Arcade Game Typography: The Art of Pixel Type

Well researched and presented book on typeface and fonts used in arcade games, delving into the history of the creation, modification and prevalence of specific typefaces throughout arcade game history. A unique way of thinking about the history of video games, in terms of how art and technical limitations meet.This wasn't a topic I had really thought much about previously, but the book brought me around to caring about the subject.

I really expected them to talk about the Namco/Atari arcade font, especially with that wild 8 that has at least 3 versions, and they missed it completely. Although they do point out the particulars of a bunch of different fonts. I also wish they expanded beyond the 8x8 character range and covered some nice 5x5 pixel fonts in Pinball games, and also variable width pixel fonts. Unforunately, 95% is 8x8 fonts in monochrome and multi-color.

Incredibly well-researched and well-organized study on classic arcade game fonts and really on the history of pixel art typography. The book is designed in a way that is easy to move through hundreds of examples without fatigue. It works as an art study, art resource, or coffee table book. Honestly the first and last book you’ll need on the subject. It is beautiful.

This book is amazing. So many examples of typefaces developed for video games from Pac-man and beyond. It's surprising to see just how much can be done with such a limited constraint. I would have liked to have seen more examples of the type used within the actual game (sceenshots) . For fans of typography and pixel art this is highly recommended!

I love pixel art and retro gaming art. This book is awesome. A nice reference for the 8-bit typography.

Just pages of arcade game fonts and their beautiful dots and gradients--almost too objective too even review, however I'll say the presentation is top notch. You can learn to make your own or copy these just by browsing and reading some notes about the tricks used to achieve various effects like shading and curvature.If you like the sound of that, you may as well buy it now at $20 instead of some absurd price when it goes out of print.

So I understand the audience for this book might be on the side of niche; however, it's a very well developed book. From it, it brought nostalgia from the various arcades I've seen in the past, and helped with designing my own font, based on the arcade era of gaming. Well designed, and looks awesome on a coffee table.

I was very pleasantly surprised with this book. I went in knowing very little about video game typography or typography in general, and this really opened up my eyes about an area I previously knew nothing about. It really is like outsider art, and the author goes through typeface quirks, oddities, and leads you through what to look for when evaluating typefaces. I highly recommend it for video game history buffs and just curious readers.

The tone of this wonderfully nerdy book is perfectly balanced. On one hand, there is some seriously detailed study by a true typographic expert. On the other, there is the garish wonder of the games and designs on show. The author clearly enjoys the cheap thrill of the arcade heyday and allows this passion to filter through his prose even when discussing a misplaced pixel or half-hearted bit of anti-aliasing. It’s a fun read, dense with enlightening details.Large parts of the book have you playing spot the difference between reproductions of the entire glyph set encoded onto games from different manufacturers that have strikingly similar fonts. So when we discover that Space Harrier has a cap V misaligned (by one whole pixel!) it feels like a momentus event It had me reaching for MAME to see it in RGB. I’m now about a quarter of the way through and anticipating many more such moments of minor astonishment.In case it matters to you, the focus is tightly on arcade games, not home ports or dedicated console games. It defines it ground clearly though, and will make you appreciate the limitations of an 8x8 pixel grid, and the fun that designers had in trying to bend it to their needs.

I'm a real fan of books telling the history behind gaming, and this one really stands out to me. It may be a very niche subject - the typography of the arcade game, and more specifically fonts created using an 8x8 pixel grid - but there is so much fascinating detail. Screenshots from the games and beautifully laid out font samples are only part of the book. There are intriguing facts, details about the games/series and even a revelation about the earliest arcade font (what we now call the Atari or Namco/Pac-Man font) that became so prevalent in Japanese games. So if you appreciates games and fonts, this is the book for you!

Fantastic book full of exciting info, but marred by the odd design decision to present most of the colourful specimens on a light grey background - as well as being visually uncomfortable it robs the fonts of their charm and impact.

Inspired me to create my own bitmap typeface :)

Such a nice and informative book about 8 bit fonts.