Avalanche Software
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Captures by
SuperMax124
Video captures courtesy of
Broken Saw, Plasma Storm and Digital media resources
Background
Avalanche Software is an American video game developer based in Salt Lake City, launched in 1995. It is best known for its Rampage and Tak games. In May 2005, the studio was acquired by Disney, making it a division of their Disney Interactive Studios brand. In May 2016, with the shutdown of DIS, Avalanche went dormant, before being acquired and revived by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment in 2017. Disney-related games by Avalanche are now licensed by Disney and distributed by WBIE.
1st Logo (December 13, 1996-November 12, 2000)
Visuals: On a black background, there is a white hemisphere propped up by two purple cones, creating a stylized mountain. The white text "AVALANCHE SOFTWARE" appears below the logo, with the latter in spaced-out letters.
Trivia: Box covers continued using the print version of this logo until 2009.
Variants:
- On Mortal Kombat Trilogy and NHL Open Ice for the PlayStation, the pinkish-gray colored logo, made out of marble, tumbles towards the camera and lands to the marble background, giving the front faces its regular colors. The text is purple and "SOFTWARE" is in a different font.
- On Rampage 2: Universal Tour and Rampage Through Time, a yellowish-white light travels and shines behind the logo.
- On Rampage 2: Universal Tour and Rugrats in Paris for the N64, the 3D logo stands in a circle of light.
Technique: None. CGI for the variants.
Audio: None or the opening theme of the game.
Audio Variants:
- On Mortal Kombat Trilogy and NHL Open Ice for the PlayStation, a rising deep choir note accompanied by whooshes and a deep bell-like toll.
- On Rampage 2: Universal Tour and Rampage Through Time, the wind blowing in the background.
Availability: The normal version was seen on Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero for Nintendo 64. The custom variants appeared on the games listed above.
2nd Logo (Prince of Persia 3D variant) (November 21, 2000)
Visuals: The camera rotates to the Avalanche Software text (this time, "AVALANCHE" is in a different font and "SOFTWARE" is purple) lying on the ground. A shine appears over the second "A" letter.
Technique: CGI.
Audio: A loud whoosh.
Availability: Seen on Prince of Persia 3D for Dreamcast.
3rd Logo (NCAA College Football 2K2 variant) (August 29, 2001)
Visuals: On a complicated blue background with binary code, sensory scans and team names, the company name is shown in the same style as the first logo, except that and "SOFTWARE" is again purple.
Technique: A still, computerized graphic.
Audio: None.
Availability: Seen on NCAA College Football 2K2 for Dreamcast.
4th Logo (NCAA College Football 2K3 variant) (August 13-September 9, 2002)
Visuals: A red rugby ball falls on grass. When the camera rotates, there is the Avalanche text carved on a field. Then the background changes to black, leaving only the text.
Technique: CGI.
Audio: Starts with the sound of the ball falling along with birds chirping, followed by a crowd cheering.
Availability: Seen on NCAA College Football 2K3 for Xbox and GameCube.
5th Logo (November 26, 2002-July 20, 2017)
Visuals: On a white background, a letter "A" walks to the left, and other letters of the company name fall behind as it passes. When the letter "V" falls, the "A" attempts to continue walking, but the latter squeaks, catching the attention of the former, which jumps to the "V". The camera zooms out so the whole word "AVALANCHE" in 3D is seen. A hatch opens below the name and the word "SOFTWARE" is pulled up from it, and a shadow is seen below.
Trivia: This logo was first used on box art in 2009 (see 1st logo), with the modified version being used on the packaging of Cars 3: Driven to Win in 2017.
Variants:
- This logo comes in both a fullscreen and widescreen version.
- An early variant exists on games before 2005. Here, there is no motion blur, the text jiggles when the hatch opens, and the logo fades to white.
- On 25 to Life, the still logo shares the screen with the Crystal Dynamics, Ritual Entertainment, and Hwy 1 Productions logos, all on a black background.
- A modified version first appeared on box art in 2017. The "V" was either blue or purple and the "L" was slanted at the bottom. On trailers and website for Hogwarts Legacy, the "V" is white. The game's website later removed this logo in August 2022.
- An animated version of the modified logo appeared on a video from the Avalanche website promoting the company. Here, there is a set of mountains (referencing the first logo) moving towards and past us, before the Avalanche logo appears letter by letter. A flurry of snow is shown throughout the logo. This could be a prototype of the next logo becuase of the snow.
Technique: CGI.
Audio: Various background noises and squeaks, and a short synth note.
Availability: Can be seen on many games from the company, from Rugrats: Royal Ransom to Cars 3: Driven to Win, the first game from Avalanche after being bought by Warner Bros.
6th Logo (March 17, 2022-)
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Visuals: On a dark blue gradient background, a flurry of snow forms a rectangle outline with "AVALANCHE" in a different font. The text appears to be thinner than the previous logos. The "L" is also slightly slanted at the bottom, similarly to the previous logo's modified version. The logo at first is made of ice, but slowly becomes silver. The logo hovers for a few seconds before disintegrating.
Variant: On Hogwarts Legacy, the logo appears through a cloudy sky, similar to the opening of a Harry Potter film. The border is missing on the game itself. Trailers have the clouds as storm clouds.
Technique: CGI.
Audio: The opening theme of the game. The normal variant has whooshes and ice cracking noises.
Availability: It first appeared on the State of Play trailer for Hogwarts Legacy and later appeared on the game itself. The normal variant first appeared on an Autodesk Vision preview for the game. However, the company website and the first trailer for said game use the previous logo instead. It is unknown if it will appear on future projects.
Legacy: Much like the new Bandai Namco logo, this logo did not sit well with people who are familiar with the previous logos, not to mention that it resembles the Valve logo. It is rumored to be a variant created exclusively to fit the theme of Hogwarts Legacy until the introduction of the normal variant, but it does not appear on the studio's website. Nonetheless, it gained fans as time went on, especially with the increase of hype regarding the game. It also makes a reference to the 1st logo with the ice and snow, serving as book ends to Avalanche's history.
