Mirage Interactive

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum

Background

Founded in 1988, Mirage Software was a game publishing (and later development) company in Poland. Creating mainly games for Amiga, it was later known as "Mirage Media" until 2000, when the publishing division merged with IPS to form Cenega Publishing, and the development division spun-off as "Mirage Interactive". After making some bad quality games for PC, the company went into liquidation.


1st Logo (1992-1997)

Visuals: The logo usually consists of the text "MirAGE" in a highly angular, highly stylized font (which resembles "MirᐃGΣ"), with a 4-pointed starburst forming the dot of the "i". "SOFTWARE" in a font closely resembling Stop can be seen below the "G".

Variants:

  • The backgrounds differ from game to game during its early years.
  • Some games like Odyssey replaced the starburst with a bright, sun-like aura, with the logo getting darker and harder to see the farther it gets. "SOFTWARE" is also moved.
  • Starting in 1995, the logo was redesigned in 3D with simpler, blocky forms for the letters, a stony look to the logo, and a blue sphere replacing the bridge in the "r". Sometimes this was a simpler, flat logo in blue with a yellow sphere with the company name below.

Technique: Sprite-based graphics.

Audio: None.

Availability: The logo mostly appeared in the corner or on packaging at the time, mainly from their Atari games. [Examples?]

2nd Logo (1999-2001)


Visuals: A small section of the screen is showing an oasis in the desert, with the Taj Mahal in the background. Time passes with clouds moving and trees swaying as the moon suddenly springs into the sky, turning everything into dusk and some drawn stars appear in the corner. The scene then turns into a ripped up, sepia-tone poster, which is then ripped away to reveal the new Mirage logo, which consists of a yellow shield with "MI" in blue and "RAGE" in red, zooming in while spinning wildly. It eventually stops spinning, and then zooming.

Variant: A still version was used on Hands of Time.

Technique: 2D computer animation with CGI.

Audio: A generic desert tune plays throughout the beginning, which fades out to cicadas as the moon pops up with a "spring" sound. A ripping sound is then heard, before wind plays when the shield zooms in, and a gong when the logo stops. Composed and sound designed by Johan von Red from Redmer Werkstatt.

Availability: Appeared on Mortyr.

3rd Logo (2001-2006)

Visuals: On a white background, a small red oval with a heavy black border pops in, which has a angular wolf head with red eyes peek up and come into full view. The head folds its head out of the oval for a second, and then howls into the sky, getting a line and "I N T E R A C T I V E" to slide in and besides the oval. "MI" in black arrives from the left side letter by letter, and "RAGE" in red does as well from the right as the wolf head peeks out of its oval a second time. As all of the logo is formed, the wolf head blinks and twitches its ears.

Variant: The still version, which was used on most games, has some small differences, like the wolf head being larger and having red teeth, the sections being closer together, and "INTERACTIVE" being in a different font.

Technique: 2D digital animation.

Audio: The sounds of wind, folding and tearing paper, the wolf howling, screeching tires for the line and "INTERACTIVE" and clicking sounds for the letters. It finishes off with a single violin note held out.

Availability: The animated logo appeared on Mortyr 2 and Knights: Learn to Fly. The logo is still on all other games.

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