Software Creations

Background

Software Creations was a British game developer based in Manchester. Established in 1987 by Richard Kay, the studio was primarily known for their video games based on movie and comic licenses like Marvel Comics (Spider-Man and X-Men - Arcade's Revenge, Spider Man and Venom - Maximum Carnage and its sequel, Separation Anxiety), Cutthroat Island, Disney's Beauty and the Beast (Belle's Quest and Roar of the Beast) and original titles like Solstice and its sequel Equinox. In May 2002, Acclaim Entertainment bought most of Software Creations' assets and renamed it to "Acclaim Studios Manchester". The only games they did under that name around that time were Gladiator: Sword of Vengeance and the GBA version of All-Star Baseball 2004. In 2004, it was closed along with Acclaim Studios Cheltenham during Acclaim's bankruptcy.

Contents

1st Logo (1987-1991)	2nd Logo (1991-1992)	3rd Logo (November 1992-March 31, 1994)	4th Logo (March 1994-December 18, 1997)	5th Logo (December 3, 1997-December 7, 2001)	6th Logo (May 7-September 3, 2002)

1st Logo (1987-1991)

Visuals: On the game's title screen, two big letters "S" and C" appear in a stencil font. On the right is the text "OFTWARE REATIONS", also in a stencil font.

Technique: A still, sprite-based graphic.

Audio: None, or the opening theme of the game.

Availability: Seen on numerous early games, like the Amiga, Atari ST and ZX Spectrum versions of Bubble Bobble, Scumball for ZX Spectrum, Bionic Commando for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, and ZX Spectrum, and the Commodore 64 prototype of Solar Jetman, among others.

2nd Logo (1991-1992)

Visuals: On a white background, there is a red arrow pops up, followed by a green arrow, and then a blue arrow pops up. Then, the text "SOFTWARE CREATIONS" wipes in on the right side of the logo. Below it was the text "A SOFTWARE CREATIONS LTD PRODUCTION OF".

Variant: On Gauntlet III: The Final Quest, the logo is shown on the bottom right.

Technique: 2D sprite animation.

Audio: The opening theme of the game.

Availability: The animated version was seen on the NES prototype of Terminator 2: Judgement Day, only used when activating a Game Genie code on the game. The still version appears on Gauntlet III: The Final Quest for Amiga and Atari ST.

3rd Logo (November 1992-March 31, 1994)

Visuals: Three arrow shapes, all overlapping each other with them colored (from the top to bottom layers) blue, green, and red, are seen pointing towards the northwest direction and having some definition to them. To the right of them is "SOFTWARE CREATIONS", stacked on top of each other in a bold white font with a visible drop shadow.

Variants:

On Spider-Man and X-Men - Arcade's Revenge, the text appears alongside the copyright without the arrows, which slide in one-by-one.
Some games have the arrows shown without any shading.

Technique: A still, sprite-based graphic.

Audio: The opening theme of the game.

Availability: Seen on Equinox, Super Off-Road for Super NES, and Spider-Man and X-Men - Arcade's Revenge for Genesis and Super NES. It also appeared on Rock n' Roll Racing and Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball for Super NES as well (the latter shown after the ending credits). The Game Gear version of the latter game, however, has the next logo below instead. It was also seen on an unfinished Super NES prototype for a version of Batman.

4th Logo (March 1994-December 18, 1997)

Visuals: On a white background are three arc pieces, which have different textures and shapes, forming an abstract eye. The left one has a blue carpet-like texture, while the right small one has a dark blue wall-like texture and the right big one has a brown magma-like texture. Around it is a marble which is used for the pupil. Under the logo are the words "SOFTWARE CREATIONS" in a weird serif looking font with cut off parts (with orange circles on the "F" and two "E"s, while the "I" has an orange oval above it and has a green outline) and the inside part of the "O"s tilted.

Variants:

On Foreman for Real, the logo is against the marble background with its shadow behind it. Also, the slogan "catalyst for the imagination" is underneath the logo.
On the Nintendo 64 version of Hexen, the logo (with the slogan intact) is seen on the bottom right with the game's title logo on the top-left. Plus, the text is a bit smaller and the eye design looks more realistic.
On the Super NES versions of Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage and its sequel, Separation Anxiety, the circle in the "E" is gray and the oval above the "I" is half gray. This might be due to a graphical glitch.
On the Game Boy version of Foreman for Real, the logo is in its print style inside a black rectangle. Above it are the stacked words "DESIGNED AND PROGRAMMED BY SOFTWARE CREATIONS".
On Game Boy games, the logo is in black and white.

Technique: A still, sprite-based graphic.

Audio: None or the opening theme of the game.

Availability: Seen on games through the era such as Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage and its sequel, Separation Anxiety, Foreman for Real, The Tick, Spider-Man and X-Men - Arcade's Revenge (Game Gear version only, as the other versions use the previous logo), Cutthroat Island (Game Gear version only, as the other versions never had a logo), Game Boy and Game Gear versions of Mortal Kombat 3 (the latter version was never released in the USA), and Hexen for Nintendo 64.

5th Logo (December 3, 1997-December 7, 2001)

Visuals: On a white background, there is the brushstroke text "Creations" in the Treefrog font (with the customized C) with a visible 3D effect and a multi-colored gradient flowing throughout it. Underneath the logo are seven orbs, each in a different color (colored red, orange, gold, green, blue, purple, and pink, from left to right), that are skewered by a disjointed black line.

Variants:

An animated variant exists. On a black background, the text "Creations", now colored white, is carved into the background with light coming out of it. After it cuts through multiple camera angles, the seven colored orbs zoom out under it, the line gets drawn, and the logo tilts and rotates into position.
On Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey '98 for PlayStation (the first game to use this logo), the logo has a spotlight over it and also includes a credit for the development team, Violent Fish, in the corner.
The Rugrats Movie has the logo stuck to the top of the screen in monochrome, while credits for the developers appear below it. If the game is played on a Game Boy Color, however, the orbs are colored.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: None. The animated version has a whirling white noise sweeping down, and blips play when the orbs zoom out.

Availability: It's seen on Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey '98 for PlayStation, The Rugrats Movie, Carmageddon 64, Rugrats: Time Travelers, Boarder Zone, NASCAR 2000 for Game Boy Color, Rugrats in Paris: The Movie, The Simpsons: Night of the Living Treehouse of Horror, and Rugrats: Castle Capers. The animated version appears on NASCAR Racers and Nicktoons Racing.

6th Logo (May 7-September 3, 2002)

Visuals: Four shapes (a red line, an orange rectangle, and two red/orange squares) are seen forming a stylized "C", and "creations" can be seen in a white futuristic font next to it.

Technique: A still, sprite-based graphic.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on the company's last games: All-Star Baseball 2003, The Ripping Friends, and Stuart Little 2, all for Game Boy Advance.