Typography 1 - PC - February 26th

Analyze

I’m going to focus on the Gauntlet word. It is display. All the letters are caps. There is no ascender but there are 4 descenders located on the “G”, the “A”, the “N” and the final “T”. There are 3 ligatures. They are located between, the “A” and the “U”, the “T” and the “L”, the “E” and the final “T”. All the brackets and counters have the same sector or portion shape.

Classify

Display/Logotype

Serif

Gothic

Define

The overall look for the shapes is sharp and clean. There are 3 different gradient color layers for each letter. It gives a 3D effect to each letter. The overall look allows a good legibility only for big sizes.

Comment

Gauntlet is a beat-them-all game located into a dungeon and we are in 1986, release year of adventure or heroic fantasy movies like Labyrinth. Actually, Conan the Barbarian is not so far. So I think that the designer wanted to give a feeling of strength and magic to this font.

Analyze

The lettering is also display. I’m going to divide my analysis in 2 parts.

BAD: All letters are caps and have descenders. The “B” and the “D” have an ascender. The “B” and “D” counters have the same shape.

DUDES: All letters are caps and are located between the base and the cap line. The aperture of the “U”, “E” and “S” seem identical. The edges of each letter are a mix of sharped and rounded shapes.

Classify

Display/Logotype

Sans Serif/Serif

Define

The BAD letters seem being made with a paint spray which give theme a urban or street aspect. The DUDES letters are thick very thick and strong and look very strict. The proportions allow a good legibility for big sizes. The BAD letters look small caps comparing to the DUDES letters.

Comment

We are in 1988. Bad Dudes is a beat-them-all game where you control a street fighting character. The logotype expresses this concept in a really good way. Indeed, the red BAD letters represents the junk or the urban lost part of a city. On the opposite the DUDES letters represents the law enforcements team or cops or the former prisoner who turned into a boy scout.

Analyze

I’m going to focus on Final Fight. The lettering is display. All letters are x-height, except for the cap height F. There are descenders on the 2 “F” and the “g”. There are ascenders on the 2 “F”, the “l”, the “h” and the “t”. The counters are all very tight and rounded.

Classify

Display/Logotype

Serif

Define

The legibility is good thanks to the color choice inside the letters and also on the white stroke. We can see a continuance on each word, especially on the Fight word. Everything is a matter of opposite elements: fire and water in the shape, fire and water in the colors.

Comment

The year is 1989, which implies the dusk of the 80’s and the dawn of the 90’s. The handy work is replaced by the graphic design work. I think that the designer intention was to set another milestone on the videogame identity.

Typography 1 - PC - February 26th

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Analyze

The lettering above is display. All the letters are caps. There is no descender or ascender. All the letters are set on the same baseline and the cap line. The counters are very thin except for the counter of the “Q”

Classify

Display/Logotype

Sans Serif

Transitional

Define

The overall look for the shapes is sharp and clean. There are 3 different gradient color layers for each letter. It looks like the white stroke inside each letter, is spreading out to a farer point. The shining stars located in the background reinforce this feeling.

Comment

We are in 1980 and the shooter game-like is really fashion. This logotype is really representative of the late 70’s, early 80’s spirit; flashing color and squared shape. The overall look is efficient and clean. I don’t really like it because there is a lack of fun.

 

 

Analyze

I’m going to focus on the Pit & Run font. The lettering is also display. All letters are caps and located between the cap line and the baseline except for the “P” of Pit and the “R” of Run. The “P” is an upper case and has a descender and an ascender. The “R” has also an ascender.

Classify

Display/Logotype

Sans Serif

Define

It seems that all the letters have been cut and set manually. Indeed the kerning is very irregular, especially between the “R” and the “U”. Obviously it’s a F1-Race game, but this concept is emphasized with the pointed “P”, “R” and “U” and by the shape all around the font. The proportions allow a good legibility for all sizes.

