Detroit: Become Human – Everyone, or thing, can teach you (OWLS July 2018 Blog Tour)

Before you get into the main bit of this article, go and check out Marth’s take on our monthly OWLS theme, “Mentors,” on his blog. To know more about who’s posting what on when, check out our blog tour schedule in the OWLS blog or even check out our previous tours in the site.

Living in a world without any sort of instruction manual, we’re always left to our own devices in terms of how we usually go on about with our daily lives. There’s never a big sign or a comprehensive poster detailing the DOs and DON’Ts of living. With so much uncertainty, we often turn to our fellow man for advice, consolation and help. Here, we’ll talk how learning from each other can create some pretty meaningful learning with our characters, Hank and Connor, from the recently released game “Detroit: Become Human.”

The video game,”Detroit: Become Human,” has caused quite a stir in recent months on the way the story was written. Some claim it’s a problematic allegory of the civil rights movement, belittles the struggle of oppressed minorities and nothing more but a child’s take on what being part of a minority actually means in a realistic society.

Despite the problematic ideas and wonky character building, I think I can state an exception for the most wholesome cop duo: the cranky, worn-out detective Hank and his newly assigned android partner Connor. From these two characters, I could see that wholesome relationship being carefully developed as the entire world of Detroit just gets into chaos throughout the game’s story.

Being the senior, Hank usually takes charge on what to do during investigations and other detective work – acting as a guiding non-playable character throughout the game as you don the persona of Connor, his android assistant detective. You might think that, as I describe Hank, he’s probably the most respectable and professional cop you’d expect. Someone who’s traditionally written in common stories to play by the book whilst the newbie breaks the rules.

It’s quite the opposite for these two cops.

Hank can be ultimately described as that one lazy, old cop that barely gets the job done. He complains, goes against orders and acts on instinct rather than going through how the rulebook describes it. Obviously, someone you don’t want to work with in an office – not mentor-material.

But despite being the crude, bitter police detective, Hank drops the most important quality that each person should possess – a strong sense of morality and understanding of people. Something that Connor, as an android, could never possess naturally.

In almost every case, Connor is the one that emphasizes on following the rules and reprimanding Hank on taking the best and effective course of action without consideration on how easily their actions influence and hurt other people in the process. “I need to complete my mission” is always a common line coming out from Connor and he means to do that through any means, not dwelling on whether it’s right or wrong.

Hank usually corrects Connor and always shows his disappointment, either through words or body language, on Connor’s decisions. When Hank screws up or goes into a low mental state, Connor usually gets the option, as a player, to help him out. This is why I really wanted to talk about these two characters – they’re not perfect and carry some tremendous burdens as they go on about their jobs. It’s up to their mutual understanding and help that they can get by through each and every case.

Being a mentor doesn’t necessarily mean you have to possess a wide assortment of experiences in order to come up with the best advice for your juniors. Usually, by helping each other out, you can learn some pretty important stuff which is what happened with Hank and Connor.

Connor, again, would do anything for the mission. He would kill; make the most immoral decisions if not guided properly. This is where Hank comes in – to act as Connor’s human side in every decision. As the player, Hank usually persuades and complains whether you screw up.

I think the most painful route you could go for, as Connor, would be to find every opportunity to get killed. In every occasion you fail, Hank succumbs to a very low mental state up until getting suicidal. Mostly because every time you get killed, he remembers the death of his son – his last reason to care for living. It shows how much these characters mean to each other. Even Connor, as the game progresses, gets to understand and empathize with Hank’s reasoning.

Mentorship is such a flexible thing and can blossom into one of the most wondrous friendships you can get. In the case of Hank and Connor, they were pretty hostile to each other’s work method at first, but as time went on, they got to grow and overcome their problems.

In Hank’s case, it was the importance of life  – that even if hope seems bleak and unattainable for you at the moment, shed a light for those who feel the same and usually, you and the person you helped can ultimately climb out of the darkness.

In Connor’s case, it was the concept of humanity – as an android, empathy, morals and human reasoning aren’t part of his programming. Through working with Hank, he understands that “completing his mission” isn’t what matters in the long run. It’s all about whether the actions that come with his decision-making are right in the first place. He’s no longer a mindless puppet that follows every order but rather, a human being capable of assessing the impact he makes on people’s lives – whether they’d be good or bad.

In the end, they became human, in their different ways. Again, you don’t need to be the ultimately and well-experience senior to become some sort of mentor figure. If you’re passionate and caring enough for the stuff you do in your day-to-day life, then it’s enough to influence your peers to do better.

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What are some things you hate or love about the game, “Detroit: Become Human?” Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

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– Miandro