There are only three of us in the core development team (though over the years we've been incredibly lucky to receive help from many talented people in the industry, and we're endlessly grateful to them for that). This is probably the first post where one of the developers will say whatever they want.
We're independent, and nothing is stopping us from writing whatever comes to mind here.
You know, people often say that games are a way to escape reality.
For me, Cognition Method has never been about escaping reality.
It's about looking at it differently.
When I came across my very first science fiction book, it was by Ray Bradbury, and I felt like I was seeing reality for the first time. It was a long time ago. Back then, the world felt dark and closed off. Ray illuminated it from another angle. I started noticing things I had never noticed before. The characters in his book felt more alive than some of the people around me.
I'm not questioning our reality. I just mean that sometimes we get buried in everyday routine. We forget why we're here. We stop noticing the things that truly matter. Maybe we even grow numb.
The game is our attempt to pass those light rays forward. it's about life, love, entropy, and the role of a human being in a vast, indifferent Universe. About the search for meaning. About what remains when everything else fades away.
We explore existential questions not through abstract dialogue (sometimes with them too, haha), but through the player's actions- through choice, consequences and the journey of a hero traveling across time and space.
You will experience a cohesive story with unexpected twists, personal drama, and meaningful decisions that lead to different endings. It's a cinematic sci-fi adventure, and at the same time, a place for rest and meditation.
It's a space where you can reset. Experience something that can only truly be felt through a video game.
This is an adventure that stays with you long after it ends.
A piece of our lives that we want to share with you.
The hardest part wasn't creating the levels. And it wasn't the mechanics.
The hardest part was compressing an entire world: with its past, present, and future, into ~8-9 hours of a linear story of the main character, his tragedy and journey inside a mysterious artifact filled with puzzles, where the player must find all the answers.
It took us years to find a form where all of this wouldn't fall apart, but instead work as a cohesive whole. So that every level wouldn't just be beautiful, but meaningful, and every detail would serve the story.
The entire game was crafted by hand. Every scene, every transition, every visual accent has been polished with careful attention to detail.
And finally, we will soon be ready to show you the result later this year.
Sincerely yours, Timur & Team Cognition