Don’t Wake Roko is an independent game by 400x240 (named after the console’s screen resolution) for the Playdate handheld console, developed with the help of Nico “Path” Paget, with pixel art by Adele Polina and cover art by Jim Dunoyer. Available on itch.io, the game uses Grenat in mixed case for its cover thumbnail and in-game titles.

The Playdate’s 1-bit screen (strictly black and white, with no greyscale) transforms the typeface in an interesting way: its forms are rendered through dithering, breaking letterforms into a pattern of dots that gives them a particular texture. This effect is pushed further in places with the addition of a halftone screen, adding yet another layer of visual grain to the type.

The sans used for smaller text is Eas VHS. 400x240 documented their typographic choices in a devlog post.

From Wikipedia:

The Krypton Factor is a British game show produced by Granada Television for broadcast on ITV. The show originally ran from 7 September 1977 to 20 November 1995 and was hosted by Gordon Burns.

An italic variant of Isonorm was used in the scoreboards, timers, and general text including end credits. The typeface was used throughout most of the 1980s run of the show, before switching to Insignia for the 1992 season.

Cookie Clicker is a incremental game made by French programmer Julien “Orteil” Thiennot. Merriweather is used for the UI along with Tahoma for text at very small sizes. The game has a dedicated fanbase. The Android version uses Kavoon.

From Wikipedia:

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is a 2024 first-person shooter video game co-developed by Treyarch and Raven Software and published by Activision. It is the twenty-first installment of the Call of Duty series […] Black Ops 6’s single-player story follows rogue CIA operatives Troy Marshall and Frank Woods as they assemble a team of agents to hunt down Pantheon, a paramilitary group with covert ties to the agency.

Black Ops 6 continues the age-old tradition in military shooters: it must use squared sans-serifs no matter what. And this game more than kept its end of the bargain. Kairos Sans Condensed is featured throughout the game’s UI, mainly on big headings and small, less important text. TT Lakes Neue and its Condensed variant are mainly used on long body text, where Kairos Sans could be a bit too angular for readability.

Subtitles are set in Monospace 821 Bold, evoking the feeling of reading a transcript – very fitting for the “off the books” nature of the Black Ops games. Helvetica itself is also used, but is reserved for numbered elements. The venerable Noto Sans returns, used on the scoreboard and player names for full language converage. Stratum 2 makes a surprise appearance, but only in the campaign’s pre-rendered cutscenes.

Game logo

Main menu

Mission select screen on the campaign mode

A cutscene that happens early in the game. Stratum 2 is seen here.

Multiplayer lobby

Modfiying a weapon. Monospace 821 is used on gun statistics.

Every now and then, the game gives you multiple dialogue choices. The last line of dialogue is set in the regular width of TT Lakes Neue, while the buttons use the Condensed width.

Admiring a beautiful shotgun. The campaign uses a different HUD from the online modes. Button prompts (bottom right) appear to be set in Noto Sans, while the rest is in Kairos Sans.

The start of a Team Deathmatch mode. Helvetica can be spotted on the bottom right, used for the ammo counter. The monospaced version – Bitstream’s Monospace 821 – also appears here in subtitle form.

Scoreboard

Tasting sweet victory in the form of a very large Kairos Sans

Barely surviving in Zombies mode. The HUD appears virtually the same as other online modes. Note that Helvetica is used on the score numbers, while Noto Sans on the described kills.

Battlefield 3 is the seventh entry in the Battlefield franchise and the sequel to Battlefield 2. The game embraces the term “modern” more heavily paired with a Hollywood flair to it. This is reflected in the user interface which resembles a stereotypical military display you’d see in a blockbuster action movie.

Purista would make its debut here in the franchise. Its highly squared, sans serif design resembles lettering you would see on some military applications which no doubt played a large part in its choice. The typeface continues to be used in future titles including the most recent entry, Battlefield 2042.

The medium and semi-bold variant was used in almost every single material connected to Battlefield 3, which was likely for brand consistency. It’s used for promotional material, Battlelog (the PC version’s networking system which is paired with Bebas Neue, Tahoma and Arial), and is the only typeface used for the in game user interface.

Screenshots were taken on the Steam copy of Battlefield 3, since console versions contain a slightly different UI.

Main menu for the campaign mode

Options menu

Credits sequence

Multiplayer HUD

Losing a match in multiplayer, showing the scoreboard among other things you unlocked during the match

Singleplayer HUD, with health, ammo and objectives displayed

Piloting a tank. This is one of the few instances where Purista is used diegetically in the game world.

A page on Battlelog advertising Battlefield 3 Premium. Bebas Neue is used with Purista.

Battlelog’s character profile showcasing my horrible stats. Tahoma, Arial and Bebas Neue are used here.

