Mac/Atari Fusion: Atari Fonts

Atari Fonts

New Atari Classic TrueType Font

Based on the Atari 8-bit character set, this is a TrueType font for modern Macs and PCs. The font includes the full standard ATASCII 256-character set, including graphics characters and inverse characters, arranged in exactly the same order as the original. In addition, it includes the ATASCII European character set that was introduced in the 1200XL.
In normal use, Atari Classic mimics the appearance of the Atari character set in your favorite word processor or graphics program. It includes the standard Mac Roman and Windows 1252 (Western) character set, modeled after the classic Atari characters.
The original Atari characters are located in the Unicode "private use area", starting at location $E000. This way, they do not conflict with standard Unicode locations. To use them, you can enter the corresponding character codes directly (when possible), or choose and insert them into your document using the Character Map (Windows), Character Viewer (Mac) utility, or similar.
Programmers may access the Atari characters via Unicode. The character code for any ATASCII character may be found by starting taking the ATASCII code and adding $E000 for the normal set; $E080 for the inverse set; $E100 for the international set; and $E180 for the inverse international set.
For now, I have only made a "chunky" version of this new font. "Smooth" and "Extra Smooth" may be added later.

Download Atari Classic TrueType 2.0 as a ZIP file for Mac or PC.

This font is freeware and may not be offered for sale seperately or as part of a collection. See the Read Me file for full details.

My Original Atari Classic TrueType Fonts

I first released these in the late nineties. You may still find these useful, but most users will be better off with version 2.0 (above).
Based on the Atari 8-bit character set, these are TrueType fonts for either Macs (System 6 or greater) or PCs (Windows 3.1 or greater). Each font includes the full ATASCII 256-character set, including graphics characters and inverse characters, arranged in exactly the same order as the original. This allows ATASCII text files to be displayed or printed using your favorite text or graphics software on your Mac or PC. (Note: Some characters may not be accessible, depending on your operating system and/or software. See the Read Me file for details.) Since these are TrueType fonts, they are scalable to arbitrary sizes and resolutions, which is especially nice in the Smooth and Extrasmooth versions. Of course, the Chunky version will appear "bitmapped" no matter what size is used. Which one you use depends on your application and personal preference.

Atari Classic Chunky
A pixel-for-pixel interpretation. It looks like a bitmap no matter how big you blow it up. Use this when you want that low-res retro look, or when absolute mimicry of the Atari screen graphics is desired.

Atari Classic Smooth
A version with the bitmap stairsteps flattened out into diagonal forms. Captures the overall shapes and flavor of the lo-res characters without the jaggies.

Atari Classic Extrasmooth
A version in which the characters have been interpreted as conventional typographical forms as much as possible without altering the essential appearance. Of the three, this looks most like a "real" typeface. This should be the easiest to read when printing ATASCII files on ink-jet and laser printers.

Version 1.2 now available! Detailed instructions and notes now included in both versions. Fixed a minor cosmetic flaw in the capital J.

Download the Mac fonts as ZIP file.
Download the PC fonts as ZIP file.

These fonts are freeware and may not be offered for sale seperately or as part of a collection. See the Read Me file for full details.