Is child abuse OK in Detroit: Become Human?
This morning I was watching The Wright Stuff on British breakfast television, a daily panel show featuring current news affairs, when I noticed the next topic to be discussed was about a 'computer game' called Detroit Become Human:
Detroit: Become Human is the latest game to come from creator David Cage, a 2018 Sony PlayStation 4 exclusive title, that featured a scene of potential domestic child abuse when a new trailer aired at Sony's Paris Game's Week 2017 Conference. You can see the full trailer here:
David Cage is no stranger to controversial subjects in his games. I've played Fahrenheit and also Heavy Rain and both of these games feature murder, the latter with a serial killer who kidnaps a child. So why is this new game suddenly on daytime breakfast TV? Because it's controversial, and without the controversial, off-screen scene, the game wouldn't have appeared on all of the mainstream gaming sites. So we all saw this a month ago, but only now is the printed press and big media catching onto it, because it's an easy target for a headline.
I'm no expert on what Detroit: Become Human is, but I gather from related media that it's a story-driven game with a heavy narrative, much like all of Cage's previous works. You play as an android and throughout the game are presented with game-changing decisions, but do you live through the story as an android would, or do you make the android 'Become Human' by making morally correct decisions as a human would, breaking the android's protocol, kind of I, Roboty. In theory, you could finish the game without even seeing this scene play out the wrong way. Choices given to the player are designed in such a way as to spark some kind of emotion from them. That is what this type of game is all about.
I've watched TWS on TV for many years, but today, with a headline like 'Ban Child Abuse Computer Game?' on the TV, I felt compelled to call the show and try and advocate as to why a scene like this in a video game isn't a reason to ban it. To my surprise, I got through!
Here is the clip of the entire discussion on the show today. If you want to skip forward to my call, I am caller number 1 at 05:50:
Mirror (UK):
Before the call I had plenty to say, but under pressure, live on air, with only a minute to talk, I don't think I got my point across as well as I could have, but it did make me think about how non-gamers perceive people who do enjoy experiencing and playing video games. I also wanted to tell Matthew (the host) to watch The Last of Us Part II trailer that was featured at the same gaming show in Paris, and is also a Sony exclusive title. I think that trailer has way more for the non-gaming masses to complain about, than the scenes from Detroit: Become Human. I've also been obliterating hundreds of Nazis with my Schockhammer in Wolfenstein 2 recently, literally blasting them into smithereens, but I've not seen that discussed on TV.
Obviously, this is a touchy subject matter, but in my eyes, it is no different than watching a movie or reading a book. The movie Sleepers immediately came to mind when I was trying to think of comparisons from other media, a 1996 film featuring some of hollywood's top stars suffering from child abuse. Why is that ok, but Detroit isn't?
It makes no sense.
Detroit: Become Human is expected to release worldwide in 2018.
Detroit: Become Human Official Site
David Cage is no stranger to controversial subjects in his games. I've played Fahrenheit and also Heavy Rain and both of these games feature murder, the latter with a serial killer who kidnaps a child. So why is this new game suddenly on daytime breakfast TV? Because it's controversial, and without the controversial, off-screen scene, the game wouldn't have appeared on all of the mainstream gaming sites. So we all saw this a month ago, but only now is the printed press and big media catching onto it, because it's an easy target for a headline.
I'm no expert on what Detroit: Become Human is, but I gather from related media that it's a story-driven game with a heavy narrative, much like all of Cage's previous works. You play as an android and throughout the game are presented with game-changing decisions, but do you live through the story as an android would, or do you make the android 'Become Human' by making morally correct decisions as a human would, breaking the android's protocol, kind of I, Roboty. In theory, you could finish the game without even seeing this scene play out the wrong way. Choices given to the player are designed in such a way as to spark some kind of emotion from them. That is what this type of game is all about.
I've watched TWS on TV for many years, but today, with a headline like 'Ban Child Abuse Computer Game?' on the TV, I felt compelled to call the show and try and advocate as to why a scene like this in a video game isn't a reason to ban it. To my surprise, I got through!
Here is the clip of the entire discussion on the show today. If you want to skip forward to my call, I am caller number 1 at 05:50:
Mirror (UK):
Before the call I had plenty to say, but under pressure, live on air, with only a minute to talk, I don't think I got my point across as well as I could have, but it did make me think about how non-gamers perceive people who do enjoy experiencing and playing video games. I also wanted to tell Matthew (the host) to watch The Last of Us Part II trailer that was featured at the same gaming show in Paris, and is also a Sony exclusive title. I think that trailer has way more for the non-gaming masses to complain about, than the scenes from Detroit: Become Human. I've also been obliterating hundreds of Nazis with my Schockhammer in Wolfenstein 2 recently, literally blasting them into smithereens, but I've not seen that discussed on TV.
Obviously, this is a touchy subject matter, but in my eyes, it is no different than watching a movie or reading a book. The movie Sleepers immediately came to mind when I was trying to think of comparisons from other media, a 1996 film featuring some of hollywood's top stars suffering from child abuse. Why is that ok, but Detroit isn't?
It makes no sense.
Detroit: Become Human is expected to release worldwide in 2018.
Detroit: Become Human Official Site
