1 The runes in the Ultima series were like that too. I thought it was pretty cool back when I was in middle/high school, especially seeing them in-game and on the cloth maps.

2

You didn't know that? I have a "cheat sheet" around here somewhere that lists how every spell in the game looks like before it's researched, so you can know ahead of time all the spells you start with. It's not all that important, since you only get to choose one of the eight spells the computer decides to let you research anyhow, every time the opportunity comes up. Other than formulating diplomatic strategies (only trading for spells you know you can't research yourself) and possibly formulating long-term strategies, the only real use of knowing what's in your spell book is when you save scum for spells you get from dungeons and nodes.

3 @ambulatorybird: the rune design in Ultima was lifted wholesale from Tolkien, specifically the dwarf runes he uses in The Hobbit.

I used to be able to read and write with these, way back when ><