Torus Games

Credits

Descriptions by
CuriousGeorge60

Editions by
CuriousGeorge60, Hoa and Tabit

Video captures courtesy of
Introstation

Background

Torus Games was founded in 1994 by Bill McIntosh to publish games for portable systems, its first being Stargate for Game Boy and Game Gear. Most of the company's games were developed with a single cross-platform engine, which allowed for multiple versions of a game to build on the same code-base. The studio ceased operations in March 2024; PAW Patrol: On a Roll was the final game developed by the company.

1st Logo (June 1, 1995)

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Visuals: On a black background, there is a cartoon bunny wearing a waste uniform with a a gas mask on his head. He is pointing at us. Under him are the words "TORUS GAMES" with "1995" in spaced-out numbers below it.

Technique: Pixelated graphics.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on NBA Jam Tournament Edition for Game Boy.

2nd Logo (March 1996-February 1999)

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Visuals: On a black background is the word "TORUS" with "GAMES" under it and "1996" under that and spaced-out to fit the width of "GAMES". The words "DEVELOPED BY" are above it.

Variants:

• On NBA Jam '99, the word "TORUS" is red. It also says "1998" instead of "1996", and the "DEVELOPED BY" text is yellow. Plus the word "COLOR" from the Game Boy Color logo is seen in multicolors on the bottom right.
• On The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Beavis and Butt-Head, the logo is in 3D and "GAMES" is in the same font as "TORUS". Plus, the words "DEVELOPED BY" and "1996" are absent.

Technique: Pixelated graphics.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on College Slam and Dragonheart for Game Boy. The "Color" variant can be seen on NBA Jam '99 for Game Boy Color. The 3D variant can be seen on The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Beavis and Butt-Head for Game Boy.

3rd Logo (September 1, 2000-2001)

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Visuals: On a metal sheet, two paint rollers put red and white on the top and bottom respectively. A cutting tool then punctures a hole in the plate and the outside falls off, revealing a black background with a dim light. A smaller circle is then cut into the larger circle and pushed off, flying towards the screen. The ring is then cut via a "Z" shape and the entire ring falls apart, leaving a red hump and a smaller white hump. The humps then zoom in and come together as two mechanical arms carrying plates with "TORUS" and "GAMES" on them smash through the humps and create the bottoms of the letters. The tops of "TORUS" then come down one by one, dropping the hump lower and a mechanical arm brings up the bottom for the smaller "GAMES" and positions it to the right. The logo then remains and slowly zooms away.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: The sounds of painting, cutting, crashing, and mechanical whirs before ending with the stock "energy blast" sound effect ("Explosion - Energy Blast, Electronic" from Sound Ideas' The General Series 6000 Sound Effects Library).

Availability: Seen on Carmageddon 3: TDR 2000. This may also appear still on GBC games at the time as well. This was used after its lifespan as a print logo for a while, despite it being replaced with the next logo.

4th Logo (2001-October 23, 2018)

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Visuals: On a turquoise background, while a lighter circle grows in the center, a metal robot head with two horns drops down onto the distorted word "TORUS" with a black outline and the word "GAMES" below, which lifts up from off-screen. The head tumbles upon landing, and its mouth and brain appears visible. An electric charge then appears between the horns.

Variants:

• The URL "www.torus.com.au" may sometimes be seen below the logo.
• Every game has its own variant. Sometimes, the logo is inserted into a landscape.
• On some games, the logo is still.
• Monster Jam (2007) has the logo on a platform placed inside a stadium. A racing car blows it to ashes.
• On Shrek Smash n' Crash Racing, the logo lags a bit before getting electrified.

Technique: 2D computer animation.

Audio: A tumbling sound, followed by an electric zap and a synth choir. None for the still variants.

Availability: Seen on Monster Jam, Shrek Smash n' Crash Racing and other games, mainly for Game Boy Advance.