JoWooD Productions

Background

JoWooD Productions was a game company headquartered in Liezen, Austria. It was founded in 1995 by Andreas Tobler. In 2006, the company expanded into the North American market with the purchase of DreamCatcher Interactive. In January 2011, JoWooD declared bankruptcy and after a short struggle, it was fully acquired by Nordic Games on 16th August 2011. It was announced that JoWooD and DreamCatcher would become publishing labels, but they weren't used in games yet.

1st Logo (April 14, 1998-February 28, 2001)

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Logo: We see the Earth zooming towards the camera, and when it leaves, the JoWooD logo zooms out, which is a plate with a deep blue right section, on which the white words "JoWooD" and "Productions" are written. On the cyan-colored left side, there is an image of a sun rising over the water, surrounded by seven dots.

Technique: Computer animation.

Music/Sounds: An electronic jingle with a single beat.

Availability:

• Appears on JoWooD's earliest PC titles, as such it appears on Industry Giant, Traffic Giant, Alien Nations, and Mayday.

2nd Logo (May 11, 1999-October 21, 2002)

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  The planets

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  The finished logo

Logo: We see a water surface with a vague reflection of "JoWooD" over it. Then we move up to see an orange sun rising from the horizon. Seven various planets pass by and stop around the sun. Then it splashes and shows the original JoWooD logo, zooming out a bit. The logo then shines.

Variants:

• On Zak: The Alien Hunter, the logo is sped up.

Technique: CGI.

Music/Sounds: A bombastic orchestra fanfare with some wind sounds of the planets.

Music/Sounds variants:

• On Zak: The Alien Hunter, the music is recomposed to become more powerful.
• On Gorasul: Legacy of the Dragon, the music is compressed, and so is lower quality.

Availability:

• It was seen exclusively on JoWooD's PC titles from the time period, appearing on Rally Trophy, Gorasul: Legacy of the Dragon Zax: The Alien Hunter, Beam Breakers, Cultures 2: The Gates of Asgard and Panzer Elite. Last appeared on Beam Breakers.

3rd Logo (June 7, 2002-May 14, 2007)

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  The meteors

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  The finished logo

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  Söldner: Secret Wars

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  Santa Claus Jr. Advance

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  Keep The Balance

Logo: The basic concept is similar to the previous logo. We see a water surface once again, but with improved visuals and without a word reflection, then rise up through the clouds. The screen trembles and a fire meteor passes really close, followed by other meteors to the rising sun. The sun splashes and turns into the complete logo.

Variants:

• On Söldner: Secret Wars, the meteors are replaced with helicopters, and the music contains war drums.
• On various games like YetiSports, Neighbors from Hell and its sequel, and on the European versions of Future Tactics and Kao the Kangaroo Round 2, the logo is still.
• On Legend of Kay, the still logo has some glow behind.

Technique: CGI.

Music/Sounds: Same as before, but with added loud whooshing sounds from the meteors. Sometimes, the end part of the fanfare is shortened.

Availability:

• First appeared on King of the Road, and appears on other PC titles such as Spellforce, among others.
• The shorter ending version appears on Michael Schumacher World Tour Kart 2002 (PS1/PC), Arx Fatalis, Europa 1400: The Guild, among others.
• Appears on a few console titles as well, including Ski Racing 2005, Ski Racing 2006, Freak Out: Extreme Freeride.

4th Logo (April 26, 2007-February 25, 2011)

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Logo: On a crystallized blue background, two plates join each other. One contains "JoWooD" now in a slightly different font, and the other has the sun also made differently. There are eight dots above the curve line. The logo shines.

Technique: CGI.

Music/Sounds: Background rustling and a loud junction sound.

Availability: Uncommon. Seen on the last games from them, such as Space Force: Rogue Universe and the multiple expansions for the 2004 game Painkiller.