Runecraft

Background

Runecraft, Ltd. was founded in 1997 with the offices in UK. It was specializing on brand and license titles. Ultimately, Runecraft went into financial troubles, speculations and poor management, which led to its collapse in December 2002. However, around this time, the BBC purchased the bankrupt developer (as they were currently developing the technology for BBC Three series FightBox) and rebranded them under their Gamezlab core publishing brand.

Contents

1st Logo (31 December 1997-28 June 2002)	2nd Logo (9 November 1999-7 June 2002)	3rd Logo (24 September 2002-10 May 2003)

1st Logo (31 December 1997-28 June 2002)

Visuals: There is the dust-covered shield with the semicircular panel above (with grass landscape). The panel slowly zooms-in and the debris flies away to reveal the "RUNECRAFT" name written in stony runic letters. Three stones emerge on the upper panel.

Variants:

On later games starting with Spec Ops: Ranger Elite, the logo is enhanced with more detailed CGI.
A still variant was seen on the Game Boy Color ports of Caesars Palace II and Scrabble.
On Scrabble for the Game Boy Advance, the logo's animation is sped up due to the GBA's video limitations.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: An orchestral hit with monk-like chanting.

Audio Variants:

The enhanced variant has a deep synth note with the sound of uncovering debris.
The Game Boy variants are either silent or use the game's opening theme.

Availability: Seen on many games for various platforms such as Caesar's Palace 2000, Y2K, Men in Black: Crashdown, and others.

2nd Logo (9 November 1999-7 June 2002)

Visuals: The camera flies backwards over the water surface with the rainbow, then over the field with a pathway. Finally the "stonehenge" with three familiar stones appears, among others. The image is outlined by the shield with "RUNECRAFT" already uncovered. The background with stones changes to night, and the moon appears.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: An orchestral note with whooshing sounds, then a THX-style synth note, and another orchestral note. On The Hoobs, the last sound is in a much higher key.

Availability: Appears on games such as Barbie: Race & Ride, Arthur! Ready to Race and The Hoobs for PlayStation. Used in tandem with the previous logo.

3rd Logo (24 September 2002-10 May 2003)

Visuals: On a dark rippling background, an orange sun rises up, revealing a stylized lowercase "r" in the center. With a puff of smoke, the background turns to white, and the sun turns into a purple oval with the "r" cut out inside of it. The name "RUNECRAFT" (with "N" and "E" being connected) is seen below, with the spaced-out byline "games by design".

Variant: On some games, the logo is still.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A calm 8-note synth theme.

Availability: Seen on Monopoly Party and Scrabble 2003 Edition for PC. The still version can be found on Super Bubble Pop for GameCube.