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VX ACE: IS THE VL GOTHIC FONT AN EYESORE?
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CloseHello again!
I'm trying to decide if I want a custom font for my VX Ace game. On the one hand, nearly everything else in the game is custom (Except for the emotion balloons and the "Shadow" system file, there is zero VX Ace RTP being used). On the other, I don't find the standard VX Ace font, VL Gothic, to be that bad.
Thinking about it, I've only played a handful of VX and VX Ace games, so I wanted to get your opinions on this. Is VL Gothic overused? Does a unique font help make a game stand out? Or is the standard font fine?
Thanks again, everyone! :D
I'm trying to decide if I want a custom font for my VX Ace game. On the one hand, nearly everything else in the game is custom (Except for the emotion balloons and the "Shadow" system file, there is zero VX Ace RTP being used). On the other, I don't find the standard VX Ace font, VL Gothic, to be that bad.
Thinking about it, I've only played a handful of VX and VX Ace games, so I wanted to get your opinions on this. Is VL Gothic overused? Does a unique font help make a game stand out? Or is the standard font fine?
Thanks again, everyone! :D
UPRC
5516
VL Gothic is totally fine if you like it and feel that it fits your game. I always use custom fonts myself because I find ones that fit my games a lot better than VL Gothic. It's still a decent font though, and it's not really overused at all with the ability for us to use custom fonts. Everyone wants to do that, so using the default font won't really look bad at all.
Plus an RTP font is different from RTP characters or tiles. It's A LOT harder to make a game feel unique with its own sense of identity if you're using the same sprites as everyone else because they all portray the exact same characters. Fonts don't do this, they're more versatile. You could use Tahoma in a medieval themed game, a modern horror one, and a futuristic space exploration game and it would fit in each game. Just depends on how you use the fonts that are available to you.
Plus an RTP font is different from RTP characters or tiles. It's A LOT harder to make a game feel unique with its own sense of identity if you're using the same sprites as everyone else because they all portray the exact same characters. Fonts don't do this, they're more versatile. You could use Tahoma in a medieval themed game, a modern horror one, and a futuristic space exploration game and it would fit in each game. Just depends on how you use the fonts that are available to you.
I personally dislike VLGothic merely because it's overused in VX Ace and I'm tired of seeing it in every game.
That said, there's nothing inherently wrong with it, aside from the zeros having a slash which I think is unusual for RPG fonts.
That said, there's nothing inherently wrong with it, aside from the zeros having a slash which I think is unusual for RPG fonts.
To me, VL Gothic is the Times New Roman of RPG Maker. :p
It makes me think of bland, half-assed noob games, really. The only thing I like about it is the little arrow character used in the equipment screen because most other fonts don't have it, which would result in ugly boxes being drawn in their place. (Fortunately there's a script snippet that keeps the arrow!)
Non-default fonts can help your game stand out from the crowd of samey-looking RM games. But if you're going to use a custom font, make sure to look for the font fix scripts (available on RMW, iirc) because Ace's font rendering is pretty bad without them!
It makes me think of bland, half-assed noob games, really. The only thing I like about it is the little arrow character used in the equipment screen because most other fonts don't have it, which would result in ugly boxes being drawn in their place. (Fortunately there's a script snippet that keeps the arrow!)
Non-default fonts can help your game stand out from the crowd of samey-looking RM games. But if you're going to use a custom font, make sure to look for the font fix scripts (available on RMW, iirc) because Ace's font rendering is pretty bad without them!
I personally am not a fan of VL Gothic, as it feels too... generic and odd-looking. However, if you feel it fits your game to a T or at least moderately, then all the power to you, go ahead and use it!
I try to use custom fonts for most of my games myself, but that's just me.
I try to use custom fonts for most of my games myself, but that's just me.
I think I'll take a look for a custom font after all, as there may well be a font out there that fits better, especially if VL Gothic looks bland to some people.
I've gotten some scripts that will hopefully let me use a custom font right (Text Cache v 1.0 by Mithran, as well as one that removes that weird glyph and another that's supposed to fix that arrow problem you mentioned, Melkino :D )
Thanks for all the advice!
I've gotten some scripts that will hopefully let me use a custom font right (Text Cache v 1.0 by Mithran, as well as one that removes that weird glyph and another that's supposed to fix that arrow problem you mentioned, Melkino :D )
Thanks for all the advice!
