You read that right--Cognition Episode 1 won the Aggie Award & the Readers Choice poll for Best Music (http://www.adventuregamers.com/articles/view/24014/page11)! A HUGE and well-earned congratulations to Austin Haynes for his fantastic work on the soundtrack!
Here's what Adventure Gamers had to say:
QuoteThe first episode of Phoenix Online's new episodic paranormal mystery Cognition is soaked with gloomy style. It is a game that has many different emotional gears: On the trail of a serial killer, Erica Reed finds herself performing a normal FBI investigation around the city of Boston, but she'll also spend time in thoughtful conversations with a grieving family member at the cemetery, as well as experiencing very intense moments of jeopardy with an evil murderer close at hand. These narrative highs and lows would have had much more trouble resonating with players if they were not framed with an appropriately atmospheric soundtrack, but the brilliant score by Austin Haynes consistently hits just the right notes at all times.
Cognition's music is soft and reflective when it needs to be, moody and ambient when circumstances dictate, and jarringly intense at the game's darkest and most dramatic moments. During scenes when audio should be less prominent, the mood is kept light and unobtrusive, but the soundtrack is always a benefit to the events playing out on screen, which is a very impressive feat for an indie endeavour. The composer's work on The Silver Lining was notably one of that game's strengths as well, and Phoenix Online clearly made the right choice by once again putting their music into his hands, as Cognition proved itself a deserving winner of our Best Music Aggie for 2012 over some very tough competition.
That is so awesome! A massive congrats! :D
My personal favourite is the music that plays in the police station. It reminds me of Deus Ex. :P
heh, Katie nicknamed that track "Casio" :)
My personal favorite is the main theme. I was in love with it from the moment I heard it. The other ones that I like a lot are the ones related to Robert's memories. and the cemetery theme... and the map theme... and!
Congrats Austin. A very well deserved win :D
Thank you everyone for voting and enjoying the music from Cognition :)!
I won the soundtrack in one of your Steam Giveaways and now I listen to it all the time! These are my faves:
* Cognition
* At The Station
* Robert Remembers
* Past And Future
Congratulations to the award Austin! Thank you for creating such an amazing soundtrack!
I'm glad you're enjoying it Göran! :D Austin is indeed amazing. I have the TSL music in my mp3 player.
I'm so excited Austin won for both the Aggie award and the Reader's Choice award. Hands down, his was THE best score I heard last year, either film score or game score.
Congratulations to Austin for the well-deserved win!