The Code Monkeys

Background

The Code Monkeys was founded in Leeds, United Kingdom in 1989 by Colin Hogg and Mark Kirkby. They had originally done console ports of various titles, though later in their history they began to release now-infamous shovelware games of knock-off cartoons by German animation studio Dingo Pictures, many of which were published by Midas Interactive and Phoenix Games on PlayStation and PlayStation 2, along with poorly received titles based on licensed properties such as The Simpsons, Garfield, Shrek, and Postman Pat. On 1 February 2011, the studio closed.

Contents

1st Logo (1990-1998)	2nd Logo (March 1994)	3rd Logo (June-September 1995)	4th Logo (1999-2004)


5th Logo (3 July 2001)	6th Logo (18 October-6 December 2002)	7th Logo (2003-2007)	8th Logo (2007-2011)

1st Logo (1990-1998)

Visuals: On a black or white background is a stretched out "C" with a smaller "M" inside it, and a red rectangle near the "C" behind it. Below it is the words "THE CODE MONKEYS".

Variants:

On Game Boy, the logo is in monochrome.
On the Game Boy Color version of Centipede, the logo is colored blue and light blue.
On Crime Wave for Amiga, the white logo (with the rectangle in pink) zooms towards the camera against a fiery background, before panning down.
On Live Wire for PlayStation, the logo slides in water before rotating before it fades to the normal logo.

Technique: A still, sprite-based graphic.

Audio: The opening theme of the game.

Availability: Seen on a few early games like all monochrome Game Boy games the company developed, as well as Crime Wave for Amiga. Does not appear on other games. The logo is retained on Majesco's rerelease of Centipede for Game Boy and Game Boy Color.

2nd Logo (March 1994)

Visuals: On a blue marble background, the red rectangle and the "M" pan down and the black "C" rotates, zooming out. The yellow words "THE CODE MONKEYS" appear letter by letter. The logo then rotates to the left slightly.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on Tomcat Alley for Sega CD, only when completing the game.

3rd Logo (June-September 1995)

Visuals: On a dark blue marble background is the black "C" and the red rectangle rotating, and the "M" pans down. The black text "THE CODE MONKEYS" zooms down. The logo then slowly zooms in and fades out.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A triumphant fanfare.

Availability: Only seen on two games: Surgical Strike for Sega CD and Sega CD 32X and Wirehead for Sega CD. Like before, it only appears when completing the game.

4th Logo (1999-2004)

Visuals: On a white background is the Code Monkeys logo encased in a wooden frame. A cartoon monkey wearing overalls and a cap holding a bucket, ladder and a broom is seen at the bottom right.

Variants:

A variant exists with the URL "www.codemonkeys.com" under it.
On the Game Boy Color version of Force 21, the frame is missing and the monkey is bigger, due to screen size limitations.

Technique: A still, digital graphic.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on some early games made by the company, mostly for the PlayStation, such as Worms: World Party. It was also seen on Garfield for PlayStation 2 and PC and the Game Boy Color version of Force 21. This was also attached to Dingo Pictures games on PlayStation. It also appeared on a beta version of The Simpsons: Skateboarding for PlayStation 2; the final game used the 6th logo instead.

5th Logo (3 July 2001)

Visuals: In a jungle is a blank sign. A monkey (wearing blue denim overalls) swings towards it on a vine, carrying a rolled up white banner. The monkey lands on top of it, rolls down the banner (containing the logo) and leaps off, walking off screen. The camera zooms in on the logo.

Technique: Cel-shaded animation.

Audio: A bongo theme with noises from the monkey.

Availability: Only seen on Goofy's Fun House for PlayStation.

6th Logo (18 October-6 December 2002)

Visuals: A white square zooms in, then a monkey with red boxing gloves, red trunks and an "M"-shaped mouth slides in, then doing a boxing pose. The camera cuts to his arms as he punches. Then, a full shot of him slides in. He moon-walks as he is punching, and bumps into a giant gorilla, also with red gloves. The gorilla growls, much to the monkey's dismay. The gorilla then punches him into the camera, where the monkey's face gets squashed, before cross-fading into the Code Monkeys logo (this time, the text is thinner). The URL is seen under it.

Variant: A version with a higher frame rate exists on The Simpsons: Skateboarding.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Descending whooshes for the sliding, quick whooshes for the punching in action, a thump when the monkey bumps into the gorilla, then the gorilla's growl and a whimper from the monkey. A punching sound is heard when the gorilla punches the monkey, followed by a weird descending sound, and finally, a high-pitched glass-shattering sound.

Availability: This is seen on only two games: Shrek: Treasure Hunt for PlayStation and The Simpsons: Skateboarding for PlayStation 2.

7th Logo (2003-2007)

Visuals: On a dark stage, a wooden crate is seen. A small monkey dressed in a pink/purple jester costume runs, with a spotlight following him. He then bumps into the crate, and a small white rectangle shoots upward out of it. The monkey bounces back, then the rectangle lands on the crate, now bigger and with the Code Monkeys logo on it. It lands upside-down, then turns the right way. The monkey shakes his head and looks at the camera, and the camera zooms into the rectangle, where the screen fades to black leaving just the rectangle with the logo.

Trivia: The monkey appears on the menus and box art for games published by Phoenix Games.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Footsteps accompanied by a weird trumpet solo, then the sound of an audience laughing, then some funny sound effects to go with the animations, and as the screen zooms into the logo, an applause is heard.

Availability: This was attached to Dingo Pictures games on PlayStation 2, such as Dalmatians 3.

8th Logo (2007-2011)

Visuals: On a white background, three shapes are arranged to form the letters "TCM". Below it is the text "THE CODE MONKEYS Ltd.".

Technique: A still, digital graphic.

Audio: None.

Availability: Found on the latest games by the company before their closure in 2011. One known example of this logo appearing is Postman Pat for PlayStation 2.