RDI Halcyon

Background: The Halcyon was an ill-fated laserdisc game system created by RDI Video Systems. They advertised it as revolutionary, being entirely voice-controlled and having an AI similar to that of HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Physically, the system was very bulky because it comprised both a Laserdisc drive and a computer system. Only 13 units and two game titles were made; it's believed that it didn't even make it to retail. Due to the massive expense of the system, RDI declared bankruptcy soon after the attempted introduction.

(1985)

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Nicknames: "Halcyon in Space", "The Mirror Spaceship", "Mirrored Halcyon", "The Halcyon Spaceship"

Logo: In space, we see two orange planets, one big, and the other, small. A spaceship with what looks like a big shield flies to the left, then, a sapphire-coated octagon flies to the left as well, covering the screen, and zooming in a bit. A laser carves in "HALCYON" in a futuristic font, colored gold, and it shines all over. Then, the background turns black, and the logo now turns into a blue outline, zooming in slightly, with a flare trail. Then the RDI logo, which is "RDI" in a typewritten font, in a box, flips up into place, and "Video Systems" writes out in an orange cursive font. The logo shines all over.

FX/SFX: Great 1980s animation.

Music/Sounds: An ominous synthesizer tune (the first note in this logo sounds like the first note in the long version of the WXXI logo), with a synth zap sound when the laser carves "HALCYON" into the octagon, as well as a jet-like sound when "HALCYON" zooms in, with a voice whispering "Halcyon" close to the end.

Availability: Originally appeared on startup when a game was loaded, but cannot be practically seen this way due to the extreme rarity of the system. However, it can be found on a Thayer's Quest DVD showing trailers for other Halcyon games that were never released.