Runecraft

Background
Runecraft, Ltd. was founded in 1997 with the offices in UK. It was specializing on brand and license titles. Ultimately, Runecraft went into financial troubles, speculations and poor management, which led to its collapse in December 2002. However, around this time, the BBC purchased the bankrupt developer (as they were currently developing the technology for BBC Three series FightBox) and rebranded them under their Gamezlab core publishing brand.

1st Logo (31 December 1997-28 June 2002)


Logo: We see the dust-covered shield with the semicircular panel above (with grass landscape). The panel slowly zooms-in and the debris flies away to reveal the "RUNECRAFT" name written in stony runic letters. Three stones emerge on the upper panel.

Variant: On Scrabble for the Game Boy Advance, the logo's animation is sped up due to the GBA's video limitations.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Deep synth note with the sound of uncovering debris. None for the GBA version of Scrabble.

Availability: Seen on many games for various platforms such as Caesar's Palace 2000, Y2K, Men in Black: Crashdown, and others.

2nd Logo (9 November 1999-7 June 2002)


Logo: This is actually the longer version of the first logo. The camera flies backwards over the water surface with the rainbow, then over the field with a pathway. Finally we see the "stonehenge" with three familiar stones among others. The image is outlined by the shield with "RUNECRAFT" already uncovered. The background with stones changes to night, and the moon appears.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: An orchestral note with whooshing sounds, then a THX-style synth note, and another orchestral note. On The Hoobs, the last sound is very different.

Availability: Appears on games such as Barbie: Race & Ride, ''Arthur! Ready to Race and The Hoobs'' for PlayStation. Used in tandem with the previous logo.

3rd Logo (24 September 2002-10 May 2003)


Logo: Over the water ripple effect, the sun rising effect is shown. The background clears out from mist and water and becomes white, when the "sun" turns into a oval with custom made "r" over it. The name "RUNECRAFT" (with "N" and "E" being connected) is seen below, with the text "games by design", which spaced-out.

Variant: On some games, the logo is still.

Technique: CGI effects.

Audio: Resounding synth note.

Availability: Seen on Monopoly Party and Scrabble 2003 Edition for PC. The still version can be found on Super Bubble Pop for GameCube.