Sculptured Software

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum


Background

Sculptured Software was an American video game developer that was founded by Bryan Brandenburg, George Metos and Peter Adams in 1984. It was incorporated in the state of Utah on July 12, 1985 by Metos with two investors, Michael Macris and Robert Burgener. The company's first game was Beach-Head for Apple II, but didn't use a logo until the SNES port of Mortal Kombat and WWF Rage in the Cage, both in 1993.

Sculptured Software was acquired in an all-stock transaction by Acclaim Entertainment on October 9, 1995. In November 1997, George Metos and vice president of development Kelly Zmack left the company; as a result, it was transferred under Acclaim's Iguana brand as "Iguana West" and was ran by Peter Suarez.



1st Logo (Mortal Kombat variant) (September 13, 1993)

Visuals: On a black background, there are the words "SCULPTURED SOFTWARE" carved in wood in Square721 font with the words "DEVELOPED BY" in Cooper font above it.

Technique: A still, 3D graphic.

Audio: None.

Availability: Only appears on Mortal Kombat for Super NES.

2nd Logo (WWF Rage in the Cage variant) (December 21, 1993)


Visuals: On a black background, there is a gray puddle. Then a sky squared object with clouds flips in behind it. Then, a winged sculpture that looks like the Winged Victory of Samothrace, grows in from the puddle which then rotates to the left. Then the skied object disappears closing in to have a blue shadow part appear on the winged sculpture, which then zooms to the left afterwards. After that, the words "Sculptured Software" with the "p" and "t" connected with lines under and above the text respectively with "DEVELOPED BY" above the top line, appear on the right of the winged sculpture.

Technique: 3D FMV animation.

Audio: A twinkle-like tune, then 5-note music. Then a 9-note rock music with the last note held much longer ending with a twinkling sound as the words appear.

Availability: Only appears on WWF Rage in the Cage for Sega CD.

3rd Logo (1994-1995)


Visuals: On a black background, there is a blue rectangular box with a light-blue part on the bottom with "SOFTWARE INC." spaced-out in a Futura condensed font on it. Above it is "DEVELOPED BY" in a Badloc ICG font. Then the word "Sculptured", in a script font that almost looks similar to Mistral in italic, wipes in from the left with white light-rays traveling through it. Then the red blood-like underline wipes in from the right under "Sculptured". With red light through the screen, forming the logo.

Variants:

  • On the Sega Genesis version of SeaQuest DSV, the logo appears in a static wave-like transition. Plus, "DEVELOPED BY" is spaced above a little and "Sculptured" is white.
  • On Dirt Trax FX, a still image of the logo appears with a copyright notice. The copyright information then explodes shattering through the camera.

Technique: 2D computer animation by Peter Jensen.

Audio: The sounds of the wind when the rays wiping in the logo.

Audio Variants:

  • On the Sega Genesis version of SeaQuest DSV, a teleporting-like sound is heard.
  • On Dirt Trax FX, the opening theme is heard.
  • On the SNES prototype of Mortal Kombat 3, the sounds are not heard.

Availability: Seen on The Ren & Stimpy Show: Time Warp, The Simpsons: Virtual Bart (the Sega Genesis version does not have the logo), SeaQuest DSV, Dirt Trax FX, and later versions of Mortal Kombat II for Super NES. It also appears on the Sega Genesis version of SeaQuest DSV. It's also seen on the prototype version of Mortal Kombat 3 for SNES as well.

4th Logo (November 1995-1996)

Visuals: There is the previous logo, now in 3D style and with a spotlight effect, but with some differences. The word "SOFTWARE INC." is in white and in a different font, the "Sculptured" script along with a red underline are drawn better and more detailed, the text part has its shadow behind, the red line is behind "Sculptured" instead of in front and the bottom part of the rectangle is now gray. Plus, "DEVELOPED BY" is absent.

Variant: On the Sega Genesis and 32X versions of WWF Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game, the light is not on the red line, probably because of color limitations.

Technique: A still, 3D graphic.

Audio: None.

Audio Variant: On Mortal Kombat 3 for DOS, there is the sound of a bell ringing.

Availability: Seen on WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game (excluding the Super NES version). Also appears on Mortal Kombat 3 for DOS.

5th Logo (October 31, 1996-February 28, 1997)


Visuals: On a purple virtual-like ground is the word "Sculptured" in the same script font from the previous logo. Then, a red underline appears zooming out with a twist effect while the camera pans down. As the red line un-twirls itself, the blue rectangular box (this time, it's fully blue with no gray part) rises from the ground. Then the words "SOFTWARE INC." zoom out and onto the square forming the logo.

Variants:

  • On NBA Jam Extreme, the still logo is on a basketball floor and there's a water-like texture on the rectangular box.
  • On Space Jam, the logo passes by in front of the camera during the game's intro. Plus, there is no rectangular box.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Rock-type music.

Audio Variants:

  • On Space Jam, the opening theme of the game is heard.
  • On NBA Jam Extreme and the PlayStation and Sega Saturn versions of WWF In Your House, it's silent.

Availability: Seen on WWF In Your House. The variants appear on their respective games.

6th Logo (Turok: Dinosaur Hunter variant) (November 26, 1997)

Visuals: There is a blue textured stone and two lasers are carving it to make it a rectangle shape. After it finishes, the rest of it zooms out, leaving only the rectangle part while it flips vertically once at the same time. Then the word "Sculptured" in its same corporate font from before appears zooming out rotating with gold light trails, hitting the rectangle, followed by the red line also rotating, but in the opposite angle and with red light trails and places itself under "Sculptured". Then the bottom gray textured part zooms out from the bottom of the screen, covering the bottom part of the blue rectangle. Immediately after that, the words "SOFTWARE INC." zoom out letter-by-letter and onto the part with a fire explosion from each letter after hitting it, forming the logo.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: No music, but mostly the sound effects of the laser when carving the rectangle, the whooshes (which are the same ones from the Acclaim logo variant of the game) as "Sculptured" and the red line zoom out, and the fire boom SFX when "SOFTWARE INC." hits the logo.

Availability: It only appears on early PC versions of Turok: Dinosaur Hunter that only support 3dfx. However, it's not on later versions that supports other drivers.

Sculptured Software
Acclaim Studios Salt Lake City
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