Comment

The year is 1984. It looks like futuristic but the hand-made aspect is kind of disturbing. The 3D aspect is there but I think something is missing, like a more regular kerning to allow a better legibility.

Analyze

The lettering is display. All letters are caps and all have pointed descenders. The edges and the strokes of each letter are very rounded.

Classify

Display/Logotype

Sans Serif

Define

The legibility is kind of difficult, due the thin width of each letter. It is also due to the perspective of the letters. Indeed, we can see a continuance going from the top to the bottom and over. Each letter has 4 different shades of color. It could be interpreted as a 3D style.

Comment

We are 1983 and we are far from Space Invaders released in the late 70’s and it’s obvious that the designer wanted to do a tribute. It’s also based on the American Rock band Journey. This game is a mix of all different kind of game of this period (platform, vertical shooter …)

Typography 1 - PC - February 26th

Analyze

The lettering above is display. All the letters are caps. There is serif. There are descenders on the “A’s”and on the ”M”. The counters are irregular. There are swashes.

Classify

Display/Logotype

Serif

Define

The overall look is smoky or ghostly. The black fill color and the white color stroke are well balanced. Even if it looks messy, the kerning is well done. The kerning and the swashes give an impression of movement.

Comment

The year is 1981, which is kind of amazing comparing to the square and sharped style, you can find in other fonts of this period. I really like the Art Nouveau aspect of the font. It suppose to be scary but at the same time, the aesthetic can be interpreted as something classy and smooth.

Analyze

It’s a display font. All letters are caps. There is a descender on the “U” and there are swashes on both “A”. The swashes are linked together. All strokes have spike on their left and right side. All the brackets are curved.

Classify

Display/Logotype

Serif

Define

Despite the pointe aspect, the legibility of this logotype is good on small and large sizes. Each letter is design with the main stroke, which provides a kind of unity and symmetry.

Comment

We are in 1984, release year of Conan the Destroyer. I really like the gap between the name of the character, which supposes to be a war strategist and the style of the font. I think the typographer wanted to underline more the majestic or the royal aspect of Attila The Hun.

Analyze

The lettering is display. All letters are caps. There are ascenders and descenders on the F-14 part. There is slab serif. The “C” and “A” of Tomcat are linked.

Classify

Display/Logotype

Slab Serif

Define

The legibility is good at large or small sizes. The eye of the reader is first attracted to the TOMCAT word despite the bigger size of F-14. The choice of the color reinforces the military and aggressive aspect of the font.

Comment

The year is 1987, a year after Top Gun release date. F-14 Tomcat is the main plane of the movie. So the font style try to give a cool aspect but at the same time try to keep military aspect. The triangle aspect all around the logo, also reinforce the military aspect.

Typography 1 - PC - February 26th

Analyze

The lettering above is display. All the letters are caps. There is no serif. There are descenders on the first “A”, the “Z” and the “H”. The counters are irregular. The “A” and the “M” seem connected, also for the second “A”, the “Z” and the “O”.

Classify

Display/Logotype

Sans Serif

Define

The overall look is sharped and cut. There is a gradient composed of 2 colors. It gives an impression burning letters. It is obvious on the letter “T”. The proportions allow a good legibility for all sizes. The arc warp gives an impression continuance to the display.

Comment

We are in 1985, a year after the release of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The style is totally inspired by Indiana Jones font. This gives a really good feeling of adventure to Amazon Hunt.

 

Analyze

It’s a display font. All letters are caps. There are descenders on the “A’s”, the “N’s” and the “R”. There are ascenders on the “B” and the “R”. There is serif. The “Z” and the second “A” seem connected, also for the “U” and the “N” and for the “A” an the “N”.

Classify

Display/Logotype

Serif

Define

Despite the narrowness between each letter, the legibility is easy for small and large sizes. The 3 colors in each character’s stem, allow a better legibility. The yellow stroke around each letter allows also a better legibility. The upper counter of the “B” and the “R” look like eyes.

