prioritize following those orders versus satisfying other goals." When a character seems to respond to a verbal command (for example, when a character is told to flank), what is happening is that the AI has decided to flank the player, reasoning that a flanking maneuvre is the best way to fulfil its goal. This decision then triggers the nearest character to play the audio "flank", followed by the original character beginning to move to the location, thus making it appear as if the NPC is responding to the command. In actuality, it's the command that is responding to the NPC, but it gives the illusion of verbal orders being followed. The game's AI was universally lauded upon the original PC release. It went on to win GameSpots "2005 Best AI Award", and earned the #2 ranking on AIGameDev's "Most Influential AI Games" in 2007. The GOAP system went on to be used in games such as S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl (2007), Just Cause 2 (2010), Transformers: War for Cybertron (2010), F.E.A.R. 3 (2011), and Deus Ex: Human Revolution (2011), as well as subsequent Monolith games, such as Condemned 2: Bloodshot (2008), F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin (2009), Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (2014), and Middle-earth: Shadow of War (2017). Audio and music In keeping with F.E.A.R.s tonal influences, the sound design and music were designed in the style of Japanese horror films, particularly their tendency to produce tension from ambient sound. The audio engineers used inexpensive equipment to create crude sound effects, employing methods such as dragging metal across different surfaces and recording pump sounds. Composer Nathan Grigg says of the sound design, "sometimes the absence of sound is the best sound. The blank spaces are some of the most disturbing parts of the game. They allow players to fill in the space, which lets their imagination create their own personal horror." In relation to the music, Grigg acknowledges that "sound and music blurred a little bit." He wanted the score to be "more cerebral and tailored to each individual event", pointing out that "sometimes the music is used to ratchet up the tension to toy with players ... [it] will build to a terrifying crescendo before cutting off without a corresponding event, only to later have the silence shattered by Alma, when players least expect it". Promotion In 2005, F.E.A.R. made playable appearances at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the Game