WIP / buncha notes

There’s a 2018 video game called Detroit: Become Human. It has its pros and cons, I’m not sure I would particularly recommend it to everyone. But I will definitely say that it has a really strong opening. The game is about a future with lifelike androids in it, and as the player you play as several different androids going about their lives, dealing with becoming self-aware and navigating the challenges of human society. Some say that the social commentary is very heavy-handed and on-the-nose, which is true. 

Anyway. The game opens with a hostage negotiation situation, where you play as one android, Connor, who has to talk another android, Daniel, into letting go of a little human girl that he’s holding hostage. Daniel is a “household helper” android who recently learned that he’s probably about to be replaced. He kills the father and is holding a gun to the little girl’s head while standing at the edge of a balcony. He has also killed a police officer who had shot him. 

The interesting thing about the game is that it’s an interactive role-playing game – you can try and confront Daniel immediately, but your odds of achieving a successful outcome are extremely low if you do that. You have to investigate the rest of the house for clues – you find out his name, you find out his motive, the source of his distress, information that helps you to build rapport with him, reduce his anxiety and persuade him to put the gun down and let the girl go.

It’s actually really interesting to watch this entire sequence, which you can check out on YouTube (search “detroit become human hostage”).

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[Conversation with @made_in_cosmos] My approach for dealing with someone truly on the brink is to distract them from the thought pattern that they’re in. Hey, I’m Visa, what’s your name? [name], looks like you’re having a rough time. Talk to me. Did you have breakfast today? I had waffles. Do you prefer pancakes?

Therapists might not know how to do this because they’re used to dealing with people who opted in to talk to them. The masters of the playbook you’re looking for might actually be hostage negotiators