BioWare

Credits

Descriptions by
EnormousRat

Captures by
Camenati

Video captures courtesy of
Broken Saw, Sean McLore, introthegame, Troldann, GamingRevenant, Post Indecision, Trope and RickyOkay

Background

BioWare, founded in 1996, is a video game developer based in Edmonton, Canada. It is best known for the Mass Effect series, as well as numerous other games in the RPG genre, built on in-house engines. In 2005, the company created an alliance unit with Pandemic Studios, which was funded by Elevation Partners. On October 11, 2007, Electronic Arts bought the partnership and gained control over both studios. Within EA, Bioware added three additional offices in Austin and Montreal, and one more after the merge with Mythic Entertainment.

1st Logo (October 1996)

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Logo: The logo is carved in steel. It shows the word "BIOWARE" surrounded with emboss debris fragments, and there are two cybernetic hands above operating the fragments. The word "corporation" is seen below.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on Shattered Steel.

2nd Logo (December 21, 1998)

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Logo: We see the new company logo, which reads "BioWare" (some letters have ledges on their top). There is also "CORP" below the name and "DEVELOPED BY" placed over the top. A dot trembles in the down-right corner, then it bumps into a 3D-dimensional abbreviation of the company name, formed by one line. The space around this figure is taken by the quarter part of a black circle.

FX/SFX: The dot's movement.

Music/Sounds: Some eerie creaking, developing into the sound of a closing metal gate.

Availability: Seen on Baldur's Gate.

3rd Logo (March 31, 2000; October 12, 2011)

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Logo: The aquamarine-colored logo lies on a complicated background and it shows the words "BioWare CORP", with the glance of gradient colors and pitched edges. There is also "DEVELOPED BY" above the name.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: Sounds of spaceship engines.

Availability: Seen on MDK 2 and its HD remake.

4th Logo (September 21, 2000-June 18, 2002)

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Logo: We see a painting, showing a red and yellow dragon rising up and holding a piece of parchment with the BioWare logo on it.

Variant: An early variant has a frame around the painting.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on Baldur's Gate II and its expansion, and on Neverwinter Nights.

5th Logo (July 15, 2003)

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Logo: It's almost the same as the 3rd logo, but the background is mostly gray and the logo itself is blue.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

6th Logo (April 12, 2005)

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Logo: The word "BioWare" in giant letters passes through the screen, showing pieces of Asian landscapes and warriors inside the letters. When the letters pass, we can see that the logo is already complete on a grainy blue background. The name itself is virtually the same used in the previous logo. There is intense shining on the edges of the word.

FX/SFX: The letters passing, the word shining; done in high quality 3D animation.

Music/Sounds: A dramatic soundtrack.

Availability: Seen on Jade Empire.

7th Logo (November 20, 2007-May 30, 2009)

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Logo: Blue flashes of the "BioWare" word's letters appear, indicating that all seven letters are turned to their side. The letters then turn upward to their normal position, with some relief glance. After turning, the name glows.

FX/SFX: The letters turning and shining.

Music/Sounds: A sound similar to the closing of a solid metal lid.

Availability: Seen on Mass Effect and Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood for NDS. It also appeared on the E3 trailer of Mass Effect 2.

8th Logo (November 3, 2009)

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Logo: A knife blade slowly passes the screen to the left, leaving trails of red substance and an ink dragon following it. The dragon unleashes and flies over the screen, leaving ink that compresses into the Electronic Arts logo. The EA logo then blows to a formless ink spot on the screen. The ink then begins to dissolve, showing the BioWare logo behind.

FX/SFX: The knife passing, the dragon's movements, the ink forming.

Music/Sounds: Sounds of the dragon flying, emerging flame and growling.

Availability: Seen on Dragon Age: Origins.

9th Logo (January 26, 2010-July 22, 2011)

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  Standard

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  Mass Effect 2

Logo: Blue sparks open up, which cut out the BioWare logo at the same time. While cutting, the logo zooms out to its normal position.

Variant: On Mass Effect 2, the logo is red.

FX/SFX: The cutting sparks.

Music/Sounds: A high-pitched trembling sound.

Availability: Seen on the trailers for Star Wars: The Old Republic and Mass Effect 2.

10th Logo (March 8, 2011)

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Logo: The logo starts in the same space as the preceding EA logo, which turns into the dragon from the Dragon Age logo. The dragon flies over, unleashes a stream of flame and leaves a red BioWare logo. The logo then begins to dissolve into red steam, which becomes thicker and takes the whole screen with its tentacles.

FX/SFX: TBA.

Music/Sounds: TBA.

Availability: Seen on Dragon Age II.

11th Logo (December 20, 2011)

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Logo: On a black background, the BioWare logo suddenly fades in orange flames, with hot smoke swirling around and disappearing. The logo then shines.

FX/SFX: The logo fading in flames, the hot smoke swirling.

Music/Sounds: A low-pitched burst sound.

Availability: Seen on Star Wars: The Old Republic.

12th Logo (March 6, 2012)

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Logo: We see rapid action of the unknown apparatus, which loads with power and shows a portal with a glowing orange BioWare logo, which then flickers to the EA logo. Then the machine is removed from the screen.

FX/SFX: The portal.

Music/Sounds: Sounds of the machine turning on and computerized beeps.

Availability: Seen on Mass Effect 3.

13th Logo (2018-)

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Logo: TBA.

Variants: TBA.

FX/SFX: TBA.

Music/Sounds: TBA.

Availability: It was first seen on the demo for Anthem, and later appeared on the game itself, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and Mass Effect Legendary Edition. It is expected to appear on future games from BioWare.