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This is a thread about a font that's appeared in a lot of video games over the years, and how it was surprisingly challenging to track down its true origin.
And no, it's probably not the one you're thinking of (though that one has an interesting story as well!).
And no, it's probably not the one you're thinking of (though that one has an interesting story as well!).
If you were playing video games in the 1990s, you've probably encountered this comic-style font. It's appeared in _Mortal Kombat_, _Star Control 2_, various cartoon-related licensed games, and a whole bunch of DOS shareware titles, among others.
So how did this font get used in so many games in the first place?
An extremely common tool among video game artists in the '90s, at least outside Japan, was EA's _Deluxe Paint_. This font was included with the DOS version of that program, under the name "Comix".
An extremely common tool among video game artists in the '90s, at least outside Japan, was EA's _Deluxe Paint_. This font was included with the DOS version of that program, under the name "Comix".
But here's where it gets interesting: This font didn't originate with Deluxe Paint. It goes back several years farther.
My first suspicion came when I dug into the font's bitmap data and discovered some symbols, unusable from DPaint, which were…slightly odd for an MS-DOS app.
My first suspicion came when I dug into the font's bitmap data and discovered some symbols, unusable from DPaint, which were…slightly odd for an MS-DOS app.
Why would the Apple logo and the command-key symbol be in this font? There was no Mac version of Deluxe Paint that I knew of, and although there was an Apple IIgs version, that font didn't appear in it.
Something didn't seem quite right about this.
Something didn't seem quite right about this.
I started digging into various early Mac font collections to see if there might be any leads on a possible source. As luck would have it, two shareware CDs (BCS' PD-CD and BMUG's PD-ROM) both included a font called "Cartoon 12" that looked just like Comix!
This had to be the original source—but something was still missing. The only documentation I could find on these discs was a one-line description with no release date or author info. The file on the BMUG CD was dated December 1986, but was that accurate? Who designed it?
On a whim, I typed "mac bitmap font 'cartoon 12'" into Google—and surprisingly, that turned up a result that answered my questions.
Specifically, page 85 of the March 1985 issue of _MacWorld_: https://archive.org/details/MacWorld_8503_March_1985/page/n90
Specifically, page 85 of the March 1985 issue of _MacWorld_: https://archive.org/details/MacWorld_8503_March_1985/page/n90
It's an article about an early Mac game called _Through the Looking Glass_, and to quote the relevant section:
"Steve Capps, the Apple programmer who developed _Through the Looking Glass_ [...] also designed and drew the game's two fonts, Alice-12 and Cartoon-12."
"Steve Capps, the Apple programmer who developed _Through the Looking Glass_ [...] also designed and drew the game's two fonts, Alice-12 and Cartoon-12."
But was it the same Cartoon 12? There was one easy way to check: find a disk image of _Through the Looking Glass_ and load it up in ResEdit.
And yep, that's definitely the same font! Only difference is the space width (which was 3 pixels wider in betas of the game).
And yep, that's definitely the same font! Only difference is the space width (which was 3 pixels wider in betas of the game).
So, to summarize:
A font from an early 1st-party Mac game made it (questionably?) onto some Mac shareware disks.
A programmer at EA found it, converted it, and included it with Deluxe Paint.
From there, it then appeared in a lot of other games whose artists used that program.
A font from an early 1st-party Mac game made it (questionably?) onto some Mac shareware disks.
A programmer at EA found it, converted it, and included it with Deluxe Paint.
From there, it then appeared in a lot of other games whose artists used that program.
(Because someone will probably ask about this if they happen to stumble onto it: yes, the comment on https://fontsinuse.com/uses/29465/mortal-kombat is from me, and not from anyone else who happens to share my offline name.)
