Visual Sciences

Background
Visual Science (formerly known as "Visual Sciences" until 2003), was a video game developer based in Dundee, Scotland. It was established in 1993 by Russell Kay, who was programmer of the hugely successful Lemmings games. Over the years, Visual Science has delivered many games for industry leading publishers such as Electronic Arts, Sony (including Psygnosis), and Take-Two Interactive Software, with critically acclaimed titles such as Harry Potter's Quidditch World Cup, Formula 1 '98, and the PlayStation versions of Myst and Grand Theft Auto. In February 2006, the studio closed its doors.

1st Logo (April 1993-1994)


Logo: Against a stone background, we see a rough-detailed African styled drawing of a goat. On it is "VISUAL" in a rough-styled look with "sciences ltd." under it.

Variant: On the PC version of Hired Guns, the logo zooms in flipping from space.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: The opening theme of the game.

Availability: Appears on Hired Guns for PC.

2nd Logo (1994-15 November 1996)
Logo: Against a white background, we see six computerized squares with each letter reading "VISUAL". Under it is a line with "SCIENCES" spaced below it.

Variants:
 * Since 1995, there is an animated version of the logo . The logo is white and a glow appears around the logo, dimming out to reveal its  blurry shadow. After the logo forms, a shine appears on the top right of the logo.
 * On the Windows 95 version of Lemmings, the logo is in-credit.

Technique: None. CGI for the animated version.

Music/Sounds: None or the opening theme of the game. On Myst, a twinkling-like sound is heard.

Availability: Appears on the Amiga version of FIFA International Soccer and Windows 95 version of Lemmings. The animated version appears on Lemmings Paintball and the PlayStation version of Myst.

3rd Logo (30 April-12 December 1997)


Logo: A vortex swirls to the zooming rainbow-colored logo, repainting the logo  and white and shedding rainbow particles away.

Technique: CGI.

Music/Sounds: Hissing and glass-breaking sounds.

Availability: Appears on two games: the PC version of Sentient and the original European PlayStation version of Grand Theft Auto.

4th Logo (12 December 1997-30 November 1998)
Logo: We see a dark-blue plated circle with two white outline circles around it. On it is "VS" in the Serpentine Bold font. Under it is the words, "Visual Sciences".

Variants: There are different variants of the logo.
 * Grand Theft Auto (PlayStation version) : Against a white background, we hear a offscreen car crashing. After that, the VS Shield comes in and rolls over the ground before the camera tilts up. As the VS Shield stops rolling and lays into the ground revealing its shadow behind, the words "Visual Sciences" appears under the logo.
 * Formula 1 '98 : During the game's intro, the VS Shield appears rotating against the waving finishing flag background that the other logos appear on. Under the logo is the words, "A Visual Sciences Production" with "Visual Sciences" a bit bigger. Then the words disappear via the blur transition, the logo and the background disappear and the game's intro plays.

Technique: CGI.

Music/Sounds: The sound of the car crashing, then a police siren alarm at the end in the GTA variant. In other cases, the opening theme of the game is heard.

Availability: Appears on Formula 1 '98 and the PlayStation version of Grand Theft Auto.