Tackling the Artificial Intelligence Problem with a Stunning Game: Detroit: Become Human

The gaming industry is a huge industry that is growing fast. This industry, which is now too advanced to be ignored, is often seen by those outside of the gaming world as an “idle activity to clear the head”. While this may be true for some games, it’s definitely wrong to lump all games together. We will examine the game and discuss the philosophy behind it! Possible future scenarios of artificial intelligence: Detroit: Become Human

Increasing the Possibilities in Closed Universes

A game company called Quantic Dream released a game that 180 people worked in production in 2018 and named it “Detroit: Become Human“.

There are many factors that make this game special, but perhaps the most important is that this game is a serious war against closed systems. Closed systems are systems that do not accept outside intervention and where a limited number of moves can be made. For example, chess is a closed system. There are many moves that can be made, but ultimately limited and all moves are within that 64-square area. Games in general offer even more limited space. Generally, there is only one move that will lead to a conclusion in games, especially in single-player games. Although this single-move event has increased to 2-3 moves in the last 10 years, it has remained limited in general. Before introducing Detroit, Quantic Dream had already begun to push the boundaries, especially with its two games.

First, they released a darkly scripted, choice-based game called “Heavy Rain” in 2010. This game was the pioneer of this kind of election game. Then, in 2013, Quantic Dream announced a cinematic game called “Beyond: Two Souls”. This game had exactly 11 ending scenarios. In other words, the choices made did not only change the result of this game 1-2 times, but it could end in exactly 11 different ways. What Quantic Dream did was not to beat or pierce the closed system, but to increase the possibilities within the closed system as much as they could.

Detroit: Become Human

It was finally time to turn an idea into reality in 2015. After two successful cinematic games, Quantic Dream has set its eyes on a much bigger goal. Gathering a team of 180 people, they started to put the scenario they had set up in 2013 into reality. The script was between 2000-3000 pages and had a ton of different endings. The game had differences compared to the previous ones, but perhaps the most notable difference was the problem the game presented.

The story of Detroit: Become Human involved the long-debated artificial intelligence problem.

This game takes place in 2038 and until then, a company called CyberLife has brought the android dream to life. Human-like androids made of synthetic materials have entered our lives and are used in many jobs, from labor to maids. However, this event is not as cute as it seems.

Because the existence of androids has also caused unemployment and a large part of people hate androids for this reason. The impressive perspective that the game offers also helps you see this situation.

The game offers us the story without distinguishing between good and bad, and you move forward in the story by making choices in this balance. In addition to this, the anomaly is starting to appear in androids. Some androids start committing crimes and stop obeying. The game starts right at this point and you continue to game through the story using the 3 main characters.

Evaluating the Future of Artificial Intelligence with Many Possibilities

After this point, I will try to emphasize the importance of the game without giving more information about the story of the game. This game surpasses the 11 endings of Beyond Souls and offers exactly 85 different endings. In other words, this game is not the kind of game to be called “I’ve played it“. You have to play at least 85 times to see all the scenarios of the game. Only then can you see all the events. The game gives you at least 2 and at most 5 options for each event and you continue based on them. The result of every move you make appears in the story. In fact, a seemingly unimportant move you make in the introductory part of the game appears later in the game.

This game contains many positive and negative scenarios about the future of artificial intelligence. In this way, it allows us to not only play and have fun but also take a questioning and skeptical perspective on the future of artificial intelligence.

In this article, we will not be able to say “Oh, it’s a simple game after all“. We examined a game that has future scenarios behind it and pushes us to question. In fact, there are developments that will enable us to look at the future from different angles in the game world that we see around us, which seems insignificant. When we get rid of prejudices, we will start to look at life with brighter eyes!

You can find the official trailer of the game below.

References and Further Reading

Detroit: Become Human: Official Site: Quantic Dream. Detroit: Become Human | Official Site | Quantic Dream. (n.d.)
https://www.quanticdream.com/en/detroit-become-human.

Eadicicco, L. (2018, April 23). Detroit: Become Human Hands-On First Impressions. Time. https://time.com/5250684/detroit-become-human-hands-on/.

Encyclopedia.com. (2021, July 25). .” Encyclopedia of Management. . Encyclopedia.com. 16 Jun. 2021 . Encyclopedia.com.
https://www.encyclopedia.com/management/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/open-and-closed-systems.

Images not cited are used through Canva Pro with a royalty payment.

The proofreading has been done by Asu Pelin Akköse and Mete Esencan.