Infogrames Sheffield House

Background: Gremlin Graphics was a Sheffield-based company created in 1984 by Ian Stewart. It was renamed in 1994 and their first logo never appeared in games. In 1996 Gremlin acquired DMA Design, and was itself purchased by Infogrames in 1999. After this, it was renamed Infogrames Sheffield House. It was closed in 2003. Most of the former employees went to create Sumo Digital, while Ian Stewart started Zoo Digital.

1st Logo (1986-1994)

Nicknames: 3D Gremlin

Logo: We see a rounded rectangular box with the word "GREMLIN" in custom 3D font inside, turned a bit up. The Gremlin Logo (1994)rainbow crosses the logo. Sometime there may be a few shines on the letters.

FX/SFX: The shining.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on every Gremlin game from this time.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (1994-1999)

Gremlin Logo (1999)Gremlin InteractiveGremlin Interactive (1995)Gremlin Interactive (1994)Gremlin InteractiveGremlin Interactive (1999)Gremlin Logo (1995)Gremlin Interactive (1997)Gremlin Interactive (1997)

Logo: We see a box with white outline. Inside its upper half, there is another box with yellow background, where the stylized lowercase "g" is seen. Below the box, the word "Gremlin" is seen, and "INTERACTIVE" is red or black.

Variants:

On Fatal Racing, the background was silver, with copyright information below. There's a variant with a shield placed on a black screen. It ripples before making it still. On Actua Soccer Club Edition, the word studios appeared below, as Gremlin was in process with Infogrames. On Actua Ice Hockey, the logo was standing on a hockey field. On Actua Soccer 3, the logo is in grayscale.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on the Genesis games an a few for PC. The normal black version can be seen in Pool Shark and Full Metal Country, where it shares the screen with the DMA logo. The ripple variant was spotted on Slipstream 5000, Premier Manager 3, Retribution and Jungle Strike.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (Desert Strike Variant) (1994) Gremlin Interactive (1994)

Logo: Several rectangles fly over the dark blue background, forming the Gremlin shield. Then yellow word "Gremlin" flies, rotating, into the shield, followed by the red "INTERACTIVE". Then we hear an orchestral piece.

FX/SFX: Parts flying.

Music/Sounds: Short synth noise, and then loud orchestral music.

Availability: Seen only on Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf.

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo (Loaded Variant) (December 12, 1995)

Nicknames: Pop a Cap

Logo: We see a dingy, metallic Gremlin Interactive logo on a black background. Three gunshots, accompanied by yellow sparks, gunshot sounds, and holes in the logo, are heard and seen.

FX/SFX: The yellow bullets piercing.

Music/Sounds: First a gunshot sound, then a echo sound, then a faint sting.

Availability: Seen only on Loaded for PlayStation and Sega Saturn.

Editor's Note: None.

5th Logo (Normality Variant) (June 1996)

Logo: Two green spotlights reveal waving words "COPYRIGHT 1996". Then we switch to the area lit by two white lights, where a man (main hero) flees from the light. He rolls the Gremlin logo on wheels and presents it to us. Gremlin Interactive (1996)Then the man clears out, and we only see the logo with "PRESENTS" below.

FX/SFX: The searchlights, the man figure moving.

Music/Sounds: Quiet music on background.

Availability: Seen only on Normality.

Editor's Note: None.

6th Logo (Re-Loaded Variant) (December 1, 1996) Gremlin Interactive (1997)

Logo: We see a metallic Gremlin shield standing on a white mist. Laser beam appear over the shield and it's being hit three times with a bullet. However, the bullets don't pierce the logo, they only shuffle it. After the last hit the logo spins and falls out.

FX/SFX: The bullets, laser beam and logo moving.

Music/Sounds: Sounds of spinning metal and bullets hitting the logo.

Availability: Seen only on Re-Loaded.

Editor's Note: None.

7th Logo (Realms of the Haunting Variant) (January 1997) Gremlin Interactive (1997)

Nicknames: "The Eye", "The Monster," "RedEye," "Gremlin's Eye"

Logo: A monster's red eye, with a diamond-shaped pupil, blurs in from the right. The monster blinks and growls, the pupil shifts size and the eye moves. Then, the monster slowly shuts its eye and opens it, revealing the Gremlin Interactive Logo superimposed on it, and the monster screeches. The monster narrows its eye and the logo blurs off to the left.

FX/SFX: The monster's eye shifting and the pupil moving, the eye blinking, opening, and closing, the blurs.

Music/Sounds: The monster growling, screeching and hissing.

Availability: Seen only in the intro of Realms of the Haunting.

Editor's Note: None.

8th Logo (Fragile Allegiance Variant) (December 1996) Gremlin Interactive (1997)

Logo: We see a surface of some planet. A comet blasts the Gremlin logo into stones. It has acid green "g" and the words with nothing more. Then the picture evaporates.

FX/SFX: TBA.

Music/Sounds: Musical soundtrack with evaporation sound.

Availability: The only game to see this is Fragile Allegiance.

Editor's Note: None.

9th Logo (Monopoly Variant) (October 31, 1997)

Nickname: The Shaft

Logo: A shaft in the earth opens, surrounded by fireworks, and the Gremlin logo on the stage emerges from it, surrounded by projectors. There is a water around the stage. And the logo already has "Studios" written below it.Gremlin Interactive (1997)

FX/SFX: The logo rising and the projectors.

Music/Sounds: Dramatic orchestral soundtrack.

Availability: Seen on Monopoly for PlayStation.

Editor's Note: None.

10th Logo (Men in Black Variant) (1997)

Nickname: Area 51

Logo: We move close to the triple-section apparatus, which opens and begins to rotate. Sections open one-by-one. First contains an arm, second has an Gremlin Interactive (1998) alien body inside, third one shows the gloomy orange Gremlin logo.