Comment

The year is 1988. I like the sensation of fire that gets out of the font. The choice of the color is well done because the general aspect of the font has an oriental look. This is reinforced by the Banzai word.

Analyze

I’m going to focus on Joust. The lettering is display. All letters are caps. There are 2 ascenders on the “U” and the “T”.  There is serif.

Classify

Display/Logotype

Serif

Monster

Define

The legibility is kind of hard because the prominence of the “U”. It is also reinforced with the diamond set right in the middle of the “U”. There is an impression of continuance from the front to the back thanks to the 3D effect.

Comment

We are in 1983. At the first view, I didn’t understand the goal of this logotype. But I think the fact is the “U” and the diamond may symbolize the player. So it maybe means that the player is the main element of the game, like role playing game. So you must first read the U then the entire word Joust.

Typography 1 - PC - February 26th

Analyze

I’m going to focus on Super Nova. The script lettering above is display. All the letters are caps, except for all the word super which is x-height. There is no serif. On the word “NOVA”, we can interpret the stains on the top of each letter as ascenders. On the word “super”, all counters and apertures are squared. On the word “NOVA”, all counters and aperture sharped.

Classify

Display/Logotype

Sans Serif

Transitional

Define

The overall look is messy and grungy. The legibility is kind of hard because of the choice of colors inside each letter and the background.

Comment

The year is 1980. I don’t really like this logotype, even if the typographer tried to input a solar eruption effect on each letter. Which is really amazing at this part of the 80’s decade.

Analyze

It’s a display font. All letters are caps. There is no descender or ascender but the “P” and the “T” have tail on their upper part. There is serif but it’s not obvious because the serifs are inside the letter and not on the stroke. All the counters have the same bullet shape and the apertures are sharped.

Classify

Display/Logotype

Serif

Define

Despite the memory chip pattern located inside each letter, the legibility of this logotype is good on small and large sizes. The black stroke and the pinball dot in the middle reinforce the legibility.

Comment

We are in 1986. I think that the typographer did a great job. It’s very detailed and there is some shining part which could eventually disturb the legibility but he did a really good job.

Analyze

I’m going to focus on the HIGH SPEED words. The script lettering is a logotype. All letters are caps. There is no descender or ascender. There is no serif. All counters are curved.

Classify

Display/Logotype

Sans Serif

Humanist

Define

The legibility is good at large or small sizes. The kerning is well balance and facilitates the legibility. The color and the mirror effect inside of each letter allow a good legibility from a far point.

Comment

The year is 1986. I like the choice of simplicity made by the typographer. Even if the goal of the pinball is to be a policeman chasing a car with a big engine, the choice of the warm color reminds the setting sun. The concept can encourage the player to stay on the pinball.

Typography 1 - PC - February 11th

Analyze

The lettering above is display. All the letters are caps but the first “A” and the “N” are bigger than other letters. There is serif. All the brackets are very curved. Some counters are plain like the “R” and the upper counter of the “B”. We can see through some counters like the down counter on the “B”. There are double crossbar on the first “A” and the last “N”. The two letters are bigger caps and have ascenders and descenders. The descenders are also swashes. The “R” and the first “A” are linked.

Classify

Display/Logotype

Serif

Gothic

Define

The overall look is close to an Art Nouveau style font. The pink stroke which surrounding all the letters allows a good legibility for all sizes. You can feel the spirit of the 1001 nights tale in this font thanks to the gradient located inside each letter.

Comment

We are in 1983. ARABIAN is a vertical platform game where you control a small Persian character. You must collect all the letters from the word ARABIAN avoiding all the monsters of the stage, in order to go the next stage. In this case, the logotype style is more related to a background than a character. I think it’s a really sophisticated font comparing to the fonts of this period. Indeed, this period is oriented to the futuristic objects so most of the fonts are very sharped and squared.

