Runecraft

Background

Runecraft, Ltd. was founded in 1997 with the offices in UK. It was specializing on brand and license titles. Ultimately, Runecraft went into financial troubles, speculations and poor management, which led to its collapse in December 2002. However, around this time, the BBC purchased the bankrupt developer (as they were currently developing the technology for BBC Three series FightBox) and rebranded them under their Gamezlab core publishing brand.

Contents

1st Logo (December 31, 1997-June 28, 2002)	2nd Logo (November 9, 1999-June 7, 2002)	3rd Logo (September 24, 2002-May 10, 2003)

1st Logo (December 31, 1997-June 28, 2002)

Early variant
Later variant
Caesar's Palace II (Game Boy Color)
Scrabble (Game Boy Color)
In-credit variant (Caesars Palace 2000)

Early variant

Later variant

Scrabble (Game Boy Color)

Visuals: There is the dust-covered shield with the semicircular panel above (with grass landscape). The panel slowly zooms-in and the debris flies away to reveal the "RUNECRAFT" name written in stony runic letters. Three stones emerge on the upper panel.

Variants:

On the copyright notice of Caesar's Palace 2000, the logo is in-credit, alongside with Interplay Entertainment. Also, the early logo is different, with the company name being darker and a shadow being casted below the stones.
On later games starting with Spec Ops: Ranger Elite, the logo is enhanced with more detailed CGI.
A still variant was seen on the Game Boy Color ports of Caesars Palace II and Scrabble.
- The former game has the copyright notice below it.
On Scrabble for the Game Boy Advance, the logo's animation is sped up due to the GBA's video limitations.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: An orchestral hit with monk-like chanting.

Audio Variants:

The enhanced variant has a deep synth note with the sound of uncovering debris.
The Game Boy variants are either silent or use the game's opening theme.

Availability: Seen on many games for various platforms such as Caesar's Palace 2000, Y2K, Men in Black: Crashdown, and others.

2nd Logo (November 9, 1999-June 7, 2002)

Visuals: The camera flies backwards over the water surface with the rainbow, then over the field with a pathway. Finally the "stonehenge" with three familiar stones appears, among others. The image is outlined by the shield with "RUNECRAFT" already uncovered. The background with stones changes to night, and the moon appears.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: An orchestral note with whooshing sounds, then a THX-style synth note, and another orchestral note. On The Hoobs, the last sound is in a much higher key.

Availability: Appears on games such as Barbie: Race & Ride, Arthur! Ready to Race and The Hoobs for PlayStation. Used in tandem with the previous logo.

3rd Logo (September 24, 2002-May 10, 2003)

Visuals: On a dark rippling background, an orange sun rises up, revealing a stylized lowercase "r" in the center. With a puff of smoke, the background turns to white, and the sun turns into a purple oval with the "r" cut out inside of it. The name "RUNECRAFT" (with "N" and "E" being connected) is seen below, with the spaced-out byline "games by design".

Variant:

On some games, the logo is still.
On Super Bubble Pop for the Game Boy Advance, many bubbles appear from the Jaleco Entertainment logo and transition to this logo. After a few seconds, the bubbles reappear, segueing into the title screen.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A calm 8-note synth theme.

Availability: Seen on Monopoly Party Scrabble 2003 Edition for PC and Butt-Ugly Martians: Zoom or Doom. The still version can be found on Super Bubble Pop and Butt-Ugly Martians: BKM Battles.

Runecraft

Gamezlab

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