Type:Rider, an app available on the Apple App Store, Amazon, Steam and Google Play, is what happens when linguistics and typography collide with programming. I must say, it is a beautiful union. The premise of Type:Rider is pretty simple. You control a colon (the punctuation, that is,) and you move, jump, and maneuver around 2-dimensional black objects while the history of writing is displayed in the background in full, gorgeous color. Not only do you get to enjoy the pretty colors and stark contrast of the pictures in the background, but you also have the option of opening up short blurbs about a particular form of writing’s historical background.

The tutorial of the game starts off with teaching you not only how to play the game, but also about Cuneiform, and Egyptian Hieroglyphics, all the way to the Latin alphabet. The history blurbs that you can view are easy to read and only three to four paragraphs long. For myself, my lack of attention span appreciates this quite a bit. Anyhow, once you get past the tutorial, you get into main game, and start to collect letters from certain fonts, like Gothic, or Garamond, as well as the early history of printing.

The first stop is the Gutenberg Bible, which you get to tour the pages of while trying not to fall to your death, or get smashed by a letter press. In the first level you collect the letters of the Gothic font. In the second, the Garamond font, and so forth.You will have to stop once in a while, or else face starting over, because the backgrounds are so flat out neat to look at, I got distracted and died more than once.

Type:Rider was developed by BulkyPix and designed by Cosmografik Studio.The game’s graphics, music, and playstyle are well thought out and pleasant to listen to and look at. This is a game you definitely want to have the sound turned on for, because the music slots into the atmosphere created by the graphics very well. As for the backgrounds in the game, they aren’t simply static pictures. If there are letters on the picture in the back, they will often move as you do, shifting position and creating an interesting effect. Occasionally, you’ll even get glimpses of the sun shining through a rose window, depending on what level you play.

Type:Rider costs $3.99 on Amazon (free through Underground), $2.99 on the Apple App Store, $4.99 on Steam, and $3.41 through the Google Play Store. I myself bought it on sale for $.99, if I remember correctly. You should definitely check this app out, though you may want to wait for it to go on sale, or get it through Amazon Underground.