1C Game Studios (Russia)

Background
1C Publishing was founded in Russia in 1991 and began to publish games in 1996. 1C has five internal development studios and a European publishing arm formed after the acquisition of Cenega Publishing. In 2008, the company purchased their main competitor, Buka Entertainment. 1C Publishing was the biggest game publisher in Russia. In 2012, the game studio of 1C Company was renamed into 1C Game Studios.

1st Logo (1996-1998)


Nicknames: "The Countdown", "Choppy Countdown"

Logo: On a black background, a digital "9" is seen before it starts counting down. When it reaches "1", it switches to a abstract "1", resembling the SVT 1 logo at the time, but with 2 stripes. It then moves to the left as a similarly shaped "C" fades in. A light then wipes in the text "представляет" (Presents) in Cooper Black below. The logo shines.

Variant: A variant with a rippling transition at the end exists.

FX/SFX: The number changing, the light, and the glowing. Very choppy.

Music/Sounds: None for the countdown, but it segues into a techno theme when it fades to the "1".

Availability: Extremely rare. It can be seen on 1C's earliest releases.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (1999-May 24, 2002)


Nickname: "The Countdown II"

Logo: Again we see the countdown, but now starting at "5". The gold 3D letters blink. When the countdown reaches "1", the letter "C" to the right appears, along with the words "Фирма 1С" below. The logo is made in 3D and shines. Finally, the word "ПРЕДСТАВЛЯЕТ" again fades-in.

Variant: There was a still variant where "1C" was blue and white without labeling. This was mostly used on localization.

FX/SFX: The countdown, the transformation and the shining.

Music/Sounds: A synth drone, sounds of countdown (which are actually North American "off-hook" tones), and a synth tune with choirs after it's complete.

Availability: Uncommon. Can be found on Clay Agent and Konung: Legend of the North, both also released in Europe but now long gone. Can be found on a pair of Snowball Interactive's localized games, for example Shadow of Zorro. On a few other games, like Etherlords, the still variant was used.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (October 3, 2003-April 12, 2012?)
Nicknames: "The Great Countdown", "Digital Clock"

Logo: On a screen full of green noise, the 3D numbers of the clock "(XX:XX)" are seen zooming in and counting down. The noise clears. When the numbers reach "00:01", they turn around to show the 1C logo with "Фирма "1С"" below. Then the bright flash engulfs the logo, turning the logo two-dimensional and colored either fire brick and imperial blue on a white background (2003-2008) or red on a yellow background (2008-2012).

Variant: There's a rare version where the byline is translated into "1C company", but it becomes uppercase upon flash.

FX/SFX: The countdown.

Music/Sounds: Noisy effects with ticking sounds, a droning synth note, the sound of reversion, the background changing.

Availability: Seen on games of the period. The first game to use this logo was Little Longnose ("Карлик Нос") and the last game to use this logo is unknown: premusably, it's Men of War: Condemned Heroes, which has the still variant of the logo in its game menu. This logo is still used as a print logo for the 1C Company itself.

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo (The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings variant) (May 16, 2011)


Nickname: "The Dirty 1C"

Logo: We see the 1C logo smearing onto a foggy yellow background. Roots start to grow on it. After a few seconds, the logo zooms in and dissolves.

FX/SFX: The logo zooming in and dissolving, the roots growing.

Music/Sounds: A dramatic string theme.

Availability: Only seen on the Russian version of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings.

Editor's Note: None.