Gray Matter

Background

Gray Matter was founded in 1985 by Chris Gray as Chris Gray Enterprises after its success of Boulder Dash. The first game the company developed was Whirlinurd, but the first international success for the company was Infiltrator. After the success, the company set up its subsidiary in 1988 as Gray Matter. Following on from the Amiga and Atari ST success, it went on to produce games for the NES, SNES, 3DO, Sega Saturn, Game Gear and PlayStation, becoming one of the biggest developers. The problems with the Canadian government over labor issues brought Gray Matter to bankruptcy in 1996/1997. The company has no relation to Gray Matter Studios and LTI Gray Matter.

1st Logo (1988)

Logo: On a gray background, we see a pink gradient curvy ribbon. On the right side is the text "GRAY MATTER" in an ITC Avant Garde font surrounded by a beveled rectangle with the word "PRESENTS" below.

Variant: On the loading screen on the European C64 tape version of Technocop, the text is above the ribbon, the background is white, the text is centered and there is no "PRESENTS" below.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on the Amiga version of Road Raider and the loading screen of the European C64 tape version of Technocop.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (1989-1990)

Logo: On a gray marble background, we see the same ribbon logo from the last logo, only it was in purple, and gradient shadings are replaced by circles (matching the print logo), and the text is in white. Also "PRESENTS" is absent.

Variant: On the Amiga version of Fiendish Freddy's Big Top O'Fun, the logo is surrounded by spotlights. The logo then disappears, and then reappears, only it has two purple lines above it on a black background.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None or the opening theme of the game.

Availability: Seen on The Ultimate Ride and Fiendish Freddy's Big Top O'Fun. Despite the print logo appearing on the NES cover of Dirty Harry, it does not appear on the game itself, it just went to the title screen.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (1993-1995)

Logo: On a black background, we see a red masked helmet with streaks behind it on the right, which represented the hair. On the bottom right is the text "GRAY MATTER" in a plain font.

Variants:

On the SNES version of The Ren & Stimpy Show: Veediots!, we see Ren and Stimpy banging their butts together, like the THQ logo that preceded the game. Also, the logo is shifted to the bottom.
On the SNES version of B.O.B., the logo is beveled, and it takes place on a space background with moving planets.
On the SNES and Genesis versions of Wayne's World, the logo is on a marble background, and the credits are shown behind the logo. The logo is tinted blue on the SNES version, and the logo is tinted green on the Genesis version.
On Super R.B.I. Baseball, the logo is 3D on a white background. Credits appear on the bottom right.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The opening theme of the game.

Availability: Seen on the SNES and Genesis versions of The Incredible Crash Dummies, as well as on the aforementioned games mentioned above.

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo (1995)

Logo: On a blue marble background, we pan up to reveal it was a black square, which moves to the center. Behind the square was the word "GRAY" in a condensed font. A yellow light flashes from behind the word, and then the logo zooms out and moves around and the other letter "MATTER" in a condensed font wipes in and stands next to the rectangle. The logo then flashes.

Variants:

On the intro of Phoenix 3 for 3DO, the logo is in widescreen.
On NHL All-Star Hockey for Game Gear, the logo is in print form on a black background, with a white logo, and the word "DEVELOPED BY" is shown above the logo.

FX/SFX: The moving of the rectangle, the letters wiping and the logo flashing.

Music/Sounds: An ascending synth drone, with some whooshes, and ends in a synth note.

Availability: Seen on NHL All-Star Hockey for Game Gear and Sega Saturn, and the opening cutscene of Phoenix 3 for 3DO.

Editor's Note: None.

5th Logo (1995)

Logo: On a black background, we see light blue crystalized pieces while circular pieces move around, and some pieces reveal the crystalized blue letter "G" with some moving circles zooming out over a space background and a blue lightning picture standing on the right of the letter. A light then flashes, and then the logo turns metallic with an exclamation point shown on the left of the letter. The word "GRAY MATTER" wipes below the logo.

Variant: A still version, where the logo is shown on a space background, and the words are shown in spaced out letters, is used on 3DO screensaver files.

FX/SFX: The crystal pieces of the logo moving, the logo flashing.

Music/Sounds: Hollow synth notes similar to the previous logo, with bells, and some whooshes at the end.

Availability: Seen on Foes of Ali for 3DO. The variant is shown on screensaver files of Foes of Ali and Phoenix 3 for 3DO (the game itself used the last logo).

Editor's Note: None.

6th Logo (1996)

Logo: On a black background, we see the text "Gr@y" in a grungy typewriter font, with the outlined word "Matter" is shown on the right of the word, and the tiny word "Inc" is shown on the right side. Below it was the word "entertainment software" in a typewriter font.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: A horn sound that continues into the NBA logo.

Availability: Seen on NBA Action for Sega Saturn.

Editor's Note: None.

7th Logo (1996-1997)

Logo: On a orange background, we see a black figure who was walking and skip hopping, with shadows. Then when the figure bounces, a black rectangle appears, making it an exclamation point. The figure continues to look around, while the figure bounces, and the animation freezes. The logo zooms out, and the black arched words "GRAY MATTER" fades in on the left and right sides of the figure.

Variants:

A print version of the logo exists, where the logo is in white on a black background.
On the PC version of The Crow: City of Angels, the print version of the logo featured orange sides on the figure.
On the Saturn version of The Crow: City of Angels, the logo is still, with the figure gaining white outline, and the shadow is absent.

FX/SFX: The figure walking and bouncing, the text zooming out.

Music/Sounds: Various cartoon sound effects, followed by a guitar note when the logo zooms out.

Availability: The standard version is seen on the PlayStation version of The Crow: City of Angels and the PC version of Perfect Weapon. The still version is seen on the PlayStation version of Perfect Weapon, and on the aforementioned games above.

Editor's Note: None.