ImageBuilder Software: Difference between revisions

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Latest revision as of 01:58, 15 June 2024

Background

ImageBuilder was an American game developer based in Portland, Oregon with a primary focus on PC titles. It was first formed in 1983, and was one of the largest multimedia developers of CD-ROMs during its time, mainly doing educational titles. The company closed down in 2004.

1st Logo (1996-2001)

Visuals: On a black background, three pieces, each with a video of a cloudy sky, spin and zoom in. They come into position and then "ImageBuilder" fades and rotates in, also with a reflection of the sky.

Variant: Some games have the text "Software Engineering by" at the top.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A descending orchestral theme with a whoosh as the company name zooms in. Sometimes it's silent.

Availability: This was seen on Bill Nye the Science Guy: Stop the Rock!, Tonka Digs 'n' Rigs and Carmen Sandiego: Treasures of Knowledge.

2nd Logo (February 16, 2001-2004)

Visuals: In the dark, the screen pans into a treasure chest on a purple floor with a light. A weird-looking robot wearing glasses walks up to the chest, bends down and carefully opens it. It reveals a bright light inside, which the robot then picks up. The robot then lets it go into the air and it unfortunately, stays still. Then, the screen pans into the light and that reveals the diamond from the previous logo, now in a flat blue color, which zooms in with the text "ImageBuilder" below it.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Sounds that accompany the logo, with an ascending chime tune when the logo is revealed.

Availability: This was seen on Tonka Space Station, Scooby-Doo! in Jinx at the Sphinx, Scooby-Doo!: The Glowing Bug Man, Shrek: Game Land Activity Center and both Shrek: Swamp Fun With Early Math and Phonics.

3rd Logo (2003-2004)

Visuals: On a black background, the ImageBuilder logo appears in a flat teal color. The diamond then bounces and rotates into a square as the text disappears. A door opens behind the square, and a rectangular person runs through as the screen is filled with a bright blue light. The camera rotates as the blue light becomes a square with descending lines inside it. The rectangular person cheers and then jumps up, and the camera rotates as the person forms the ImageBuilder diamond logo, with the text re-appearing underneath. The logo then zooms out and disappears as a blue star twinkles.

Technique: 2D and 3D CGI animation.

Audio: Some synthesized shining sounds that lead into a heavy industrial/trip hop beat, ending with an echoing phaser sound.

Availability: This was used as a Flash intro to the company's website during the last two years of its existence. It can be viewed using the Wayback Machine.

