Detroit: Become Human

Detroit: Become Human is an adventure game developed by Quantic Dream and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation 4. It was released worldwide on 25 May 2018, and is widely known for indelicate handling of issues such as racism and the civil rights movement with Polygon's review stating: "But Detroit: Become Human fails to either challenge or reflect upon the ramifications of abuse or the history of the civil rights movement, around which its three storylines cohere."Detroit: Become Human tackles civil rights without a grasp of history. Posted 25 May 2018. Accessed 17 September 2019. Despite this, D:BH has a large and enthusiastic fanbase.
Fans of the game often disregard the portions of canon they don't like, instead choosing to focus on the parts of the game they found compelling. In practice, this "fuck the canon" attitude many D:BH fans have means AU and canon divergence are both common within fanworks. Since many of the focal characters are androids, All Human AU is common and the sometimes violent nature of the game means Hurt/Comfort is also common.
==Synopsis==
The plot revolves around three androids, Kara, Connor, and Markus, and their journeys toward becoming self-aware. Connor is a police investigator android whose job is to hunt down sentient androids that have deviated from their programmed behaviors and, depending on player choices, can go deviant himself. Kara is a housekeeper android who develops artificial consciousness and escapes the owner she was serving to explore her newfound sentience while trying to protect Alice, a young girl. Markus is a caretaker android who, after gaining consciousness, takes it upon himself to free other androids like him from bondage.
The game revolves heavily on choices the player makes, primarily through QTEs, and there are quite a number of different endings to the gameHow many endings are in this game. Posted 2 Dec 2018. Accessed 24 Sept 2019. meaning that every player's experience will be a little bit different.
==Characters==
Connor, Kara, and Markus are the only playable characters in D:BH, but there are several other important characters in the game:
* Hank Anderson, Connor's human partner
* Gavin Reed, an antagonist to Connor and Hank
* Elijah Kamski, creator of the androids in D:BH
* Alice, the girl that Kara saves from her abusive father
* Luther, an android Kara and Alice meet on their travels
* Josh, North, and Simon, who are androids Markus meets in Jericho
* Chloe, the android from the main menu screen and one of Kamski's creations
* RK900, a minor character who become popular due to fanon
==Fandom==
Most of the D:BH fandom centers around the character of Connor, whose popularity is only helped by the fact that Connor's actor (Bryan Dechart) is active within the fandom on Twitch and YouTube. He did several playthroughs of the game, including a blind lp.Detroit: Play Through #1 (BLIND!) via Dechart Games. Accessed 17 September 2019. Connor's popularity within the D:BH fandom over the other two playable characters is often explained with the assertion that his storyline is one of the reasons why the game was enjoyable at all:
Connor's popularity may also have to do with the fact that his storyline is the least "issue driven" of the three and therefore suffers the least from the kind of misstep that spawned many variations on the already popular Press X To meme. These memes ranged from "press triangle to evoke actual historical civil rights struggles"@ponettplus via Twitter. Posted24 May 2018. Accessed 17 September 2019. to "press x to end racism"@RustyShackleman via Twitter. Post 28 July 2019. Accessed 17 September 2019. and much of the critical discussion about D:BH centers around this aspect of the game. Markus' storyline is almost entirely about the Android Revolution, culminating in him effectively becoming Jesus, and Kara's storyline focuses on themes of domestic abuse and motherhood. This leaves Connor's storyline as the one where fans can drop the more problematic aspects of D:BH and focus on the relationships between characters without feeling like they're ignoring the issue.
The game's many different endings mean that it's extremely popular among YouTubers who do Let's Play-style content, since they can do multiple runs of the game without the content feeling stale to their fans. This popularity, however, means that many of the game's fans have not necessarily played the game themselves but rather have experienced it through someone else's playthrough. While that's not inherently a good or bad thing, depending on which YouTuber a fan decides to watch play, their opinion of the game and the ideology around it can be colored by the commentary of the person playing. For example, Super Best Friends went into their D:BH playthrough already aware of the issues surrounding it and were prepared to mock David Cage's writing to the full extent. Because Quantic Dream's games haven't handled the types of issues that D:BH deal with well in their past games,David Cage's Message Is That David Cage Is a Bad Writer. Posted 11 July 2017. Accessed 17 September 2019. with the company itself coming into question ahead of D:BH's release,Quantic Dream denies allegations of homophobia, racism and toxic studio culture. Posted 18 January 2018. Accessed 17 September 2019. their history of missteps caused Super Best Friends to release a bingo card ahead of their LP. There were many other bingo cards made by fans ahead of the game's release, highlighting some of the many problems people had with the game even when they enjoyed it,Detroit: Become Human Bingo Card Megathread. Posted 22 May 2018. Accessed 17 September 2019. and overall the tone of their playthrough was neutral to negative. Bryan Dechart's playthroughs, on the other hand, are more joking and lighthearted and Jacksepticeye's first playthrough is much the same way.
