Game Design 2 (2013): Lecture 3 - Use of Text in design.
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The document discusses effective text usage in game design, emphasizing how text can visually accomplish design goals and aid in data visualization. It covers various font types, their applications, and the importance of kerning, color contrast, and minimal text usage for clarity. Additionally, it addresses considerations for internationalization and the compatibility of fonts in dynamic text environments.
Game Design 2 (2013): Lecture 3 - Use of Text in design.
- 1. 2013 Game Design 2 Lecture 3: Text http://gcugd2.com david.farrell@gcu.ac.uk
- 2. Reading • Duarte 140 - 155 • Fox 87-98
- 3. Two Questions • How can you use text visually to accomplish design goals? • How can text help you visualise data?
- 4. Anthropomorphised Fonts • Fonts have personality. • Serious • Playful • Friendly •Tense • Annoying • Distressed
- 7. Functional Fonts •fixed width fonts { useful for programming; because characters line up; } •Other fonts are suitable for OCR •(0 vs O)
- 17. Kerning • Fixed width fonts look strange because they force equidistant spacing between letters. • Kerning is the process of adjusting space between letters to soothe the eye.
- 18. Serif Fonts •The serifs connect letters • useful at small point size • or in large paragraphs • problematic for dyslexics
- 19. Sans Serif Fonts •Sans means ‘without’ • generally accepted as easier to read • work better on computer screens
- 20. Ligatures •firefly • note how the ‘f’ and ‘i’ interact without ligatures •firefly • Apple apply ligatures to ‘fi’ but not to ‘fl’
- 21. Mixing Fonts • Paired fonts can be effective. • one for header • one for main text • Have a really GOOD reason before going to three or more fonts
- 22. Colour & Contrast • Essential in menus & HUD • If game is dark, use light text • If game is light, use dark text • If cannot guarantee background, add a border to text • can be x pixel border or container space
- 26. Animating Text • Only animate if it adds meaning • Nintendo style of conversation is to animate blocks of text • Colour change for rollovers == OK • Colour change to make GUI shiny == bad
- 28. Using Text • Where possible, show don’t tell • but where necessary tell • Tufte: “to clarify, add detail” • Use little text • Even in adventure games, people don’t read • WOW - http://bit.ly/wowtextlimit • Avoid UPPPERCASE in large quantities
- 29. Using Text • Sparing use of colour or emphasis can pass on important information • If you allow resizing of text, test extremes to see how your design holds up (especially true of web browser based games) • Consider fully justifying blocks of text
- 30. Text as visualisation • Word Clouds
- 37. Internationalisation • Not all fonts are compatible • UTF-8 fonts should work • Much care needed if copy / pasting • If using dynamically loaded text, sometimes text effects cannot be applied.
- 38. Questions?