It DOES lose points for being pretty generic and not suited for all kinds of projects (unless you are making an RTP fest), otherwise, I don't see anything wrong with the font itself. Just be glad people aren't using Comic Sans in these games.
I'd hardly call it an eyesore (besides being a monospaced font used for text) or bland but I agree with what URPC and others said about it hurting a game feeling unique. However I'd rather see VL Gothic before other eye-searing illegible fonts. Please pick your fonts carefully so reading the text in your game doesn't cause eye strain while trying to pick a good font for your game!
author=GreatRedSpirit
I'd hardly call it an eyesore (besides being a monospaced font used for text) or bland but I agree with what URPC and others said about it hurting a game feeling unique. However I'd rather see VL Gothic before other eye-searing illegible fonts. Please pick your fonts carefully so reading the text in your game doesn't cause eye strain while trying to pick a good font for your game!
Could I get advice on that subject? I've found a font that I really like, but the numbers are a bit hard to see in battle and I'm afraid I'm going to have to abandon it because of that.
Here's a screenshot:
Are these wonky numbers a font no-no?
Um, I know you're asking about the font, but...
...Let's talk about lines, shall we
Especially in the faceset
I don't know if you're going for it but most of the time you'll want thinner lines for details and innermost lines (such as the nose, frills and strands of hair) and thicker lines for countours, such as the line separating hair from skin, cheeks, etc. You're sort of doing the opposite of that. ;A;
It doesn't bad on Karuna and Chisa, but merel could use some new lineart on top of that lineart. ;;
That being said, nice custom graphics overall, and I did like the font 8D
edit: I really like these sorts of numbers. In fact, my favorite font for numbers is Georgia.
...Let's talk about lines, shall we
Especially in the faceset
I don't know if you're going for it but most of the time you'll want thinner lines for details and innermost lines (such as the nose, frills and strands of hair) and thicker lines for countours, such as the line separating hair from skin, cheeks, etc. You're sort of doing the opposite of that. ;A;
It doesn't bad on Karuna and Chisa, but merel could use some new lineart on top of that lineart. ;;
That being said, nice custom graphics overall, and I did like the font 8D
edit: I really like these sorts of numbers. In fact, my favorite font for numbers is Georgia.
author=JosephSeraph
Um, I know you're asking about the font, but...
...Let's talk about lines, shall we
Especially in the faceset
I don't know if you're going for it but most of the time you'll want thinner lines for details and innermost lines (such as the nose, frills and strands of hair) and thicker lines for countours, such as the line separating hair from skin, cheeks, etc. You're sort of doing the opposite of that. ;A;
It doesn't bad on Karuna and Chisa, but merel could use some new lineart on top of that lineart. ;;
Thanks for the good advice. I've gotten into the bad habit of just using two line-weights, one for hair and one for everything else, and I now see that in doing so, my art's really suffered.
My problem is, I've worked on drawing for over ten years now. I could go back and redraw every face portrait with each of their expressions, but I'd still feel like they weren't anywhere close to professional quality. I've redrawn several already and I feel like I won't be able to progress on the game if I keep trying to redraw them.
In future projects, I'll probably try to find an artist to partner with who can draw portraits, or, if I can afford it at the time, maybe hire someone, until I get to a better place, art-wise.
I'm going to keep working on improving, of course, and you've made me realize an area that I'm very much lacking in. Thanks very much :D
author=JosephSeraph
That being said, nice custom graphics overall, and I did like the font 8D
Thanks! ^_^
Mr_Detective
60
I might be alone on this one, but I find the default font to be easy on the eye, and simple enough to work. Some custom fonts I've seen are really painful to look at, so I still prefer the default one, at least for now. :P
author=Mr_Detective
I might be alone on this one, but I find the default font to be easy on the eye, and simple enough to work. Some custom fonts I've seen are really painful to look at, so I still prefer the default one, at least for now. :P
This. Font used in game's messages NEEDS to be clear. Often "fancy" fonts are hardly readable and in some cases they put unnecessary eyestrain. VL Gothic is "transparent" in this manner. You don't notice font, you notice text that is written using it. And that what's important.
Note that I'm not against "fancy" fonts on things like title screen or in pictures, but font used for menus and messages MUST be readable. Less fancy, the better.
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