FX/SFX: The moving apparatus.

Music/Sounds: A heavy soundtrack with tumbler opening sounds.

Availability: Seen on Men in Black for PlayStation.

Editor's Note: None.

11th Logo (N2O and Motorhead Variant) (April-September 1998)

Gremlin Interactive (1998)

Nicknames: Gremlin Above Earth

Logo: Above a spinning CGI earth in space, we see a blue rotating rectangle fade in, emitting blue sparks and the Gremlin Interactive logo forming on it as it spins. The earth flashes, the logo finishes forming, and we see the full logo, a green lowercase "g" on a yellow background with the word "Gremlin" below it on a black background. The whole logo fades out.

FX/SFX: The logo fading in, the rotating, the sparks, the flashing, the logo fading out.

Variant: On N2O: Nitrous Oxide, the animation is sped up, causing the music to finish over a black background. Also, the logo cuts in instead of fading in.

Music/Sounds: A droning choir evocative of Gregorian monks.

Availability: Seen on N2O: Nitrous Oxideand Motorhead for PlayStation.

Editor's Note: None.

12th Logo (August 1999)

Gremlin Interactive Studios (1999)Gremlin Interactive Studios (1999)

Nicknames:''Ferocious Gremlin" "GIS Eating Ball"

Trivia: This logo was used while Infogrames made an efforts for eating Gremlin during 1999. It was not used in box prints.

Logo: On a white background, there are the words "GREMLIN INTERACTIVE STUDIOS" below. First letter of each word come to the top, enlarging into the big GIS, and the remains begin to tremble. As the letters meet into GIS, the remaining words explode. Then a football comes and hits GIS, which grows jaws and eyes. Background then changes to infernal fire, GIS leaps and bites through the ball. Then it returns back, the background reverts back to white, and the name appears below again. The ball still hangs on GIS.

FX/SFX: All in rather simple CGI.

Music/Sounds: Sounds of rotating letters, explosion, a ball hitting GIS and ferocious roar.

Availability: Seen on Premier Manager 99 for PlayStation. Also seen on Premier Manager for Nintendo 64, with the previous Gremlin logo in the corner.

Editor's Note: None.

Infogrames Studios Ltd.

Background: In 1999, Gremlin was bought out by Infogrames and became "Infogrames Sheffield House", also known as "Infogrames Studios Ltd.".

13th Logo (June 8, 2000)

Infogrames Studios Ltd.Nicknames: "The Lowering Armadillo", "The Hogs of War Logo", "Cut this!"

Logo: The oval-like Infogrames shape with the text is already on the white background. The logo, in a nice shade of blue, is lowered down via some straps like a cargo crate would be lowered from a crane, and the shadow below it gets bigger and bigger as it appears. The logo is dropped, with the armadillo making an audible squeak of a pig as it lands. Throughout the logo, the stacked text "Studios Ltd Sheffield House" fades in, flipping letter by letter into existence. The whole logo cuts to black.

FX/SFX: The flipping letters, the logo being lowered and dropped, and the shadow getting bigger.

Music/Sounds: A gentle sounding synth cord, some harp, Rik Mayall (who voices all the characters in Hogs of War) saying"Cut this!", and a pig squeal as the armadillo lands.

Availability: This is a special variant only used onHogs of War.

Editor's Note: None.

14th Logo (1999-November 8, 2002) Infogrames Ltd. (2000)Infogrames Ltd. (2000)Infogrames Ltd. (2002)Infogrames Sheffield House (2002)

Nickname: Infogrames UK

Logo: General logo Infogrames used for its subsidiaries. Features the rectangular banner with "INFOGRAMES" word, armadillo pictured above, and the town byline below.

Variants:

On Premier Manager 2000, the logo was seen on a blue material and had "Developed by" above. The byline refers to "Studios Ltd. Leeds House" below. There is no armadillo. On the Nintendo 64 version of PGA European Tour, text saying "Developed by Infogrames Sheffield House" can be seen in the opening credits. On UEFA Challenge, The logo appears on a Football/Soccer field. On Micro Machines (2002), The character Danger Ranger (from the game) was seen creating the armadillo logo in the skies, made of fuel trails. Then the background turns blue and the name with Sheffield byline appears. This was the last game made by former Gremlin development studios. On Slam Tennis, the logo was written on a tennis ball. On the Dreamcast version of Wacky Races, the Infogrames shield, Sheffield House and armadillo are blue, while the background is white. OnSuperman: Shadow of Apokolips, The Armadillo and Sheffield House are blue, the Infogrames banner is white and the background is black. Copyright Info is below.

FX/SFX: None. Unless you count Micro Machines.

Music/Sounds: None. On Micro Machines logo, we hear jet engine sounds.

Availability: Seen on games listed above.

Editor's Note: None.

15th Logo (June 29, 2001)

Nickname: Infogrames UK II "Muttley the Armadillo"

Logo: A paintbrush paints the Infogrames Armadillo logo in blue. It then paints the eye and then paints over the 4 rings again. Then the shadow of the armadillo and the Infogrames banner with the town byline appear below. The armadillo laughs with Muttley's voice.

FX/SFX: The paintbrush painting the armadillo, then the moving of it when it laughs.

Music/Sounds: All sorts of cartoony sound effects when the paintbrush paints the armadillo. Then a splat when it paints the eye, and more splat sounds when it paints the rings on it. Then we have Muttley's laugh for the armadillo laughing.

Availability: Extremely Rare. It only appears on the Playstation 2 version of Wacky Races, which was only released in Europe. The Dreamcast version uses the last logo, and the PlayStation version uses the Appaloosa Interactive logo instead.

Editor's Note: None.