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创造优秀的游戏排版的3大诀窍

发布时间:2015-05-22 15:29:29 Tags:,,,,

作者:Carol Mertz

排版可能成就游戏美感也有可能彻底摧毁它。作为游戏设计师,我们会使用排版与玩家进行交流,不只是基于我们所使用的文字,同时还基于我们呈现这些文字的方式。

玩家在一款游戏中的体验可能会受到排版执行方式的直接影响。错误的字体选择有可能会误导玩家,从而导致他们离开了那个你精心创造的世界。而优秀的排版能够让玩家感到轻松,并有效强化游戏主题和美感。

创造优秀的排版体验是相对直接的,只要你能够意识到排版风格的基本要素。当你在选择游戏字体时,我会建议你牢记三大要点:可读性,和谐与目的。

可读性

首先,确保你所选择的字体是容易辨认的,即使是在一些较小的屏幕上。如果玩家不容易看清文字,他们便很难理解你尝试着传达的内容。

优秀的排版并不意味着无处不在的华丽字体。选择容易阅读的字体通常意味着“少即是多”;保守地使用“显示”字体。很多人会为了强调游戏的美感而选择过度华丽的字体,但是这么做可能会牺牲游戏的理解性。许多人并不知道显示字体的设计是用于小量形式;除了一些文字外,通常都是用于题目或logo。当设置更大的文本组块或像用户界面元素这样较小但却重要的文字时,专注于经典且容易阅读的风格更加重要,如无衬线字体,衬线字体或划一字体。

此外,在设定风格时始终考虑颜色和排列。确保风格和背景拥有明显的对比性,从而才能够突显文字。同时还要考虑到用户阅读文本的方式,特别是关于那些较大的组块。集中排列文本较少见,这非常适合一次呈现较多文字。在英文中,我们的阅读习惯是从左到右,所以将较大的文本组块排在左边能够让玩家更轻松地一行行进行阅读。

和谐

考虑你的游戏的整体主题。是太柔和还是太强硬?太活泼还是太阴沉?使用符合游戏美感的字体。在选择适合游戏的字体时你应该考虑图像,叙述和游戏玩法等元素。

你正在创造怎样的游戏?花些时间去明确你想通过叙述,游戏玩法和图像传达的情感。字体可以有效地表达各种感觉,所以你应该选择适当的字体去传达游戏所设定的情感与主题。

基于一些不同的方式,字体所呈现的情感也会不同。例如比起无衬线字体,衬线字体让人觉得更加正式且传统。圆形或弯曲形字体比块状或较窄的字体更有趣。大写字母比小写字母感觉更有说服力和目的性。小写字母可能比较没那么正式。为了强化你的游戏排版的影响,你必须意识到这些区别。

目的

当你在选择游戏字体时你需要考虑大小,颜色,粗细,与游戏中其它元素的相互作用。使用较少的字体是合乎情理的;通常一至三种字体便足够了,每个选择都有其坚持的目的。使用太多不同的字体会让玩家觉得混淆,且是一种缺乏计划性的表现。

fonts(from pinterest)

fonts(from pinterest)

避免使用引擎默认的字体(游戏邦注:如Arial,Times或Courier),因为使用这些默认的字体意味着游戏开发者不重视字体的选择。同时避免使用那些被过度使用且很容易被察觉到的字体,如Comic Sans或Papyrus;这会分散玩家的注意力并让人觉得你太过业余,同时这也有可能破坏你想传达的游戏美感。

关于排版并不存在任何硬性规则或“正确”与“错误”的做法。然而你却可以通过采取一些有效方式而更适当地完成游戏排版。你需要花些时间和精力去完全理解怎样的排版更合理,我希望你们能够像设计游戏界面那样重视游戏字体的选择。我敢向你保证,你的游戏绝对能够从优秀的排版中获益。

本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译,拒绝任何不保留版权的转发,如需转载请联系:游戏邦

Down to the Letter: The Importance of Typography in Video Games

by Carol Mertz

Typography can make or break the aesthetic of a game. As game designers, we use type to communicate with our players, not only in the words we use, but also in the way we present those words.

A player’s experience with a game can be directly affected by the way the typography is implemented. The wrong font choice can be jarring to a player, taking them out of the world that you have otherwise painstakingly created. Great typography, however, can tie loose ends together, put the player at ease, and reinforce the theme and aesthetic of the game.

Creating a great typographical experience can be relatively straightforward, as long as you’re conscious of some of the fundamentals of typographic style. As you select what fonts to use in your game, I would advise you to keep three key points in mind: readability, harmony, and purpose.

Readability

First and foremost, ensure that the fonts you select are easily legible, even on small screens. If the words are difficult for your player to read, they will ultimately struggle to understand what you’re trying to communicate.

Great typography does not mean having ornate lettering everywhere. Choosing a legible typeface often means that less is more; use “display” typefaces sparingly. Many people select overly ornate fonts in an attempt to emphasize a game’s aesthetic, but doing so can sacrifice impact for perceived style. Many people don’t realize that display fonts are designed to be used in small quantities; no more than a few words, often for titles or logos. When setting larger blocks of text, or small but important words like user interface elements, focus on classic and easy-to-read type styles like sans-serif, serif, or monospace.

Additionally, keep color and alignment in mind when setting your type. Ensure that there is enough contrast between the type and its background to allow the words to stand out, even for those with poor vision. Also, consider the way that your users read text, specifically for large blocks. Centered alignment of text is rarely, if ever, ideal for more than a few words at a time. In English, we read left-to-right, so aligning large blocks of text to the left makes it easiest for your player to progress from line to line without getting lost.

Harmony

Consider your game’s overall theme. Is it soft or strong? Vibrant or dark? Use fonts that pair well with the game’s aesthetic. The art, narrative, and gameplay should all be considered when selecting appropriate typefaces for a game.

What kind of game are you creating? Take a moment to identify the emotions you’re trying to encourage through your narrative, gameplay, and art aesthetic. Fonts can do an excellent job in expressing feelings, so select the right one to portray the emotion and theme set by the game.

There are a few simple means by which the emotion of typefaces can vary. Serif type, for example, feels more formal and traditional than sans-serif type. Rounded or curvy type feels more playful than blocky or narrow type. Uppercase letters feel more powerful and purposeful than lowercase letters, which can feel soft and informal. Recognize and utilize these kinds of differences in order to strengthen the impact of the typography of your game.

Purpose

As you select your game’s fonts, think about size, color, boldness, and style as each interacts with the other elements of the game. Utilize as few fonts as is reasonable; one to three typefaces should be sufficient for standard needs, each with its own consistent purpose. The use of too many different fonts can feel chaotic and poorly planned.

Avoid using engine-default fonts (commonly Arial, Times, or Courier), as the use of default typefaces often can imply that the game developer put little to no thought into the font selection. Also, avoid overused and easily recognizable fonts like Comic Sans or Papyrus; they feel distracting and amateur, and can undermine the desired aesthetic of the game.

Ultimately there aren’t hard rules, or “right” and “wrong” ways to display type. There are, however, ways that you can approach typography to make it work for your game rather than against it. It takes time and experience to garner a full understanding of what makes typography “feel” right, but I encourage you to put serious thought into your font choices as you design your game’s interface. I can assure you that your game will benefit from purposeful typography.(source:gamasutra)

 


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