FASA Studio

Background

FASA Studio was formed in 1994 as "FASA Interactive". They were an exclusive developer of video games based off of properties owned by their founder, FASA Corporation. In 1999, Microsoft acquired FASA Studio and its properties, while the original FASA remained independent until 2001, when it ceased active operations. FASA Studio continued to develop games until Microsoft closed it down in 2007, with their last game, ShadowRun, being released earlier that year.

1st Logo (June 24, 1998)

Nickname: "Ubisoft's Grandfather", "The Atom Symbol"

Logo: Against a black background, we fly through a purple tunnel at a fast rate. The camera moves out of the tunnel and it flattens, becoming a stylized atom symbol in black. Light appears behind the symbol, illuminating it. The words "FASA INTERACTIVE" fade in underneath.

Variants: There is a still variant on a prototype for Mechwarrior 3, where the symbol is white and is smaller, and the text is centered. This logo was going to appear in the game, but was scrapped after Mondo Media took over production.

FX/SFX: The tunnel, the forming of the logo.

Music/Sounds: A thunderous whoosh, followed by electricity noises when the tunnel flattens into the symbol.

Availability: Only appears on MechCommander.

2nd Logo (October 31, 2001)

Nickname: "The Text"

Logo: On a white background, we see the words "FASA" in black, and "studio" in white underneath it. The atom symbol from before acts as the "o".

FX/SFX: Just the logo fading in and out.

Music/Sounds: The opening theme of the game.

Availability: Only appears on MechWarrior 4: Black Knight.

3rd Logo (November 7, 2002)

Nickname: "The Atom Symbol II"

Logo: On a white background, the word "fasastudio" in black fades in and shines. As it does, a solidified, metallic version of the FASA atom symbol appears and zooms out. A gray box encloses the words, making "fasa" white and "studio" a lighter gray. The symbol hits the box, landing next to the text.

FX/SFX: The formation of the text, the symbol zooming out.

Music/Sounds: A loud electric whoosh, followed by a quieter whoosh and a metallic bang when the symbol zooms out and hits the box.

Availability: Seen only on MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries.

Legacy: Given the average quality animation, it's believed that this logo was a placeholder for the next logo.

4th Logo (November 12, 2002-June 14, 2007)

Nickname: "The Atom Symbol III"

Logo: On a white background, several colored particles fly around the screen. They form the FASA Studio logo from before, except the box and text are tinted blue. The logo quickly zooms in a bit.

Variant: Sometimes, the logo is still on a black background.

FX/SFX: The particles, the zooming in of the logo.

Music/Sounds: A decreasing dramatic synth tune, followed by radio chatter when the logo zooms in. Otherwise, it's none or the opening theme of the game.

Availability: Appeared on MechAssault, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf and Shadowrun.