Diminutive Diatribes: The Problem of Reading in Modern Gaming

I'm working on one of my longer articles at the moment, however I thought perhaps something short and to the point might be appreciated every once in a while so I think I'll start a new section called Diminutive Diatribes, tackling issues that, while important, don't quite warrant a full analysis.

            This one is about the size of text in modern video games.  You see, I recently started playing Darksiders 2 for the PS3.  However, what struck me most was not the moody atmosphere, sarcastic and amusing main character, or the interesting world.  It was the size of text on everything from subtitles to menu screens.  It's so microscopic that it is impossible for me, with a 30 inch CRT television, to read when I am sitting less than a foot away.  I do not understand why so many modern games insist on doing this.  The Dead Rising series is another notorious offender, but it doesn't stop at just size.  Some games have text that is colored the same as the background.  Good luck picking out story details from that.

It may look a decent size from here, but this image was taken from a widescreen enabled television.  So, look at the font, the size, and the color of the already small text.  Now, decrease the size by half.  That's what it's like trying to read Darksiders 2's menu screen.

            Game developers, I realize that you may not think about the size or color of your subtitles or texts or menu screens since they're not as flashy as the graphics or cut scenes or gameplay, but really, you need to.  In older games you could tweak a huge amount of the menu and text screens, from how fast they could appear, to the color or size of the backgrounds of text boxes, up to some games allowing the text's font or color to be changed.  What I do not understand is why this was ever taken out.  And why it was not expanded.  Games are loved by people of all ages and creeds.  However, not all of us are equal in certain regards.  Some of us need glasses to drive or to read and so we can't read a game's menu without them.  Others have good eyesight, but cannot afford a large 30-50 inch television so that the text can actually be read.  Some people are on a budget.  And for these people, you will undoubtedly lose sales if they buy a game, realize they can't understand what's going on due to the small text, get frustrated, and demand a refund.

This problem is especially prevalent in MMO games.  Look at how tiny that text is!  I'm supposed to keep track of that in the head of battle?!

            This is impossibly simple to fix.  It's little different from going into Microsoft word and changing the font or the color of the text there.  Why do game designers not give players the option?!  Look, I can sympathize to a degree.  In previous console generations, there was not as much a need for this kind of discussion because everything had text of a certain size to correspond to the average size of a CRT television, which used to be the predominant model.  But with the jump to HD graphics, wide screen, and LCD televisions, you need to accommodate for people who cannot afford the biggest or best television.  Otherwise, you will lose sales and long term customers.

AAA games do this far too much.  Look at Ni No Kuni.  White text on a flashback with foggy white borders?  Yeah, that's not hard to read at all...

            If these size, color, and display problems continue, other games will be affected as well.  Maybe people don't worry about an action game like Dead Rising having these tissues, but in a shooter or an RPG where knowing the stats and capabilities of weapons, spells, etc. are essential to survival, this will be a make or break issue for gamers.  Worse yet, many younger gamers learn to read or practice their skills reading through video games.  I know I did when I was young and a number of other gamers, like the Spoony One, attest to learning reading through video games.  However, if the text is unreadable, those games become crippled, unlikely to appeal to as wide an audience as they could if the size could be changed.

Compare modern gaming text to Chrono Cross, a game made in 1999

Not only is the text readable and it pops, but you can choose for yourself the kind of frame you want for the menu and dialogue boxes, choosing ones that are better for your eyesight, resolution or just personal preference.

A 14 year old game offers more customization options for the player than modern AAA titles.  What's wrong with this picture?

            This issue is not as widespread as say, region locking or pointless deaths or over used cinematics, admittedly.  So far, only a handful of games have adopted the too small to read or too similar in color to the background to understand.  The problem is, the games that have are AAA titles.  Darksiders and Dead Rising come to mind, but even something like Ni No Kuni has these problems.  The white text of that game sometimes gets hidden by background or foreground objects, like clothes or snow or a fence that is the same white color as the text.  Or if important words are outlined, they are so dark they cannot be read.  For a game with that much development time and that big a team, do not tell me that you could not hire one person to change the color or size of the text, or at least offer an option for a text box to make it easier to read.

I miss the days when menus and text used more colors than dark grey on grey or white on clear.  This is too hard to read!

            If game developers do not nip this issue in the bud now, it will be a big problem down the line.  You cannot put a voice to everything...menus, battle data, stats, etc. will continue to be silent and will need to be read to be understood.  And a game that players cannot read is a game that players cannot play.  And games that cannot be played will inevitably bomb.  Hard.