Topic: Q: Do you know why your PDF/printed game is hard to read?
Started by: Christoffer Lernö
Started on: 10/11/2002
Board: Publishing
On 10/11/2002 at 5:19pm, Christoffer Lernö wrote:
Q: Do you know why your PDF/printed game is hard to read?
I'm a little surprised that no-one has mentioned this before. It's a common problem not only with indie games but others as well.
A hint: It's what usually makes game books hard to read (well bad fonts are actually worse but...) - can you guess what it is?
The answer is "How long your lines of texts are"
Now for a little experiment. Pick up a novel published by a big publisher. One you liked reading. Count the characters in a line (count the spaces as a character). Odds are that you'll come up with a number between 50 and 60.
It's not a coincidence. Things are the most readable at this length. Another thing you probably want to do is click that "justify" in your word processor (or whatever you use) too - but not without insuring the game automatically puts in hyphens, otherwise it's gonna look pretty ugly. Why? Because it makes it easier for the eye when you change rows.
Got that? Around 50 characters/line, no simple left aligned text and put in auto hyphens. Good. Your text is gonna be a lot more readable now.
Some numbers here:
* Donjon chapter 4 clocks in at 90+ characters
* the Paladin sample on the other hand is excellent with around 45, the only thing sore on the eyes is the left aligned text.
* Final Stand is at about 90 characters
* Undiscovered: The Quest For Adventure 100+ characters/line (!!!)
* HeroWars rules synopsis: 50 characters/line
Not finger pointing here, just letting you have a comparison.
As it might be guessed, both HeroWars and Paladin run two columns on a single A4. I seem to remember that AD&D 2ed actually had 3 columns, although it was a little bigger than A4 in format (right?)
Now how did this came to be?
- Well if you look at traditional letters written on A4 or similar, people didn't try to use up the whole space. No way. It's concentrated in the middle with a lot of padding on the sides, top and bottom.
With the computer age everyone suddenly had a keyboard and were able to type. Unfortunately, knowledge of readability didn't immediately come with that. Instead people try to squeeze in as much stuff on a page as possible... which might be ok in some circumstances, but if you're supposed to read it it's not.
Since any PDF is likely to be printed on A4, simply stick with two columns, that's the simplest way. It's all there is too it (oh, and don't forget the formatting mentioned), suddenly you have a readable game out of your unreadable one!
/C
P.S. Newspapers usually have even shorter lines than books to improve instant readability.
On 10/11/2002 at 6:25pm, mahoux wrote:
RE: Q: Do you know why your PDF/printed game is hard to read?
Chris-
I work as a graphic designer at a commercial printer/newspaper publisher. When I laid KOTR2 out, I made sure that I did it in column format, not just for readability, but also because it just looks prettier in columns. I tend to get disgusted with the single column format. Good for academic papers, not for professional stuff. A good rule of thumb in newspaper is the dollar bill test: lay a dollar bill on top of the printed text, and if there is type all around it, redesign.
As to your comment about justification, left aligned ragged text is not bad per se. I have seen justified and forced text look seriously like shit if it starts stretching small words out to fill a line. As long as your word processing program will put in hyphenations, justifying is not necessary in all cases.
On 10/11/2002 at 8:10pm, Matt Snyder wrote:
Re: Q: Do you know why your PDF/printed game is hard to read
Ahh, now this topic hits close to home. Right now I'm uploading the rough final draft of the Charnel Gods PDF. (Just when ya'll thought I was with Jimmy Hoffa).
Pale Fire wrote: I'm a little surprised that no-one has mentioned this before. It's a common problem not only with indie games but others as well.
A hint: It's what usually makes game books hard to read (well bad fonts are actually worse but...) - can you guess what it is?
The answer is "How long your lines of texts are"
I really don't think it's as simple as saying having 50 or so characters is the way to go. There are a number of things that factor into readability for the printed page. Type face, measure (what typographers call the length of a line of text), letter spacing, word spacing, leading, color, tone and the worst enemy of all -- uncontrolled print quality (since folks are printing it on their home PCs). The ability of a good typographer is to manage all of these things to create a readable, inviting text.
