#PSYCHONAUTS WALKTHROUGH FULL#

28px may be readable for sighted players, but visually impaired gamers may need text to be much larger.

#PSYCHONAUTS WALKTHROUGH FULL#

However, this ignores minimum readable text sizes.įor instance, Hamilton says, 'For someone with full 20/20 vision on a typical screen in a typical living room viewing environment, text needs to be in the region of at least 28px at 1080p.'īut reading isn't an objective experience. 'In days gone by,' he says, 'it just wasn't technically possible to design tiny text as resolutions weren't high enough there just weren't enough pixels.'Īs screen resolutions improve, smaller type is able to render in sharper focus, something which developers appear keen to take advantage of. Hamilton suggests our displays are partly to blame. Yet, too often that information is lost to illegible type. Despite gaming's focus on the visual, text is still a primary way in which games communicate. The erosion of basic design principles is leading to typographic failings throughout the design industry and beyond.

Tchia's hardly the worst offender, but it's the game that inspired this piece.Ī lack of understanding of typography and its application isn't exclusive to the video game industry. 'Miniscule text is by far the most common accessibility complaint,' Hamilton tells me via email. To understand why this is happening, and explore possible solutions, I spoke to accessibility consultant Ian Hamilton and lead designer of typeface studio Lettermatic, Riley Cran. But it also represents the most recent example of a growing trend in video game UI, in which text is becoming smaller and less legible. It offers a wealth of accessibility options. If you're like me, however, starting Tchia also involves encountering the unreadable text in its options menus. The music starts, you realise the entire game is voiced in French and Drehu, and you know it's a game built on passion.

Psychonauts walkthrough