Beam Software: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 22:02, 24 June 2021

Background

Beam Software was originally a subsidiary of Melbourne House (MH), both founded in 1977. After MH was sold to Mastertronic in 1987, Beam operated independently. Interestingly, they purchased back the Melbourne House brand from Virgin Interactive in 1996 and used it as a distributor for some of their releases. In 2000, Beam changed its name to "Blaze International" and left the gaming market for good. The Melbourne House division was sold to Infogrames a year before.

1st Logo (1991-1995)

Logo: A custom "B" appears with a yellow-orange gradient lightning bolt sign attached over it. The rest of the name ("eam Software") in a script-like font, is being written by a quill (a feather-like pen), with a curved line below finishing the drawing.

Variants:

On NES games, a simpler variant was used, with orange text on a black background.
On the Genesis version of George Foreman's KO Boxing, the words "A" and "PRODUCTION" are seen above and below the logo respectively. Plus, the quill has a red-yellow coloring.
On some Game Gear games such as True Lies and MLBPA Baseball, the quill is seen still with the completed logo.
On True Lies for the Sega Genesis, the animation is sped-up.

FX/SFX: The text drawing.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Common on many games during the era, particularly for SNES. The black background version is seen on Bo Jackson Baseball and Nightshade for NES.

2nd Logo (October 1994)

Logo: On a blue gradient background, the words "BEAM Software" are seen with shadows.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: This placeholder logo can be seen on Radical Rex for Sega CD.

3rd Logo (1994)

Logo: We see the word "BEAM" covered with white sparks, with a hand-written "Software" below. A kangaroo comes in and jumps over the logo.

FX/SFX: Only the kangaroo moving.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Only seen on International Cricket for SNES.

4th Logo (1995-1996)

Logo: Two light spots enter the screen and start to swing around. The word "Software" comes in and heads to the center, while the light spots reveal "BEAM" and stop. One stops over the customly made "B", (with a yellow-orange gradient lightning bolt on it), the other under the "M". Some static motion is seen over "BEAM".

Variant: There is a still version used on Bug!, with no light spots.

FX/SFX: All the animation on the screen, not bad.

Music/Sounds: A specially made soundtrack theme.

Availability: Seen on The Dame Was Loaded.

5th Logo (1997-1998)

Logo: We move through some constructions over a blue surface. As we proceed, the letters of "BEAM" can be recognized below. The construction rotates and stands still to reveal the Beam logo on a complicated background, with motion shadows over it.

Variant: There is a shortened version.

FX/SFX: The panning, the construction rotating.

Music/Sounds: A soundtrack similar to the one used in the previous logo, with two synth splashes as the letters emerge, that later repeat.