Similarly, dismissing so called "ragged right" text (i.e., text that is not justified on both left and right sides) is a mistake. That's because it takes a reasonably skilled designer to REALLY set the word spacing and hyphenation in a justified text block correctly. Wanna change that font size? Great, gotta re-do it.
Most folks here on the Forge who are looking to design stuff don't have the know-how (nor should they -- it's pretty arcane) to adjust a justified text block properly. More often than not, the default "justified" settings for most any software make text blocks look HORRIBLE. Certainly not pleasant to read.
In other words, there is no One True Way of text block design. It's true there are readability studies (which no one at the Forge that I'm aware of is well-versed in), and they have some value as a guideline. Very little as a science.
Pale Fire wrote:
Since any PDF is likely to be printed on A4, simply stick with two columns, that's the simplest way. It's all there is too it (oh, and don't forget the formatting mentioned), suddenly you have a readable game out of your unreadable one!
What's with all the Euro-inlfluence, eh?!? Almost no one in the U.S. uses A4 paper (and a shame, to, cause it's such a cool size -- fold it in half, it's still the same ratio. Neat!). In the US, most of us use letter size (8.5x11 inches) which is very close to, but not the same as A4.
Now, this doesn't rebut your point that, generally speaking, two columns is a Good Thing. However, it's certainly not a science. One crucial reason to consider NOT going two columns is simply that folks may NOT be printing it out, and two columns is a pain in the ass to read on the screen. Food for thought.
Finally, I'll post my own thoughts on why some PDFs are hard to read. Simply put, it's because they're not well-designed. Contrary to popular opinion, good layout isn't a Divine Right that comes packaged with PageMaker, Quark or (god help us) Microsoft Publisher or Word. It's part skill, part art, and it can take a good lot of experience to do well.
Does that mean everyone sucks? Hardly. You used Donjon and Paladin as examples. Clinton actually showed Paladin to me seeking advice on design before he released it. I basically said, "Yeah, it's great. Change this one little thing." I got the vibe that he respected my opinions on the subject, and that he was a little uncertain whether it was up to snuff. It was.
Pale Fire, this ain't a dig at you. I just wanted to explain what I see as a more complicated position. I actually agree with much of what you've said. I just think there's more to be said as well!
Later folks,
Matt
On 10/12/2002 at 3:16am, Christoffer Lernö wrote:
RE: Q: Do you know why your PDF/printed game is hard to read?
It's true what you say Matt, there are no universal rules and the ragged text can be ok.
Look at my text as a way of me saying "here are some really simple guidlines if you don't want to bother about actually learning something about it." or "if you insist on not learning anything about it, at least do it like this".
Sure there are other things that affect readability, but this is a very simple thing that anyone could do. It's as simple as clicking in 2 columns instead of using 1 in Word (for better results you should adjust the column spacing and stuff but still)
Incidentally Matt, the Euro influence comes from me being Swede, although I'm currently in Taiwan and let me inform you that they use A4 too :) So it's not so much a Euro influence as your letter format being an american thing. :)
Finally, about readability on computer, there is a point against 2 columns. I wish people would realize this though and make a reader that actually would track columns instead of pages, so you wouldn't need to do it manually.
That said, I still prefer 2 columns. The difference is between having to read 100 characters/line and 50 is incredible. Not to mention the latter feels a whole lot more professional.
On 10/12/2002 at 11:23pm, Jack Spencer Jr wrote:
RE: Q: Do you know why your PDF/printed game is hard to read?
Pale Fire wrote: Look at my text as a way of me saying "here are some really simple guidlines if you don't want to bother about actually learning something about it." or "if you insist on not learning anything about it, at least do it like this".
Strange, but for some reason the words of William Strunk Jr. come to mind:
"It is an old observation that the best writers sometime disregard the rules of rhetoric. When they do so, however, the reader will usually find in the sentence some compensating merit, attained at the cost of the violation. Unless he is certain of doing well, he will probably do best to follow the rules."
