Shiny Entertainment

Credits

Editions by
Camenati‎

Background

Shiny Entertainment was founded in October 1993 by David Perry. They are best known for their first and most successful game, Earthworm Jim, followed by several equally acclaimed games. In 1995, Perry sold the company to Interplay Productions, who then sold Shiny to Infogrames in 2002. In 2006, Atari sold Shiny to Foundation 9 Entertainment, who eventually merged it with The Collective into a new entity called Double Helix Games (later it was absorbed into Amazon Game Studios).

1st Logo (October 1994-November 21, 1997)

• 

  Earthworm Jim (SNES)

• 

  Earthworm Jim (DOS)

• 

  Earthworm Jim 2

• 

  MDK (PS1)

• 

Visuals: There is the logo, which is stylized as "ShinY" with a huge gradient ball placed above the "i". The word has a cut in its middle and "ENTERTAINMENT" appears there.

Variants:

• On Earthworm Jim, the logo is seen on the right alongside the Playmates Interactive logo on the left with "PRESENTS" below them. Surprisingly, this variant is also on the Game Boy Advance versions of Earthworm Jim and Earthworm Jim 2.
  • On the DOS version of said game, the logo is white and shares the screen with the Playmates logo.
  • On the Super NES version, the background is white and the logo itself is black. It also has the Playmates logo to the left.
• On Earthworm Jim 2, the black logo with a silver ball stands on a purple-red background.
• On the PlayStation version of MDK, the logo is shown on the bottom right corner along with the Neversoft Entertainment logo on the top left, the Playmates logo on the top right, and the Tommy Tallarico Studios logo on the bottom left. Plus, the logo has a white outline since the background is black and the gradient ball is in its print style.

Technique: A still, sprite-based graphic.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on Earthworm Jim and its sequel. Also appears on the PlayStation version of MDK.

2nd Logo (Earthworm Jim: Special Edition variant) (May 1995)

• 

Visuals: The Shiny logo (without "ENTERTAINMENT") in white is shown against a dark wall background with its shadow behind it and the ball above the "i" is in 3D. Also, it has a spotlight effect.

Technique: A still, 3D graphic.

Audio: An orchestral hit, followed by a ticking beat with a one-note finish.

Availability: Only appears on Earthworm Jim: Special Edition for Sega CD.

3rd Logo (MDK variant) (May 5, 1997)

• 

Visuals: First, there is a man with a mine detector, who moves on the top of a huge metal ball, becoming fully visible as the screen zooms out. The ball appears to be merely a dot above the "i" letter in the 3D name "ShinY", made in light cyan colors, and the word "ENTERTAINMENT".

Technique: CGI.

Audio: None.

Availability: Appeared only on MDK. The PlayStation version has the still 1st logo.

4th Logo (September 30, 1998-November 24, 2000)

• 

  Standard

• 

  R/C Stunt Copter

• 

  Sacrifice

Visuals: There is a glassy surface, where a silver ball rushes through, leaving a smoky trail and a glowing reddish-pink path. More balls come in, cutting the Shiny logo from the surface. The logo then rises up and the silver ball flies to stop above the "i" letter. A wave changes the logo to a battered greenish color with "ENTERTAINMENT" over it.

Variants:

• A similar still logo is seen on Sacrifice, except it has a more printed look and other logos below.
• On R/C Stunt Copter, the logo cross-fades to the print version when the ball emits the wave.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Car racing sounds of the balls, all set to a beating synth tune. A spaceship sound when the ball emits the wave.

Audio Trivia: The musical instruments used for the standard logo's jingle were the two Roland products: the TR-909 drum machine (with the bass drum's "oomph" on tune mode) and the TB-303 Bass Line (A synth notes only).

Availability: Seen on R/C Stunt Copter and Wild 9 for PlayStation. The still variation appeared on Sacrifice.

5th Logo (Messiah variant) (March 29, 2000)

• 

Visuals: There is a big metallic Shiny logo (without "ENTERTAINMENT") standing on the floor and rising in front of the camera. Then Bob, the game's main character, rushes in and hides himself behind the ball. A soldier comes to seek out and Bob crashes the ball on the soldier's head, sending him to the floor. Then he watches the enemy trying to move and flies away, crashing the "i" letter in the process. The falling letter knocks the soldier off.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Sounds of footsteps, ball screeching and crashes.

Availability: Seen on Messiah.

6th Logo (Enter the Matrix variant) (May 14, 2003)

• 

Visuals: A human fetus is seen in a machine, similar to the one from the Matrix films. As the screen zooms out, the dim golden logo appears in the center, with the fetus ball serving above the "i". The background doesn't clear until the logo fades out.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Unknown.

Availability: Seen on Enter the Matrix.

7th Logo (The Matrix: Path of Neo variant) (November 7, 2005)

• 

Visuals: On a white background, Neo fights a number of Agent Smith's copies, sending them flying. Then the screen zooms out to see the small Smith copies forming the punctured Shiny logo, with the dot resembling Neo in the center of the ball. Then he flies away and the logo changes to a green Matrix style.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A tense string note, then a thud, with a triumphant Don Davis-style orchestral piece, as well as a woosh when Neo flies past the screen.

Availability: Seen on The Matrix: Path of Neo.

8th Logo (The Golden Compass variant) (November 30, 2007)

• 

Visuals: On a black background, two golden sparks fly around and join in a flash, creating the golden inscribed Shiny logo with a blue sphere and the Foundation 9 byline.

Technique: In-game CGI.

Audio: A windy sound.

Availability: Seen on The Golden Compass.