which the cars had feelings? Emotions? In which they were created lifeless in a factory only to reach out for understanding of their world? Heavy!

As Kara walks the streets of the near-futuristic city (many of us locals will recognize landmarks in the video such as the Renaissance Center and Campus Martius) she sees the world around her with life in her eyes, catching the glimpses of other androids who seem to be inheriting her spark, or at least her curiosity. No details on gameplay style were divulged, but Quantic Dream’s ventures have typically been more cinematic and narrative-focused in the past, with Heavy Rain and Beyond being the most recent.

Kara began life as a tech demo back in 2012 meant to showcase the developer’s ability to create lifelike characters. The Kara in that demonstration was also an android looking for realization, and that seemed to resonate with gamers who were interested in seeing her story taken further. There’s no date for the game’s release, but we do know that it will be coming exclusively to Playstation 4. Stay tuned to SideQuesting as more about Detroit is revealed.

Source: PlayStation