As noted in the article The Super-Fans Of Detroit: Become Human Hate Most Of The Game, much of the fandom around D:BH is centered around hatred of the source material or ignoring the aspect of canon that are terrible. In a sense, the fandom itself is acting like Fix-it on the canon. This is reflected in the most popular tags used on fanworks hosted at AO3, which include fluff and "Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human)."Detroit: Become Human on AO3. Other common tropes include a focus on deviancy in the android charactersDeviant Connor (Detroit: Become Human) on AO3. Accessed 17 September 2019.Deviancy (Detroit: Become Human) on AO3. Accessed 17 September 2019. and human aus. Given the nature of the canon, darkfic dealing with the various darker aspects of D:BH are also quite common. Because all three of the main playable characters can die, depending on player choices, and many of the secondary characters can also die so Everybody LivesD:BH works tagged "Everyone Is Alive" on AO3. Accessed 24 Sept 2019. and variations on that theme are relatively common. Like many other choice-driven fandoms such as Fallout or Dragon Age, fans for D:BH will often clarify which path their character is written from to avoid confusion among other fans."Pacifist Markus" tag on AO3. Accessed 24 Sept 2019. The most common of these tags is "Deviant Connor" whose use far outstrips the opposite tag "Machine Connor.""Machine Connor" tag on AO3. Accessed 24 Sept 2019.
===Shipping===
Shipping the the D:BH fandom is unique in that, given the player-driven nature of the gameplay, one would assume that all pairings were more or less possible as "canon" as in games like Dragon Age. This is not the case, as Markus/North is the only true "relationship" you can pursue in the game, with David Cage saying that Quantic Dream considered other romance options for Markus but "the amount of permutations that it would have triggered in the script would have been pretty unmanageable" and "[w]e chose to privilege the relationship with North, but a relationship with another male character would have worked as well."Hey! I’m David Cage, Writer and Director of Detroit: Become Human. Ask me anything! Posted 22 June 2018. Accessed 17 September 2019. The juggernaut ship is Connor/Hank Anderson (also known as ConHank or HankCon), at almost double the amount of works of the next most popular ship RK900/Gavin Reed. Like many newer fandoms, especially ones populated with younger fans, Reader-Insert fics are also popular with Connor/Reader being the third most popular ship in the fandom.
Interestingly, even though Markus/North is the only pairing that can become canonical, it's relatively rare within the fandom.Markus/North (Detroit: Become Human) on AO3. Accessed 17 September 2019. This may be due to the fact that North is almost impossible not to romance, despite the fact that Markus can act in a completely pacifistic manner that sharply contrasts with the violent choices she advocates. Their "romance" mainly happens over a single scene in which North's affection for Markus goes up without regard for the player's choicesDetroit Become Human - Markus & North Full Romance. Posted 24 May 2018. Accessed 17 September 2019. and this led to many players feeling as though the game railroaded them into a relationship with North, rather than it being something they chose to pursue. Instead, many people pair Markus with either Simon or Connor. It's also unusual that the second most popular pairing in the fandom would be between the relatively minor character of Gavin Reed and the completely fanon character of RK900, who appears in a single mid-credits scene that players may or may not even unlockHow do I get the secret RK900 ending??? Posted 23 May 2019. Accessed 23 Sept 2019. and who has no lines or discernible character traits. Whether RK900/Gavin Reed is a case of Two White Guys or a crackship that's gained traction is unclear, but it does highlight the fandom's tendency to do whatever they want rather than adhere to canon.
The dissatisfaction that many players felt with Kara's storyline in the game seems to carry over into shipping. She features most heavily in fic about Connor and Hank, but suffers from Bruce Banner Syndrome in that many of the fics that Kara is tagged in aren't about her."Kara (Detroit: Become Human)" tag on AO3. Accessed 23 Sept 20-9. Most often, she's paired with Luther. The lesbian Tracis featured in Connor's storyline are also a popular component of D:BH fic"Echo | Blue-Haired Traci/Ripple | Blue-Haired Traci's Girlfriend" tag on AO3. Accessed 24 Sept 2019. that rarely feature prominently.
