What do you think of Custom Fonts?

[GammaVector]

Of course, I'm only talking about fonts that are easily legible. Otherwise, it's bad design no matter how pretty it is. But for those custom fonts which don't get in the way of reading, do you like them? Or do you prefer the default? Do you think they're pretentious, or do you think they make the game more atmospheric? Is it silly to have a custom font with the default windowskin?


For my game, I'm using the DS windowskin, which is a rather ornate looking gold frame. I dislike the default font because of it's sans-serifness, and have been considering switching over to a nice serif font instead. But I'm worried it will seem pretentious, as my game does not have an innovative windowskin or HUD anything else really to make it stand out from the default system.


So, opinions? Not just about my situation, but about fonts in general.


As for me, I really like them. I think a well-chosen font makes the game seem much more polished, and can add a lot to the atmosphere.

 

[Andar]

A font can improve the atmosphere of a game, but only if it's choosen with care. Too much fancy makes it unreadable and the game unplayable, wrong style will detract from the game and too few effects will have the font change wasted because no one notices it...


And choosing a font isn't something that should be done in five minutes scanning through font lists - if you really want to choose a good font, you better wait until you have something that requires one or two hours of playtesting to play to the end, and then make every playtest (you'll need a dozen playtests just for balancing) with a different font to see if that font fits or not...

 

[Dalph]

As Andar says custom fonts can improve the atmosphere of the game, so I'm perfectly fine with them, as long as the developer isn't a sadist and dare to use something like this for his\her game:

Spoiler

Although I have a bit of troubles in finding the right custom fonts for my games, as I said on another thread I always choose readable over fancy.

 

[??????]

I think font changes are a great thing, if you choose the right font for your window skin and game, example, a futuristic looking font would not feel right within a medieval type game just as much as an olde english style would not look right within a futuristic game.

Remember, detail can make or break a game. Put simply, detail is everything...

 

[Deep Thought]

I wish it was easier to add custom fonts. The default monospace font is easy to read, but it doesn't fit well with any genre. Speaking of which, do custom fonts have to be monospace to fit the text boxes correctly?

 

[Andar]

Speaking of which, do custom fonts have to be monospace to fit the text boxes correctly?

Depends on how you use them. Scripts for automatic line breaks usually only count the number of letters to decide where to place the line break.
If you type and set line breaks manually and check the display in playtests, then it would not need monospace but it's a lot more work...

 

[GammaVector]

Thanks for the feedback guys. It seems like most people agree with me: Custom fonts are good if they match the atmosphere and are easy to read.

 

[MagicMagor]

Well then i will formulate my different opinion. Custom fonts are in most cases uneccessary and can even hurt your game.

The goal of a font is not to look pretty or construct athmosphere, its goal is to be readable and transport the information in the text to the player. A good font is one that is nearly invisible, meaning the player doesn't recognize the font which enables him to focus on the text. If the first thing the player notices isn't the text but the font you made a mistake. The font shouldn't distract the player from reading.

In addition there is the problem of installing/uninstalling. If you use a custom font, chances are it is not included in the default fonts, that are available on each windows pc. So you have to ship the font with your game and it has to be installed. If you have no install routine for the game the player has to install it manually, which is an extra step needed to play the game. Especially with free Makergames that is a hassle that will cost you a number of potential players.

And does your game has an uninstall-routine? If not how can you make sure the font is uninstalled when the game gets deleted? Nobody wants to clutter their system with files that aren't needed anymore.

All in all i would say, the risks with going custom font are far higher than the potential benefits.

 

[Sharm]

You don't have to install fonts for RPG Maker.

 

[??????]

There are also many easy-to-use programs that allow you to make simple installer's (also allow uninstall) and they take about 5 minutes to learn...

 

[Celianna]

I'm all for custom fonts - just be sure to keep them legible. No fancy fonts, no unreadable fonts - stick with something sans serif.