The rebellion of the androids is just around the corner

[Warlock-]

Science fiction has always been a great vehicle to channel the highest culture. In 1989 the American writer Dan Simmons published Hyperion, work that won the Hugo and the Locus prize and that became one of the highest levels of the genre of the last century. Among the many characters we follow on their pilgrimage to the tombs of time, from which the Shrike has come out to threaten every way of life, we find John Keats.

John Keats is, literally, the English poet John Keats, whose soul (or a simulation of whose soul) inhabits a body identical to that of the immortal poet who lived halfway between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The search for his identity, the assumption of his mechanical part mixed with his human soul, and what makes him be himself despite being a "cybrid", vertebra one of the deepest and most interesting approaches of the novel.

 

It is 2018 and in one of the initial moments of Detroit: Become Human (game developed by Quantic Dream) we control Markus, one of the three androids who star in the latest work directed by the visionary David Cage (Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls) . Markus is the assistant robot of the famous painter Carl Manfred, paralyzed and whose life is responsible for organizing and ordering. In one of those first steps with Markus, we can approach the personal library of Manfred, where we are given the option of looking through three books: one is from Plato, another from Shakespeare, the other from Keats.

It's not by chance. "It's a clear reference to Hyperion, yes," responds Adam Williams, head of screenwriters in Detroit in Madrid, in the presentation of the game to the media. "But the references are huge, we wanted a complex game and there are details that take you to many sources." From Blade Runner to the literature of the collaborationists with the Nazis during World War II, the mirrors in which this game is watched, exclusive to Play Station 4 and that will be released on May 25, are endless. Let's get in situation. Detroit is located in the year 2038.

The androids, with human appearance and that serve humanity in basic tasks such as labor, care or accompaniment, begin to develop human feelings and emotions. Some, even begin to become aware of themselves. These self-conscious androids are called "divergent" and begin to rebel against men. The game follows the guidelines of the previous games of David Cage, that is, a graphic adventure where the story takes precedence over the action, although in this case we will have doses of fight and action more abundant than in the previous titles.

In Detroit we follow the footsteps of three protagonists: Kara, a home robot that takes care of little Alice; the aforementioned Markus, who will become the protagonist of the rebellion; and Connor, a robot that is dedicated to hunt down the "divergent". Those are the basic brush strokes, but history will create it, with its decisions, the player himself.

"The role as a screenwriter is very different here than in a movie or a television series," says Williams. "There you have to decide where the story is going and take it in the best possible way." In something like this, an interactive drama, your role is not to write the story, but to give the players the tools to build their own story, "he says. . "I think that authors like David are the best ones to work with: he has a very powerful vision of what he wants to tell, but he is very collaborative", he explains about working with a visionary of videogames like Cage. I wanted a very broad story, but with three very defined flavors for the three characters. He was very open to any idea. If you have a new way of seeing a scene, introduce it. It's something that excites him. "

 

 

The name of David Cage leaves every bit of Adam's mouth, always with admiration. Last January, several French-speaking media (Le Monde, Canard PC, Mediapart) poured accusations against Quantic Dream on account of alleged toxic practices in the team, such as offensive behavior and overexploitation. The image that comes to one's head when Adam talks about David Cage can not be further from these denunciations. "When he discovered that I did not know how to ride a bike he taught me how to use it! That's the kind of person he is: very warm, very noble.

He taught me how to ride his bike! In front of the office, I went ahead and he went behind screaming. You can do it!".  Markus, the leader of the revolts; Connor, the researcher who betrays his race; Kara and her story helps Alice. One can not help but ask what is Adam's favorite character. "You have to fall in love with everyone," he says thoughtfully. "But I have a special affection for Kara, Connor and Markus are very advanced prototypes, with advanced superpowers, but Kara is a basic model, her" superpower "is love towards Alice," she says, and then ends the sentence: in one sense it is not a power, but in another it is the most important, right? " We do not know if a power, but perhaps if the key to what, as the title says, makes us human.