Nival

Background: Nival (formerly Nival Entertainment and Nival Interactive) is a Russian game developer that was originally formed in 1993 as Mir Dialogue, before becoming Nival in 1996. It was briefly owned by the Florida-based Ener1 Group from 2005 to 2007 before becoming independent again.

1st Logo (1998-1999)
Logo: We see a frosty surface with falling snowflakes. The ice begins to dissolve and reveals the text "NIVAL", made of blue spheres and sticks, with "entertainment" below it, all over a dark misty blue background. The snowflakes disappear, and the background changes to black. The logo shines.

Technique: The snow and light blinks.

Music/Sounds: A synthesized orchestral tune.

Availability: Rare. Can be seen on Rage of Mages and Rage of Mages II: Necromancer.

2nd Logo (2000-2002)


Logo: Upon a wet surface, the blue text "Comic Sans MS", in a childish font with the "i" colored green and the dot on it a stylized flower, hits the floor several times. It rebounds and hits it again. Finally, it bumps onto the floor in the center of the screen, and vibrates and freezes. The word "INTERACTIVE" fades below.

Technique: The logo jumping and stretching.

Music/Sounds: The flower hitting the wet floor and children laughing.

Availability: Rare. Can be seen primarily in localized games, but also on Evil Islands.

3rd Logo (2003)
Logo: In darkness, a spark briefly erupts from the bottom of the screen, followed by a blue flame with heavy sparkings (like an oxy-fuel welding), lighting up a bluish-gray spotlight background. A blue glassy orb drops down and when it's about to land, the welding flame turns into a water fountain. The orb then emits a bright light, illuminating the background, and we zoom out, as the fountain forms and disappears into a newer Nival logo with a watery texture in the process, consisting of a rectangle with the word "NIVAL" in Magistral Extra Bold cut out, a cut above the letter "I" and the word "INTERACTIVE" in Futura Extra Bold below also cut out. The logo turns solid blue and the ball blinks, causing it to turn into a flat circle. A white registered trademark symbol zooms out and hits the top-right ot the rectangle, becoming a cut-out and tilting it, causing the dot to rattle for a little.

Technique: The sparkling and the sphere.

Music/Sounds: Fizzes of an electric spark followed by a rocket whoosh and the explosion (a stock sound effect also used in the Lego Media logo). A reversed cymbal crash building up to a droning synth accompanied by weird sounds. A loud slap when the registered mark symbol is being printed into the logo, followed by a bird tweet as well as the brief forest ambience noises.

Availability: So far only appeared in the Russian localization of Beam Breakers (as Бимеры).

Legacy: An extremely rare logo and an oddity, as it only appears in one localization from Nival.

4th Logo (2003-2007)
Logo: Several vertical bars rotate like venetian blinds to reveal a screen full of crystallized columns. Two light blue beams of light move from the center to the top and bottom, creating a crystal blue version of the last Nival logo, except the rectangle is shorter, "INTERACTIVE" is outside the rectangle, and it lacks the registered mark symbol on the top-right. Suddenly, some water drops making the rounds below the logo, and the dot appears, causing the ripple on the water.

Technique: Great CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: A crystallized tune accompanied by a magical/electric poof-zap combo when beams form the logo, and a waterdrop when the dot appears.

Availability: Common. Seen on Blitzkrieg, Heroes of Might & Magic V, and other games.

Legacy: It's a favorite among Russian gamers.

5th Logo (2007- )
Logo: Just a still, redone version of the previous logo in white on a black background, with "NIVAL" now in a more stylized font, the rectangle's corners rounded, and "INTERACTIVE" removed from the logo.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Uncommon. Can be found on the newest King's Bounty releases and trailers.