Insomniac Games is a game development studio based in Burbank, California founded in 1994. Prior to starting the company, Ted Price spent a few years as controller of a startup medical company. The studio had been known as Planet X Software, Outzone Software and Xtreme Software before they released their first title, Disruptor in 1996, when the name Insomniac was chosen. Insomniac became known for the original Spyro the Dragon games for PlayStation and is currently known for the Ratchet and Clank and Resistance series, in addition to the Marvel's Spider-Man games. On August 19, 2019, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced it would acquire Insomniac Games, ending its independency.
Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage/Gateway To Glimmer Spyro: Year Of The Dragon (April 25, 2000)
Spyro: Year Of The Dragon (September 4, 2000)
Visuals: On a black background is the warped word "INSOMNIAC" with a shine inside the "O" and "GAMES" underneath.
Variants:
Spyro the Dragon: A Gnorc walks up to a mountain holding a sign with the company's name on it. He puts the sign in the mountain and goes "Rah!" as the screen zooms in the sign. The logo zooms out and Spyro charges at the Gnorc.
Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage (known as Spyro 2: Gateway To Glimmer outside of North America) / Spyro: Year of the Dragon demo (April 25, 2000): After a few seconds, the sign tilts left. The logo zooms out from the sign as the caveperson looks at it in Skelos Badlands. He tilts it back to normal. He jumps, running away as the Lava Lizard chomps the sign before chasing the caveperson. On the April 25th prototype of Year of the Dragon, the vertical scale was decreased. The logo to the 2nd game also wasn't present on that prototype.
Spyro: Year of the Dragon: After a few seconds, the sign twangs as the screen zooms out to see the dragon egg near it in Fireworks Factory. The hand touches the sign, and the Ninja Rhynoc's head peers up behind it. He jumps, flipping in the air and landing near the egg. He looks both ways as if no one is looking. He proceeds by taking the egg and walks away, but Spyro charges at him just in time, the egg is in the air, crushing the sign into pieces, and landing near Spyro.
Technique: Depends on the variant, but the Spyro variants are all rendered real time in-engine.
Audio: On Disruptor, none.
Audio Variants:
Spyro the Dragon: The sound of the footsteps as the Gnorc walks, a "thud" as he sticks the sign on top of the mountain, the Gnorc going, "Rah!" throughout the wind ambience and also the title's music.
Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage/Gateway to Glimmer / Spyro: Year of the Dragon demo (April 25, 2000): A wooden creak as the sign tilts with the ambience of the lava bubbling, one more creak as the cave person tilts it back, the Lava Lizard growls, the cave person goes "WOAH!", and a "chomp" sound with stomping sounds of its feet.
Spyro: Year of the Dragon: A famous Warner Bros. wooden twang, a piece of wood grabbed as the hand places the sign, a whoosh as he jumps, a thud as he lands, then the music begins, a "grab" foley sound as he takes the egg, a Hanna-Barbera running sound effect as Spyro charges, a punch sound as he knocks the Rhynoc down, a wood clatter as the egg crashes the sign, and a last thud as the egg lands near Spyro.
Availability: Seen on Disruptor, Spyro the Dragon, Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage/Gateway to Glimmer, and Spyro: Year of the Dragon, all on PlayStation.
2nd Logo (November 4, 2002-April 22, 2016)
Visuals: The word "INSOMNIAC" is seen, this time in a white Pulp Fiction Regular font with a black border, the "O" being replaced with a bright blue moon. "GAMES" is on the bottom right in a squashed Bank Gothic font.
Variant: In the logo's early years, it was usually preceded by a screen reading "A game created & developed by".
Technique: CGI.
Audio: The opening theme of the game or silence.
Availability: Seen on Insomniac's games of the era, starting with the original Ratchet & Clank.
3rd Logo (September 7, 2018-)
Visuals: The logo has been redesigned, with "INSOMNIAC GAMES" now in white Niveau Grotesk Black. The moon has been replaced with a design consisting of two crescent moons, one larger, that face each other, which could also be seen as a three-dimensional "O" in the negative space.
Variants:
Marvel's Spider-Man: The larger crescent, red, zooms by on a black background. Then, the Insomniac logo zooms down into place while spinning, but the larger crescent begins to drift off. One of Spider-Man's signature web shots comes from the bottom left of the screen and attaches to the crescent, moving it back into place and forcing the letters to face toward the camera.
Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales: The logo forms via a computer effect, first gray with a blue glowing outline before the entire logo becomes red. The moons start to form electricity, and shock the entire screen, forming sparks that turn the rest of the logo white.
Technique: Depends on the variant, but generally CGI.
Audio: The opening theme of the game.
Availability: Seen on Insomniac's output since Marvel's Spider-Man on PlayStation 4.