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 ===Background===
-ImageBuilder was an American game developer based in Portland, Oregon with a primary focus on PC titles. Not much is known about it, but going by the Internet Archive's snapshots of their website, the company was first formed in 1983, and was one of the largest multimedia developers of CD-ROMs during its time, mainly doing educational titles. The company closed down in 2004, and its website stopped working in mid-September 2004; it was put on sale in 2005, where it has remained unpurchased ever since.
+'''ImageBuilder''' was an American game developer based in Portland, Oregon with a primary focus on PC titles. It was first formed in 1983, and was one of the largest multimedia developers of CD-ROMs during its time, mainly doing educational titles. The company closed down in 2004.
 ===1st Logo (1996-2001)===
+[[File:ImageBuilder (1997).png|center|frameless|300x300px]]
+{{YouTube|id=nmj_0VjHnCw}}
-'''Logo:''' On a black background, three pieces, each with a video of a cloudy sky, spin and zoom in. They come into position and then "ImageBuilder" fades and rotates in, also with a reflection of the sky.
+'''Visuals:''' On a black background, three pieces, each with a video of a cloudy sky, spin and zoom in. They come into position and then "ImageBuilder" fades and rotates in, also with a reflection of the sky.
 '''Variant:''' Some games have the text "Software Engineering by" at the top.
-'''FX/SFX:''' The logo zooming in.
+'''Technique:''' CGI.
-'''Music/Sounds:''' A descending orchestral theme with a whoosh as the company name zooms in. Sometimes it's silent.
+'''Audio:''' A descending orchestral theme with a whoosh as the company name zooms in. Sometimes it's silent.
-'''Availability:''' Rare. This was seen on ''Bill Nye the Science Guy: Stop the Rock!'', ''Tonka Digs 'n' Rigs'' and ''Carmen Sandiego: Treasures of Knowledge''.
+'''Availability:'''  This was seen on ''Bill Nye the Science Guy: Stop the Rock!'', ''Tonka Digs 'n' Rigs'' and ''Carmen Sandiego: Treasures of Knowledge''.
+===2nd Logo (February 16, 2001-2004)===
-'''Legacy:''' This had acceptable CGI for the time, but it started dating heavily by the early 2000s.
+[[File:ImageBuilder (2002).png|center|frameless]]
+{{YouTube|id=9zSP3DGjoMk}}
+'''Visuals:''' In the dark, the screen pans into a treasure chest on a purple floor with a light. A weird-looking robot wearing glasses walks up to the chest, bends down and carefully opens it. It reveals a bright light inside, which the robot then picks up. The robot then lets it go into the air and it unfortunately, stays still. Then, the screen pans into the light and that reveals the diamond from the previous logo, now in a flat blue color, which zooms in with the text "ImageBuilder" below it.
-===2nd Logo (2001-2004)===
+'''Technique:''' CGI.
-'''Logo:''' In the dark, we pan into a treasure chest on a purple floor with a light. A weird-looking robot wearing glasses walks up to the chest, bends down and carefully opens it. It reveals a bright light inside, which the robot then picks up. The robot then lets it go into the air and it unfortunately, stays still. Then, we pan into the light and that reveals the diamond from the previous logo, now in a flat blue color, which zooms in with the text "ImageBuilder" below it.
+'''Audio:''' Sounds that accompany the logo, with an ascending chime tune when the logo is revealed.
-'''FX/SFX:''' Excellent CGI.
+'''Availability:'''  This was seen on ''Tonka Space Station'', ''Scooby-Doo! in Jinx at the Sphinx'', ''Scooby-Doo!: The Glowing Bug Man'', ''Shrek: Game Land Activity Center'' and both ''Shrek: Swamp Fun With Early Math'' and ''Phonics.''
-'''Music/Sounds:''' Sounds that accompany the logo, with an ascending chime tune when the logo is revealed.
-'''Availability:''' Rare. This was seen on ''Tonka Space Station'', ''Scooby-Doo! in Jinx at the Sphinx'', ''Scooby-Doo!: The Glowing Bug Man'', ''Shrek: Game Land Activity Center'' and both ''Shrek: Swamp Fun With Early Math'' and ''Phonics.''
-'''Legacy:''' An excellently-animated logo, albeit one that's sadly often seen in poor video quality.
 ===3rd Logo (2003-2004)===
+{{YouTube|id=AOHb8WvO03U}}
+'''Visuals:''' On a black background, the ImageBuilder logo appears in a flat teal color. The diamond then bounces and rotates into a square as the text disappears. A door opens behind the square, and a rectangular person runs through as the screen is filled with a bright blue light. The camera rotates as the blue light becomes a square with descending lines inside it. The rectangular person cheers and then jumps up, and the camera rotates as the person forms the ImageBuilder diamond logo, with the text re-appearing underneath. The logo then zooms out and disappears as a blue star twinkles.
-'''Logo:''' TBA
-'''FX/SFX:''' A mixture of CGI and 2D animation.
-'''Music/Sounds:''' TBA
+'''Technique:''' 2D and 3D CGI animation.
-'''Availability:''' Extinct. This was used as an intro to the company's website during the last two years of its existence. While it is preserved on the Wayback Machine, it can only be seen if you download it or have a way of viewing it (since it is a SWF file, which relies on the now-defunct Adobe Flash platform to function).
+'''Audio:''' Some synthesized shining sounds that lead into a heavy industrial/trip hop beat, ending with an echoing phaser sound.
+'''Availability:'''  This was used as a Flash intro to the company's website during the last two years of its existence. It can be viewed using the Wayback Machine.
 [[Category:American video game logos]]
 [[Category:Video game logos]]
-[[Category:American logos]]
+[[Category:United States]]