1C Game Studios

Background

1C Company is the largest software publisher in Russia, founded in Moscow in 1991 and began to publish games in 1996. 1C has five internal development studios and a European publishing arm formed after the acquisition of Cenega Publishing. In 2008, the company purchased their main competitor, Buka Entertainment. In 2012, the game studio of 1C Company was renamed into 1C Game Studios, and is now heavily focused on the IL-2 Sturmovik franchise.

Contents

1st Logo (1996-1998)	2nd Logo (1999-May 24, 2002)	3rd Logo (October 3, 2003-April 11, 2012)	4th Logo (The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings variant) (May 16, 2011)

1st Logo (1996-1998)

Visuals: On a black background, a digital "9" is seen before it starts counting down, while slowly changing its color to gold. When it reaches "1", it fades to an abstract "1", resembling the SVT 1 logo at the time but with 2 stripes. It then moves to the left as a similarly stylized "C" fades in and they start to shine . A light then wipes in the text "представляет" (Presents) in Cooper Black below. The logo blinks on its surface throughout.

Variant: A variant with a rippling transition at the end exists.

Technique: Choppy computer animation.

Audio: A synth drone, sounds of countdown (which are actually North American "off-hook" tones), and a synth tune with choirs after it's complete.

Audio Variants: Most games like Gamos' Pilot Brothers games, have either a downtempo trance music ("Sacred Cycles" by Pete Lazonby") or an ambient piece ("Moxica and the Horse" by Vangelis) instead.

Availability: It can be seen on 1C's earliest releases, including the earliest copies of Konung: Legend of the North.

2nd Logo (1999-May 24, 2002)

Visuals: Basically an remake of the 1st logo. There is the countdown once more, but now starting at "5" and in 3D, a metallic golden, and all glow throughout. When the countdown reaches "1", it fades to the current 1C Company logo, which now has a thicker and more compact look to it, along with the words "ФИРМА "1С"" below and a registered trademark in the upper right. The logo aligns to the center and shines, as the word "ПРЕДСТАВЛЯЕТ" fades in via a blur.

Variants:

An English version of the logo exists on international copies of their games, where the text now reads "1C company" and "ПРЕДСТАВЛЯЕТ" doesn't appear.
- An earlier version of this exists on copies of Konung: Legend of the North. The animation is notably cheaper (no glow around the numbers, for example), the numbers are now italicized, the "C" wipes in from the right and the logo has a beveled look to it, and the text is just changed to have "1C company" below blur in.
There is a still variant where "1C" is blue and white without any labeling.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Same as before, though shortened at the beginning.

Availability: It can be found on Clay Agent and later copies of Konung: Legend of the North, both also released in Europe. It can also be found on a pair of Snowball Interactive's localized games, for example Shadow of Zorro. On a few other games, like Etherlords, the still variant was used.

3rd Logo (October 3, 2003-April 11, 2012)

Visuals: On a screen full of green noise, a digital clock (XX:XX) zooms out while quickly counting down and the noise clears out. The numbers start to slow a bit, but when the numbers reach "00:01", they turn around to show the 1C logo with "ФИРМА "1С"" fading in via a blur again below. Then a bright flash engulfs the logo, turning the logo two-dimensional and colored either firebrick red and imperial blue on a white background in a wide-screen format (2003-2006) or red on a gold background in a full-screen format (2005-2012).

Variants:

Non-Russian copies have the text translated as "1C company", just like the previous logo. Post-2008 releases have it turn uppercase.
A still variant exists.
Some releases put the logo stretched into a full-screen format.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Noisy effects with ticking sounds, a droning synth note, a clang, and a whoosh.

Availability: Seen on games from the period. The first game to use this logo was Little Longnose ("Карлик Нос") (2003) and the last game to use this logo is unknown: premusably, it's Men of War: Condemned Heroes (2012), which has the still variant of the logo in its game menu. This logo is still used as a print logo for the 1C Company itself.

4th Logo (The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings variant) (May 16, 2011)

Visuals: There is the 1C logo smearing onto a foggy yellow background. Roots start to grow on it. After a few seconds, the logo zooms in and dissolves.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A dramatic string theme.

Availability: Only seen on the Russian version of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings.