Virtual Tourism in Detroit is an exploration within the video game Detroit: Become Human, a narrative experience designed by French studio Quantic Dream, which tells the story of three androids working in Detroit, United States, in the near future. Featured as part of the Virtual Tourism Project, a series of photos and videos dedicated to the work of game designers, developers, and a way to keep memory of our virtual excursions in the metaverse. “The Soulignac Brothers“ is a creative collective exploring new territories in cyberspace.

The future of robotics

David Cage is far too optimistic in his work Detroit: Become Human. He imagines a successful combination of robotics and artificial intelligence, both technologically and commercially, around 2038. This seems implausible from a forward-looking perspective. Nevertheless, his story and vision of our future are fascinating to discover. As in other great science fiction stories, technology is not at the heart of Detroit: Become Human, but rather a factor that will shake up our humanity and convictions.

The next societal challenges

Behind its apparent international identity dedicated to export, blending North American and Hollywood influences, Detroit: Become Human is in fact a profoundly European work. It is an example of successful entertainment, combining emotional and intellectual stimulation. How should society adapt to technological and industrial upheavals? What will happen to our democratic values, our culture and our relationship with otherness? All these essential questions are explored in a fluid and captivating narrative, inviting us to become aware, as citizens, of the societal issues already at work IRL.

A film noir point-and-click

The stylistic approach of Detroit: Become Human is hybrid, as is often the case with ambitious, multifaceted works. Quantic Dream’s work lies at the intersection of cinema and video games. It is a futuristic crime thriller combined with next-gen point-and-click gameplay, especially during these (too rare) moments of exploration. However, there is too little interaction with the scenery, objects, and combinatorial puzzles to claim that the creators intended it to be a deep point-and-click game, probably to preserve the fluidity of the narrative and the mainstream objective of the project.

Interactive intensity

We always remain “passive” when faced with literary and cinematographic works, an imposed narrative that we follow passively, unable to change its course. Interactive narrative works, commonly known as video games, force us to be active. This is a fundamental difference, allowing us to experience stories in a perhaps more profound way, thanks to the personal involvement they require. This phenomenon is even more pronounced in online experiences, when interacting with real people, like The Soulignac Brothers in RDR2.

© 2022 The Soulignac Brothers | Virtual Tourism in Detroit: Become Human. Creative walks and videography in video games. Game designer: © Quantic Dream. Story: David Cage‬. Music: Philip Sheppard, Nima Fakhrara, John Paesano. In-game videographer: François Soulignac. Technique: Video captured on PlayStation 4 Pro, between July 2019 and February 2022. Virtual Tourism Project is a series of photos and videos dedicated to the work of game designers, developers, and a way to keep memory of our virtual excursions in the metaverse. “The Soulignac Brothers“ is a creative collective exploring new territories in cyberspace.