Modified to our purposes here, while there is no one true way, there are proven methods and, unless there is some form of gain to be had by not following these, it's better to follow them.
On 10/13/2002 at 3:32am, Christoffer Lernö wrote:
RE: Q: Do you know why your PDF/printed game is hard to read?
Exactly.
On 10/23/2002 at 6:45am, Reimer Behrends wrote:
RE: Re: Q: Do you know why your PDF/printed game is hard to read
Matt Snyder wrote: I really don't think it's as simple as saying having 50 or so characters is the way to go. There are a number of things that factor into readability for the printed page. Type face, measure (what typographers call the length of a line of text), letter spacing, word spacing, leading, color, tone and the worst enemy of all -- uncontrolled print quality (since folks are printing it on their home PCs). The ability of a good typographer is to manage all of these things to create a readable, inviting text.
The usual recommendation for the length of a line is 2.5 times the length of the Roman alphabet (coming out to 65 characters). The idea is that your eyes have to blink intermittently. If they do it in the middle of the line, you have to frequently rescan the line and tend to get off track more often. Thus, you choose a line length where that can be avoided. And yes, that's only part of it. (Most trivially, by choosing more leading, you can avoid that you jump to the line above or below.)
Type face is the next biggest thing, of course. I am frequently reminded of Robin Williams's (the designer, not the actor) quip: "If the thought of reading an entire book in that font makes you wanna throw up, you can probably put it in the decorative pot." D&D 3E Core Books, the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, Trinity, TFOS, the Buffy RPG, etc. (White Wolf's Adventure! is a typographic horror in three acts, deserving separate dishonorable mention.) A particularly overused typeface is Optima: A beautiful display type, it is a poor choice for a text setting, because its unique flare serifs tends to look letterspaced -- the words lose visual cohesion. Witness the LUG Star Trek: TNG RPG as an especially horrid example. Bodoni and many other Moderns are other examples of fonts that shouldn't be used in a text setting unless you know exactly what you are doing.
Most of this is because designers use fancy fonts as a substitute for doing actual page design. The real challenge is to do good layout using readable typefaces (say, your average Oldstyle/Transitional). A good example as to what a skilled designer can do with them is Nobilis (which is set in a Caslon throughout).
Admittedly, designers have a problem: If you use one of the typographer's most important design elements, you'll have people scream bloody murder at you for wasting their money. I am talking about white space, of course.
Similarly, dismissing so called "ragged right" text (i.e., text that is not justified on both left and right sides) is a mistake. That's because it takes a reasonably skilled designer to REALLY set the word spacing and hyphenation in a justified text block correctly. Wanna change that font size? Great, gotta re-do it.
To add to that, there's nothing wrong with setting text with a rag, and many people consider to be actually more legible than justified text. Let me refer to the aforementioned LUG Star Trek book again as a horrible example of somebody not being able to do do justified text right. The paragraphs are full of "rivers of white", extraordinarily gappy, and painful to read. Nevermind the uneven color of the text that results from that.
Most folks here on the Forge who are looking to design stuff don't have the know-how (nor should they -- it's pretty arcane) to adjust a justified text block properly. More often than not, the default "justified" settings for most any software make text blocks look HORRIBLE. Certainly not pleasant to read.
To be blunt, most of the professional designers don't get it, either. With all the fancy hardcovers that have been put out the past couple of yours, I would have ample material for a typographical "Hall of Shame". The reason that I am less and less inclined to shell out money for them is not that I mind paying $40 for a good book -- I am more than happy to do that. But many of those hardcovers are not worth the price once you open them, and often the only hard decision is not whether to buy the book, but whether the typography is worse than the editing, or vice versa.
In other words, there is no One True Way of text block design. It's true there are readability studies (which no one at the Forge that I'm aware of is well-versed in), and they have some value as a guideline. Very little as a science.