A promotional ad for a weapon pack

Modern Warfare 2019 serves as the reboot to Call of Duty’s Modern Warfare trilogy, updating the series to fit modern sensibilities. This included the user interface where Nat Dart, the Senior UI artist at Infinity Ward along with the rest of the UI team opted to shave off the original’s dated militaristic look for a cleaner, more readable appearance that retained a sleek military reference. This was achieved by utilising multiple colors, transparencies, soft gradients, checkered patterns, and of course, clean typography.

Until the release of Modern Warfare 3 (2023), Impact was used for the series’ logo, with minor alterations. Considering that the franchise started in 2003, that’s 20 years of Impact. As if we didn’t have enough Impact from 2010 memes, but I don’t mind. A modified Eurostile Extended Bold with an upside-down W as M is used for the “Modern Warfare” text in the game’s logo.

Bio Sans Bold, Regular and Light are used for much of the user interface. This includes big text as well as smaller things like subtitles. Noto Sans Semi Condensed Bold is then used for the scoreboard, player banners, and chat window. This is likely for multilingual purposes to cover languages that Bio Sans doesn’t cover. OCR-B is rarely used on decorative or computer terminal text. Futura in massive text is used only as introductory text in cutscenes. Helvetica similarly is used as the subtitle text in cutscenes.

Curiously, ITC Conduit makes a return and is sporadically used in small amounts. The Regular weight is used. This is the first time ITC Conduit was used since the original Modern Warfare 3 (2011). It could just be a subtle throwback to the original trilogy for all I know.

Game logo

Main menu for the multiplayer mode, the checkered pattern can be seen on the left buttons

Previewing a skin

Deploying in Warzone, Call of Duty’s take on the Battle Royale genre. In the loading screen, Bio Sans is used plentiful here for both big and small text

Landing in Verdansk, OCR-B is used for the compass above

Winning 3rd place in Warzone. Noto Sans can be seen on the bottom right for the chat window

Modifying a gun. Note ITC Conduit being used here for the gun statistics.

Unlocking a new weapon

Pause menu. Bio Sans and ITC Conduit are both used here. Noto Sans is seen below.

Scoreboard. Noto Sans is used here.

Futura used in the start of the first chapter

Helvetica used in the earlier cutscenes

Title screen for Luigi's Mansion.

Taking the Mario franchise into the territory of light horror and spookiness, the designers and artists of Luigi's Mansion reflect the game's duality in their choice of typefaces, mixing lighthearted display typefaces that would find their way into other games in the Mario franchise with horror display typefaces.

From Wikipedia:

Luigi's Mansion is a 2001 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo. The game was a launch title for the GameCube and was the first game in the Mario franchise to be released for the console; it was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the second video game in which Luigi is the main character instead of Mario, after Mario Is Missing!. Players control him as he explores a haunted mansion, searches for Mario and deals with ghosts by capturing them through a vacuum cleaner supplied by Professor E. Gadd.

Pop Happiness is used for the game's logo and as the primary interface typeface. Pop Happiness was designed by Fontworks and first released in 1997, per the company's release date timeline.

The logo is reused for other games in the Luigi's Mansion series. Tying into the game's premise of catching ghosts, eyes are imposed onto certain glyphs, and a wave distortion is applied.

The colors and the glow effect for the logo differ between several versions. The international print logo uses a blue-to-light blue gradient and an off-white glow; an alternate version of the international logo used in some promotional material uses white letters and a pink glow, with no gradients or a subtle pink gradient; the Japanese logo uses a dark blue-to-blue gradient and a blue glow; and the in-game logo uses a light-blue to white gradient and a purple glow. Additionally, the Japanese print logo features the game's title in English and Japanese and omits the game's possessive. The Japanese text is placed in the middle of the logo above the English letters, with white glyphs framed by a pink glow.

Various effects are applied to the in-game use of Pop Happiness depending on the context and interface, such as glow effects, outlines, and drop shadows.

For the control settings screen, Pop Fury is used for button labels, Comic Mystery is used for the names of control options, and Chiaro is used for the body text. Comic Mystery is also used for names of locations in the in-game UI and some text on the pause menu. All three fonts were designed by Fontworks; Chiaro was released in 1997, Pop Fury in 1998, and Comic Mystery. Notably, the release date of Luigi’s Mansion predates Comic Mystery’s listed release date. Given Nintendo's extensive use of Fontworks typefaces, this may imply that Luigi's Mansion use of Comic Mystery is a pre-release use.

The Game Boy Horror is an in-universe device based on the Game Boy. Its logo is based on the real-world Game Boy logo, which uses Gill Sans (see also: Game Boy logo, console, and packaging), but adds the word “horror” at the end in hand-drawn lettering. Gill Sans was designed by Eric Gill and first released in 1928 by Monotype.

On the file select screen, the text “Welcome to your mansion” uses Times New Roman. Times New Roman was created by Stanley Morison and Victor Lardent and first released in 1932 by Monotype. The type occasionally briefly changes to “Welcome to our mansion”, reflecting not only the setting (a haunted mansion inhabited by ghosts) but also the inciting incident of the game (Luigi winning the mansion in a contest he did not enter).

