Heavy Iron Studios

Background

Heavy Iron Studios is an independent American game developer. It was originally formed in 1999 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of THQ, based in Los Angeles, California. While not every one of their games are well-received, they are generally known for making high-quality games based on licenses, especially their SpongeBob SquarePants, Evil Dead and Scooby-Doo titles. In May 2009, Heavy Iron was spun off from THQ as part of a cost-cutting move.

1st Logo (December 5, 2000-April 1, 2001)

Nickname: "Black Metal"

Logo: It's only the Heavy Iron Studios logo in black zooming out of a stormy background.

FX/SFX: Only zooming out.

Music/Sounds: Thunder-like sounds.

Availability: Seen on Evil Dead: Hail to the King for Dreamcast, PlayStation and Windows.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (May 21, 2002-August 27, 2003)

Nickname: "Bat Metal"

Logo: We see a field of trees against a green night sky. Suddenly, a flock of bats appear and fly toward the screen. The screen is blacked out by one of the bats and the company logo is revealed in a wipe of light. The logo is similar in structure to the previous logo, but the text is set in ITC Avant Garde Gothic. The logo disappears soon after.

FX/SFX: The bats flying and the logo appearing.

Music/Sounds: What sounds like thunder, followed by the sound of bats chirping. A long synth chord is heard when the logo appears.

Availability: Was only seen on Scooby Doo: Night of 100 Frights for PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube and Xbox.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (2003?, Unused)

Nickname: "Heavy Metal Prototype"

Logo: On a background, we see power plants on a red background inside a circle with a red line and the words "HEAVY IRON" and "S T U D I O S" next to it.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Unused. This logo was supposed to be used on Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom, but it went unused. However, it has been discovered in the game's disc files under the fmv folder and the file is named "HILogo.bik" (which is the only movie that does not contain the bkp format for it).

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo (November 3, 2003-October 26, 2009)

Nickname: "Heavy Metal"

Logo: Over a red background, we zoom slowly away from a power plant, then when we zoom out enough, we see three more power plants right beside each other. Then when we zoom out even further, we see that the power plants are in a circle on a black background, along that the words "HEAVY IRON STUDIOS", all in capitals. A line made of fire separates the two words from each other. A light blinks on the logo.

Variants:

On the logo's debut game, SpongeBob: Battle For Bikini Bottom, the logo is still against the opening scene of the game (as bubbles pass down into the ocean) as "A Game Developed by" appears above in a SpongeBob font.
On the Xbox 360 and Wii versions of SpongeBob's Truth or Square, the logo appears in a bubble during the opening scene of the game. The logo is red with a white outline and text, and "HEAVY IRON" and "S T U D I O S" are in a different font.
The same stylized logo is also shown in the opening scenes of Up and WALL-E for PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360, PC, PSP, and PlayStation 2.
On the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of Ratatouille (other console versions like Wii have the normal logo), the logo appears on a restaurant menu which falls as Remy runs away from it during the opening.

FX/SFX: The plant fading out and the light blinks.

Music/Sounds: Sounds of hammer strikes along with an ethereal humming, similar to the Mark VII logo. The variants have the games' opening themes instead.

Availability: Common. The normal version can be seen on games such as The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie Game, The Incredibles, and the PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, PC, Xbox, and Wii versions of Ratatouille.

Editor's Note: None.

5th Logo (June 28, 2011-)

Nickname: "Heavy Metal II"

Logo: On a black background, we see the logo from before, except that it now has three power plants. A red circle comes up from behind it, with a barrier being drawn around it. The word "STUDIOS" then zooms out into the logo when it finishes animating. The only animation is the smoke until a flash makes the logo completely still and print-looking.

FX/SFX: The animation and the effects.

Music/Sounds: A creepy theme with hammers stabbing the metal. Also, there is a flash sound.

Availability: Current. Seen on Harley Pasternak's Hollywood Workout, Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse and newer games from the company. It was also seen in H1Z1 (now Z1 Battle Royale), but was only mentioned on their website.

Editor's Note: None.