Availability: Seen on Alien Earth and Norse by Norse West: The Return of the Lost Vikings. Also appears on Caesar's Palace for PS.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+=== Background ===
-Background: Beam Software was originally a subsidiary of [[Melbourne House (Australia)|Melbourne House]] (MH), founded in the same year. After MH was sold to Mastertronic, Beam started to operate as the independent entity. They returned Melbourne House brand in 1996 and used it as the subsidiary name. In 2000, Beam changed its name to "Blaze International" and left the gaming market for good. The Melbourne House division was sold to Infogrames a year before.
+'''Beam Software''' was originally a subsidiary of [[Melbourne House (Australia)|Melbourne House]] (MH), both founded in 1977. After MH was sold to Mastertronic in 1987, Beam operated independently. Interestingly, they purchased back the Melbourne House brand from [[Virgin Interactive]] in 1996 and used it as a distributor for some of their releases. In 2000, Beam changed its name to "Blaze International" and left the gaming market for good. The Melbourne House division was sold to [[Infogrames (France)|Infogrames]] a year before.
+=== 1st Logo (1991-1995) ===
+'''Logo:''' A custom "{{Font color|gray|B}}" appears with a {{Font color|yellow|yellow}}-{{Font color|orange|orange}} gradient lightning bolt sign attached over it. The rest of the name ("eam Software") in a script-like font, is being written by a quill (a feather-like pen), with a curved line below finishing the drawing.
-st Logo
-(1991-1995)
-Beam Software (1991)Beam Software (1993)
+'''Variants:'''
-Logo: A custom gray "B" appears with an yellow-orange gradient lightning bolt sign attached over it. The rest of the name (eam Software) in script-like font, is being written by a quill (a feather-like pen), with the curve line below finishing this drawing.
+* On NES games, a simpler variant was used, with {{Font color|orange|orange}} text on a black background.
+* On the Genesis version of ''George Foreman's KO Boxing'', the words "A" and "PRODUCTION" are seen above and below the logo respectively. Plus, the quill has a {{Font color|red|red}}-{{Font color|yellow|yellow}} coloring.
+* On some Game Gear games such as ''True Lies'' and ''MLBPA Baseball'', the quill is seen still with the completed logo.
+* On ''True Lies'' for the Sega Genesis, the animation is sped-up.
+'''FX/SFX:''' The text drawing.
-Variants:
-On NES, the simpler variant was used, with the text in orange and black background.
-On the Genesis version of George Foreman's KO Boxing, the words, "A" and "PRODUCTION" are seen above and below the logo respectively. Plus, the quill has the red-yellow color.
-On some Game Gear games such as True Lies and MLBPA Baseball, the quill is seen with the completed logo. Plus, it's still.
-On True Lies for the Sega Genesis, the animation is sped-up.
+'''Music/Sounds:''' None.
-FX/SFX: The text drawing.
+'''Availability:''' Common on many games during the era, particularly for SNES. The black background version is seen on ''Bo Jackson Baseball'' and ''Nightshade'' for NES.
-Music/Sounds: None.
+=== 2nd Logo (October 1994) ===
-Availability: Common on many games during the era, particularly for SNES. The black background version is seen on Bo Jackson Baseball and Nightshade for NES.
+'''Logo:''' On a {{Font color|blue|blue}} gradient background, the words "BEAM Software" are seen with shadows.
-Editor's Note: None.
+'''FX/SFX:''' None.
+'''Music/Sounds:''' None.
+'''Availability:''' This placeholder logo can be seen on ''Radical Rex'' for Sega CD.
-nd Logo
-(October 1994)Beam Software (1994)
+=== 3rd Logo (1994) ===
-Logo: On a blue gradient background, the words "BEAM Software" are seen with shadows.
+'''Logo:''' We see the word "{{Font color|blue|BEAM}}" covered with white sparks, with a hand-written "Software" below. A kangaroo comes in and jumps over the logo.
-FX/SFX: None.
+'''FX/SFX:''' Only the kangaroo moving.
-Music/Sounds: None.
+'''Music/Sounds:''' None.
-Availability: This placeholder logo can be seen on Radical Rex for Sega CD.
+'''Availability:''' Only seen on ''International Cricket'' for SNES.
-Editor's Note: None.
+=== 4th Logo (1995-1996) ===
+'''Logo:''' Two light spots enter the screen and start to swing around. The word "Software" comes in and heads to the center, while the light spots reveal "BEAM" and stop. One stops over the customly made "B", (with a {{Font color|yellow|yellow}}-{{Font color|orange|orange}} gradient lightning bolt on it), the other under the "M". Some static motion is seen over "BEAM".
+'''Variant:''' There is a still version used on ''Bug!'', with no light spots.
-rd Logo
-(1994)
+'''FX/SFX:''' All the animation on the screen, not bad.
-Logo: We see the blue word "BEAM" covered with a white sparks, with hand-written "Software" below. A kangaroo Beam Software (1994)comes and jumps over the logo.
+'''Music/Sounds:''' A specially made soundtrack theme.
-FX/SFX: Only the kangaroo moving.
+'''Availability:''' Seen on ''The Dame Was Loaded''.
-Music/Sounds: None.
+=== 5th Logo (1997-1998) ===
-Availability: Only seen on International Cricket for SNES.
+'''Logo:''' We move through some constructions over a {{Font color|blue|blue}} surface. As we proceed, the letters of "BEAM" can be recognized below. The construction rotates and stands still to reveal the Beam logo on a complicated background, with motion shadows over it.
-Editor's Note: None.
+'''Variant:''' There is a shortened version.
+'''FX/SFX:''' The panning, the construction rotating.
+'''Music/Sounds:''' A soundtrack similar to the one used in the previous logo, with two synth splashes as the letters emerge, that later repeat.
-th Logo
-(1995-1996)
-Beam Software (1996)Beam Software (1996)
+'''Availability:''' Seen on ''Alien Earth'' and ''Norse by Norse West: The Return of the Lost Vikings''. Also appears on ''Caesar's Palace'' for PS.
+[[Category:Australian Video Game Logos]]
-Logo: Two light spots enter the screen and start to swing around. The word "SOFTWARE comes and heads to the center, while the light spots reveal "BEAM" and stop - one over the customly made "B", (with yellow-orange gradient lightning bolt on it) other under the "M". Some static motion is seen over the word "BEAM".
+[[Category:Australian Logos]]
+[[Category:Video Game Logos]]
-Variant: There is a still version used on Bug!, with no light spots.
+[[Category:Atari (France)]]
-FX/SFX: All the animation on the screen, not bad.
-Music/Sounds: A specially made soundtrack theme.
-Availability: Seen on The Dame Was Loaded.
-Editor's Note: None.
-th Logo
-(1997-1998)
-Beam Software (1998)Beam Software (1997)
-Logo: We move through some constructions over the blue surface. As we proceed, the letters of "BEAM" can be recognized below. The construction rotates, stands still to reveal the known Beam logo on complicated background, with the motion shadows over it.
-Variant: There is a shortened version.
-FX/SFX: TBA.
-Music/Sounds: A soundtrack similar to the used in previous logo, with two synth splashes as the letters emerge, later they repeat.
-Availability: Seen on Alien Earth and Norse by Norse West: The Return of the Lost Vikings. Also appears on Caesar's Palace for PS.
-Editor's Note: None.