Steel Monkeys

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum



Background

Steel Monkeys was founded in 1998 by Timofey Dvoskin and Derek McLennan in the United Kingdom. The company developed games for the PC, PS1, PS2, Xbox and GameCube.

Logo (12 January 2001-2011)

Visuals: On a white background, a white 3D rectangle with rounded corners and black sides drops from above and bounces for a little bit before settling. On the rectangle is a black segment with "Steel Monkeys" at the top, a yellow triangle with the laser warning symbol in it in the middle, and the text "CLASS 1" and "Game Product" at the bottom.

Variants:

  • On the GameCube version of Rocky, the rectangle (with a slight modification, as it is slightly taller, "Steel Monkeys" is in a slightly thicker font, and the "P" in "Product" is no longer capitalized) has boxing gloves and is in a boxing ring (if you look closely, you can see a turnbuckle with the triangular sign on it). It then punches a few times before getting knocked down by something from offscreen. The camera then pans to see the rectangle lying unconscious.
  • On Corvette for PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC, the camera rotates around a yellow Corvette car with a custom "Steel Monkeys" livery (there is also a licence plate reading "MONK3YS") from various angles. When the side of the car is shown (where it has a number #50 on it), it is revealed to be a cardboard cutout as it falls over. A pair of hands claps a clapperboard as the Steel Monkeys logo fades in on the lower right. A microphone and a filming camera can be seen after the cutout falls. The logo then blurs to white.
  • On P.A.M: Post Apocalyptic Mayhem, the hands of a monkey draw the logo (without "CLASS 1" and "Game product") onto some sand. Then, the sand gets blown away, revealing a white background, and the logo fades in.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A faint whoosh sound, followed by the sounds of a monkey chattering.

Audio Variants:

  • On the Rocky variant, a crowd cheering, a bell clanging, some monkey sounds, some quiet whooshes when it punches, a cartoony bouncing sound when it gets knocked down, and a joyful 4-note flute tune, ending with a fast "wah-wah-waaah" sound from a trumpet.
  • On the Corvette variant, a groovy 70's-like tune with a faint female voice whispering the company's name, which comes to a stop when the cutout falls, followed by a man saying "Cut! Roll it on!".
  • On the P.A.M. variant, a calm synth theme with the sounds of birds chirping, quiet scribbling sounds when the monkey draws the logo, him chuckling as he finishes, as well as a long whoosh when the sand is blown.

Availability: The regular variant can be seen on games at the time, including Bob the Builder: Can We Fix It? for the PC and PlayStation and Master Rallye for the PC and PlayStation 2. The variants appear on the games mentioned above.

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