===Controversies===
While Detroit obviously has a thriving fanbase, many people believe that it shouldn't due to the many, many things that the game handles poorly or even harmfully. These people are often ones who have played other Quantic Dream games and have come to believe that David Cage should not be given a platform given his previous games track record and the allegations against him. They also are often critical of the fact that David Cage won't admit that D:BH is an allegory and refuses to politicize his gamesDespite Political Overtones, David Cage Says Detroit Is Mostly About Androids. Posted 15 Jun 2017. Accessed 23 Sept 2019. but will use Elliot Page for street cred when he once spent 12 months creepily looking for photos of him to write Beyond: Two SoulsThe Video Game That Began With...Pictures Of Elliot Page. Posted 3 Oct 2013. Accessed 23 Sept 2019. and put a nude model of him in a game against his will, causing him to explore legal action against Quantic Dreams.Elliot Page explored legal action against Sony after nude video-game images leaked online. Posted 20 April 2015. Accessed 23 Sept 2019.
Fans are also often critical of the way some of D:BH's fans have chosen to express their fannish interest in D:BH Jesus Christ, this Detroit: Become Human tattoo. Posted 3 Aug 2018. Accessed 24 Sept 2019. given the fact that D:BH doesn't engage well with the history of racism and social justice, appropriating symbols without regard or respect for how th e optics of those symbols are used.Tumblr Post by katikacreations. Posted 29 Jul 2018. Accessed 24 Sept 2019.nuka-rockit responding to an anon on Tumblr. Posted 23 Jun 2018. Accessed 24 Sept 2019. Many people who are critical of D:BH don't even hate the game, they just believe there are serious issues with the handling of certain topics and real-world issues that fans have a responsibility to be aware of, even if they enjoyed the game.why detroit: become human is a bad game. Posted 25 Jun 2018. Accessed 24 Sept 2019. They also expressed disappointment with many aspects of D:BH's story, in particular its handling of Kara's storyline and the function of the lesbian Tracis in Connor's storyline, given that they're the only direct LGBT+ representation in the game.
While much of the fandom is either accepting of the fact that D:BH is deeply problematic or deeply critical of the game while still enjoying it, there are fans who believe the team at Quantic Dream worked hard on the game and it's disrespectful to their hard work in trying to make the game good to "hate" on the game because everything is problematic and nothing is pure. These people often only address the less critical arguments against D:BH, such as some people's disdain for Connor purely on the basis that he's popular, rather than the deeper issues that fans are critical of. There are also those who believe D:BH isn't a racist game at all.
There's also some discussion about the fact that a major component of the game is the fact that a Chloe is present on the game's main menu screen and you can interact with her.DETROIT BECOME HUMAN - CHLOE SPEAKS: Most Complete Compilation (all episodes). Posted 10 Jun 2018. Accessed 24 Sept 2019. Once a player finishes the game and exits to the final menu, Chloe will give the player the option to set her free, thus adding a powerful player component to the themes of the game. If the player chooses to free Chloe, the decision was meant to be final: when that player booted up the game from that point forward, Chloe would not be there to greet them on the main menu screen. Because of player response, however, Quantic Dream announced that they would be releasing a patch that allowed players to acquire a new Chloe.@Detroit_Game on Twitter: "(Spoiler) A lot of players asked us to « bring back Chloe » after her release. We decided to follow the popular vote: @Detroit_PS4’s next patch will allow you to acquire a brand new model (but your original Chloe will still be free)." Posted 10 Jun 2018. Accessed 24 Sept 2019. Responses to the announcement ranged from positive to negative, with players either excited for Chloe's return or feeling that the patch would destroy the original meaning of their choice.
There were also those who were upset that the patch would be bringing back a new Chloe, rather than the one they had started to become attached to and set free in the first place. These players felt that the patch shouldn't bring in a new Chloe, but rather allow the old one to visit the player.
==Example Fanworks==
===Fanfiction===
===Fanart===
* Kara by wlop on DeviantArt
* pelcron's D:BH art on Tumblr
* Chloe by @PLLA92024853 on Twitter
* by vesnaaa, 2024
* Futari no Sentakushi, a Hank/Connor doujinshi
===Fan Films===
* Detroit Awakening
===Zines===
* Trust, a Connor/Markus zine
* RA9: Charity Zine, a charity zine benefiting Gunnar's Purpose
* Now Playing, the movie poster-themed zine bundled with RA9
* I Like Dogs And You, a Hank/Connor zine
* Yellow LED: After the Uprising, an anthology zine
* This Is Our Story
==Meta==
* The Super-Fans Of Detroit: Become Human Hate Most Of The Game
* Detroit: Become Human - The Worst Civil Rights Allegory by Mother's Basement
==Resources==
* Detroit: Become Human Wiki
* Detroit: Become Human on TV Tropes
* Detroit: Become Human on IGN
* Detroit: Become Human on AO3
* Detroit: Become Human tag on Tumblr
* detroitbecomehuman tag on Wattpad
* Detroit: Become Human category on FF.net
==References==