There are, however, good books to tell you what to do and what not to do. Robert Parker's "Looking Good in Print" used to be a nice primer for the novice (and probably still is, except that I'm not familiar with the new edition). Bringhurst's "Elements of Typographic Style" is the bible on typography, though biased a bit towards a style with few graphical elements, and requires some basic knowledge of typography, but is very entertaining to read.
Finally, I'll post my own thoughts on why some PDFs are hard to read. Simply put, it's because they're not well-designed. Contrary to popular opinion, good layout isn't a Divine Right that comes packaged with PageMaker, Quark or (god help us) Microsoft Publisher or Word. It's part skill, part art, and it can take a good lot of experience to do well.
That, I think, sums it up pretty nicely. The thing is to consider the work as a whole, rather than just zeroing in on one part. And sometimes you just have to break the rules.
-- Reimer Behrends
On 10/23/2002 at 9:35am, Anthony wrote:
RE: Q: Do you know why your PDF/printed game is hard to read?
A good example as to what a skilled designer can do with them is Nobilis (which is set in a Caslon throughout).
I know this is a little off the topic, but does anyone know what program Nobilis was typeset with? From the way it looks I really REALLY want to say it was done in LaTeX, but I don 't really know. Anyone know for sure?
On 10/23/2002 at 9:45am, Reimer Behrends wrote:
RE: Q: Do you know why your PDF/printed game is hard to read?
StumpBoy wrote: I know this is a little off the topic, but does anyone know what program Nobilis was typeset with? From the way it looks I really REALLY want to say it was done in LaTeX, but I don 't really know. Anyone know for sure?
Adobe Pagemaker 6.52, according to the PDF samples.
-- Reimer Behrends
On 10/23/2002 at 9:48am, Matt wrote:
RE: Q: Do you know why your PDF/printed game is hard to read?
I seem to remember a thread on RPG.NET, where James Wallace said Nobilis was set out in Adobe Pagemaker (much to many people's astonishment). Hunt around in their Publishing forum, and you should be able to find the thread.
Another issue people forget is that Serifed fonts look great printed out, but suck for onscreen viewing (mainly due to anti-aliasing problems).
-Matt
On 10/23/2002 at 11:15am, Reimer Behrends wrote:
RE: Q: Do you know why your PDF/printed game is hard to read?
Matt wrote: Another issue people forget is that Serifed fonts look great printed out, but suck for onscreen viewing (mainly due to anti-aliasing problems).
Actually, it's not anti-aliasing, but simply that the resolution is too low to handle serifs properly (Microsoft's Core TT fonts are designed specifically to be readable on a screen without any anti-aliasing whatsoever, serifs or not). Also remember that there are many, many different kinds of Serif fonts, not all of which are suitable for body copy, even when printed. Look here for more information. And a Bodoni, for instance, while an elegant serif font due to its almost mathematical construction, has poor legibility due to the extreme contrast between the thin hairlines and the thick stems.
Most of the time you want an Oldstyle or Transitional typeface for printed body copy, not a Modern, Flare, or Slab Serif.
-- Reimer Behrends
On 10/23/2002 at 12:02pm, Matt wrote:
RE: Q: Do you know why your PDF/printed game is hard to read?
Yeah, I was generalising a bit. ;-)
-Matt
On 10/23/2002 at 12:44pm, ejh wrote:
RE: Q: Do you know why your PDF/printed game is hard to read?
LaTeX was mentioned -- can I just quickly drop a YES! in for LaTeX?
It's available on most linux platforms and there are versions available
for Windows too.
It's no harder to learn than HTML and for simple things it's a lot
easier.
It produces gorgeous PDFs and gorgeous printed output.
It definitely won't give your RPG a *distinctive* look -- it'll look
pretty much like most other things that are in LaTeX, including journal
articles and whatnot -- but it wll be absolutely, wonderfully,
beautifully, pleasantly readable. The default output from LaTeX is
designed to be wonderfully, wonderfully readable.
It's definitely a good option if you want a quick path to very very
professional (if simple) output.