The original soundtrack to Supermassive Games’ cinematic interactive drama / survival horror game Directive 8020 by 2-time BAFTA award-winning composer Jason Graves (The Dark Pictures Anthology, Dead Space, Tomb Raider, Until Dawn) is now streaming on all major music platforms here.
Game Synopsis:
Earth is dying and humanity is running out of time. 12 light years from home, Tau Ceti f offers a small sliver of hope. When the colony ship Cassiopeia crash lands on the planet, its crew soon realize they are far from being alone. In space, death takes many forms. Hunted by an alien organism capable of mimicking its prey, the crew of the Cassiopeia must outwit their pursuers to make it home alive. To help them survive, the choices you make are more important than ever! Evade real-time threats where any step could be your last. Decide who to trust in a world where anyone could be a deadly alien impostor. Featuring Hollywood actress, Lashana Lynch (Bob Marley: One Love, The Woman King) as the ground-breaking astronaut, ‘Young’, Directive 2020 is an immersive cinematic horror experience that blends intense survival gameplay with a branching narrative storyline. IN SPACE, DEATH TAKES MANY FORMS.
Soundtrack notes from composer Jason Graves:
“I composed a simple, three-note motif that is featured throughout the ship’s corridors in the guise of overly friendly, corporate music. It plays anytime you see the company logo pop up on screen.
‘Welcome To The Corinth Family’ is the first track on the album, and it begins and ends with the corporate, three note ID. Those same three notes are constantly playing in the background of the cue as well in different variations.
All of the sound design and UI bleeps and bloops were purposely tuned to the same key as this corporate music, resulting in a peaceful, tranquil feeling and harmony between the ship and its crew. Until things begin to go awry…then the entire tuning of the ship’s interior and UI sounds are disjunct and wrong in every possible way.
The true corporate intentions are revealed in track two, ‘Little Star,’ which has the same three notes spread over a constantly evolving, mysterious bed or pulsing orchestra and synth sounds. This same approach is used in chapter openings throughout the game, as a “previously on…” kind of tag.
I also introduce the main thematic concept of the protagonist – a shape-shifting creature of unknown origin. Just like the creature, notes bend and shift without any proper logic or predictability. These constantly changing, bending notes are featured throughout the entire score. Sometimes they feel slightly mysterious, other times completely off.
There’s also a theme for Brianne Young. ‘Young Eyes Open’ underscores many of the conversations and experiences you see through her eyes, beginning with awakening from hypersleep. It’s mostly hopeful with a tinge of the bending notes, hinting at darker possibilities in the future.
This same theme is implemented into a jazz combo with the track ‘Young At Heart,’ which underscores a ‘Two Days Before Launch’ flashback. It’s an excuse to have some fun and lean into something a bit unexpected, with some of the original orchestra and bending synth sounds leaking into the acoustic trio from time to time.”
Tracklisting:
- Welcome To The Corinth Family
- Little Star
- Why Not Take All Of me
- Tau Ceti f
- Twelve Light-Years From Earth
- Test Results
- Young Eyes Open
- The Sample
- Best Laid Plans
- Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better
- Cetus Constellation
- Young At Heart