Fonts for “Press start!” on the title screen, the Gameboy Horror interface, ghost health, health/Boo count HUD, and names of the ghosts and treasure amounts on the area results screen, are unidentified. Some may be made in-house by Nintendo.

Information from Fontendou and the Super Mario Wiki.

Controller setting screen

In-game screenshot of the discovery of Mario’s Painting

Japanese box art, featuring the Japanese variant of the game’s logo

File select screen

In-game screenshot, taken after defeating Chauncy but before retrieving the area key

Title and main menu of Sega Swirl; screenshot from the Windows 95 version

Sega Swirl is a puzzle video game released in 1999 for Windows, in 2000 for Sega Dreamcast, and in 2001 for PalmOS (according to Moby Games); an Adobe Shockwave version was available back when you could play Shockwave games on the web.

On the Windows version, the appropriately swirly (and curly) Curlz is used for menus, and in-game text; advertising for all versions often uses Curlz. Curlz was made available only a few years earlier, in 1995.

The PalmOS version does not use Curlz, nor any other custom font. Probably a deliberate choice in order to fit the game onto some quite limited PalmOS models.

The game was released as both a teaser and a demonstration of the Dreamcast’s online play; the Windows version was freely downloadable, and the Dreamcast version appeared as a cover-disc and in various promo discs. The Dreamcast had a built-in modem and Sega Swirlz supported online competitive play, including with players of the PC version.

Gameplay screenshot (before i have made a move). Somewhat generic Windows 95 fonts for the button text and the running score.

Options screen. Note the Swirl motif replacing the O (the Swirl motif is not present in the font file).

Scoreboard

Promo art for PalmOS version

Dreamcast title screen (probably)

Pixels is a Web3 platform where players can manage land, grow plants and raise animals, as well as build communities and explore an endlessly evolving world.

For their identity, OHMY created a bespoke logotype. The accompanying typography is all set in Kemco Pixel. On the website, it’s supported by DePixel.

Everyone knows the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Well, this computer game for PC (MS-DOS) released in 1991 uses the Cartoon 12 for the "Manhattan Missions" part of the logo on the title screen. It reappears on the high score list as well, where it is used alongside a yet unidentified pixel font that is used throughout the game.

Photo: tabmok99. License: All Rights Reserved.

Photo: tabmok99. License: All Rights Reserved.

The 1992 game The Humans made liberal use of the Cartoon 12 font – with a few slight alterations to some of the characters. For example, on the Sega Genesis/MegaDrive port, the capital I has serifs.

Photo: tabmok99. License: All Rights Reserved.

Photo: tabmok99. License: All Rights Reserved.

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Photo: tabmok99. License: All Rights Reserved.

Photo: tabmok99. License: All Rights Reserved.

Photo: tabmok99. License: All Rights Reserved.

Photo: tabmok99. License: All Rights Reserved.

Photo: tabmok99. License: All Rights Reserved.

Photo: tabmok99. License: All Rights Reserved.

Photo: tabmok99. License: All Rights Reserved.

Photo: tabmok99. License: All Rights Reserved.

Photo: tabmok99. License: All Rights Reserved.

Photo: tabmok99. License: All Rights Reserved.

Photo: tabmok99. License: All Rights Reserved.

Photo: tabmok99. License: All Rights Reserved.

Photo: tabmok99. License: All Rights Reserved.

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Photo: tabmok99. License: All Rights Reserved.

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Photo: tabmok99. License: All Rights Reserved.

Developed by Finnish programmer Sami Lehtinen AKA Zorlim, Pizza Worm is a pizza-themed variation of the Snake game, released in 1994 for the DOS platform. Comix (see Cartoon 12) is used for the lettering on the counter of “Zorlim’s Pizza parlor”. The High Scores headline features another font that was available in DeluxePaint where it was named Tuxedo [a copy of Rangers 18, see comments]. Both fonts have been converted for contemporary use by codeman38.

Photo: tabmok99. License: All Rights Reserved.

The 1992 smash arcade hit, Mortal Kombat, used the Comix font (see Cartoon 12) in many different places throughout the game (on the main title screen, before and after each round, during character bios and endings, etc.). Although the game was ported to home consoles later, the font was modified (in some cases, quite heavily) from the original arcade version. Its many successful sequels would never make use of Comix, either.

The “Mortal Kombat” and “Midway” logos are most likely custom lettering.

Photo: tabmok99. License: All Rights Reserved.

Photo: tabmok99. License: All Rights Reserved.

Photo: tabmok99. License: All Rights Reserved.

Photo: tabmok99. License: All Rights Reserved.

Paradise Island 2 by Game Insight is the sequel to “one of the best economy simulation games of all time.” The font used for the logo as well as game graphics and collateral is Loyola.

The logo for this Boston Public Library exhibition effectively references a scoreboard. Unfortunately they had to scale the ‘M’ to fit in the box. Could have gone with a monospaced face but the effect wouldn’t have been much different.