Analyze

It’s a display font. All the letters are caps. There are no descenders or ascenders. The counters are very sharp. The kerning between all the letters is really closed and it gives the feeling that they are all linked.

Classify

Display/Logotype

Sans Serif

Define

Despite the small kerning between each letter, it allows a good legibility for small and large sizes. The common point between each letter is the missing triangle part. This common point allows a positive rhythm. The blue gradient color located in each letter, reinforces the feeling of space.

Comment

The release date is 1985. In this case, we are still in the futuristic spirit started in the early 80’s. The game consists in a horizontal shooter viewed from behind. We control a man equipped with a big space gun who is able to jump or fly in order to shoot space monsters. This concept can explain Space Harrier because a harrier is an eagle which hunts.

Analyze

The lettering is a logotype. There are all caps but the “T” is bigger than the other letters. There is 1 ascender on the “T” and the right crossbar is covering the “H” and the “H”. There is serif. All the counters are plain except for the “A”. Some letters are linked with each other by the upper or down serifs.

Classify

Display/Logotype

Slab serif

Define

The legibility is good for small and large sizes. There is an impression of 3D thanks to the black shadow behind each letter. The upper serif of the “C” looks like a military helmet, which reinforces the vindictive aspect of the font. The color inside each letter is actually transparent for the sky background.

Comment

We are 1987. Thundercade is a vertical scrolling shooter with a motorcycle. The name Thundercade seems to be a contraction between thunder and arcade. The crossbars of the “T” recall the handlebars of a bike. The 3D style is a little too much because it disturbs the legibility of the script. This reminds all this TV series of the middle 80’s where the hero was a car (Knight Rider), a chopper (Airwolf) or a motorcycle (Street Hawk).

Typography 1 - PC - February 4th

Analyze

The lettering above is display. All the letters are caps. There is no serif except maybe for the “V” which is covering all the other letters. Indeed, the bottom of the letter can be considered as a serif. The counters, brackets, shoulders and joints are square. There is two ascenders on the “V”.

Classify

Display/Logotype

Sans Serif

Define

The overall look is square and digital. All the serifs are also very sharp. There is a good mix of large and thin stroke. The geometric proportions allow a good legibility for all sizes. The notion of future is obvious thanks to the continuance made the “V”’s ascenders.

Comment

The overall look is very futuristic. We are in 1982, just after the release of Tron and Black Hole, two main milestone in the Sci Fi movies. I think they tried insert an electronic shape style but also something warm and friendly with the two warm colors.

Analyze

It’s a display font. There is a mix of small caps and caps. There are descenders, ascenders and swashes. The counters are all irregular especially for the 2 “e”. The kerning between all the letters is really closed and it gives the feeling that they are all linked.

Classify

Display/Logotype

Serif

Define

Despite the narrowness between each letter, the legibility is easy for small and large sizes. The 2 colors in each character’s stem, allow a better legibility. The white stroke all around the script allows also a better legibility.

Comment

I like the warmness that gets out of the font. The choice of the color is well done because the general aspect of the font looks like a lace TV tablemat.

Analyze

The lettering is a logotype. There is a mix are caps and small caps. There are 2 descenders on the capital “K” and the “g”. There are ascenders on the capital ”B” and “K” and also on the “l”, “k”, “h” and “t”. There are swashes on the capital “B” and “K”.

Classify

Display

Logotype

Blackletter

Define

The legibility is good for small. There is an impression of 3D. The upper swashes of the B and the K can be interpreted as the tail and the mane of a horse. The lower swashes of the and the K and the descender of the g can be interpreted as the leg of a horse. The entire main strokes are cute in half which can reminds the sword of a knight.

Comment

This script is a part a pinball game from the late 80’s. It’s kind of hard to keep an eye on this logotype because you are distracted by all the details and the different line orientation. The 3D style is a little too much because it disturbs the legibility of the script.