[Request] Make text readable, not only via tooltips

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koningco
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Joined: 24 May 2024, 01:49

[Request] Make text readable, not only via tooltips

Post by koningco »

After recent experience with the online versions of Aquatica and Cities I hereby want to post a request for all game developers on BGA. Please make sure that ingame text (for example on cards) is readable on at least a computer screen. This is not the case for Aquatica and Cities, so we have to use tooltips every time. The lay-out on BGA does not have to be exactly the same as in the physical game when this would result in bad readability. You can for example change the color of the text and increase the size of the text and symbols on cards to make the game better playable online.

Also I want to ask Alpha testers to look for improvements on this. Please comment on visibility issues when you're testing an Alpha game and don't give your approval if the lay-out is not well readable on a computer screen (even possible improvements for the lay-out on a phone are welcome, but the reality is that some boards -not all- are too large to have a good overview on a phone screen).
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cigma
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Re: [Request] Make text readable, not only via tooltips

Post by cigma »

koningco wrote: 12 April 2026, 21:01 Please make sure that ingame text (for example on cards) is readable on at least a computer screen. This is not the case for Aquatica and Cities, so we have to use tooltips every time.
What's wrong with tooltipps?

On the other hand, ingame texts on cards etc. may cause a lot of problems when translating: Some languages need more signs for the same meaning (e. g. German needs about 30% more signs than English), which can lead to ugly looking overflow or even loss of information. Also, some original fonds don't offer all the signes needed for some languages. And it might be this causes also problems with right to left languages, like Hebrew or Farsi, but I don't know about that.
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Arjuna92
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Re: [Request] Make text readable, not only via tooltips

Post by Arjuna92 »

cigma wrote: 13 April 2026, 14:39 What's wrong with tooltipps?

On the other hand, ingame texts on cards etc. may cause a lot of problems when translating: Some languages need more signs for the same meaning (e. g. German needs about 30% more signs than English), which can lead to ugly looking overflow or even loss of information. Also, some original fonds don't offer all the signes needed for some languages. And it might be this causes also problems with right to left languages, like Hebrew or Farsi, but I don't know about that.
Tooltips are or can be a problem on touchscreens.

I concur that the longer text in German - and probably other languages, as English is fairly compact - is a problem in some games, where it can't be displayed properly. It would be nice, if the font size could be reduced as much as necessary depending on the language, in order to fit the available space. Also to avoid confusion, this meaning of "Zeichen" is "character" in English, not "sign". :)
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KuWizard
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Re: [Request] Make text readable, not only via tooltips

Post by KuWizard »

I tried to follow the "text-on-cards" approach in my game 3000 Scoundrels. That was a horrible experience, I have spent dozens of hours fitting this text. Tooltips are much more easy to implement. I'm sorry this causes troubles for some users but sometimes it's not worth it when developing.
Some languages (I know German and Russian for sure) have huge words which do not fit cards and it looks pretty bad. So it's one more nail in the coffin of this idea.
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koningco
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Re: [Request] Make text readable, not only via tooltips

Post by koningco »

What is the value of less work for the person who implements the game if the game doesn't become popular? For example Aquatica is a game that heavily depends on the text and symbols on the cards and with only 25k plays in the first 5 months I must say this game is not popular on BGA while the BGG rating is 7.4. Even with the highest zoom rate on my desktop I have to use tooltips for every card to see what it does. And in Aquatica we have up to 16 cards on the main board which we can buy or conquer + up to 5 cards on our own board + the cards we have in our hand + 4 manta's that have more contrast in the tooltip. The implementation would have been a lot better when we would have a better overview with readable text and symbols on the cards. In my opinion "quick work" during the implementation leads to bad playability and many users not playing anymore after 1 game (or even stop playing during/after the tutorial).
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KuWizard
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Re: [Request] Make text readable, not only via tooltips

Post by KuWizard »

koningco wrote: 13 April 2026, 15:48 What is the value of less work for the person who implements the game if the game doesn't become popular?
Mirror question: what is the value of more work for the person who have made a perfect job, everything polished and shiny, spent an eternity and the game looks great but... nobody plays it?
Do you know about the game 3000 Scoundrels? And almost nobody does even while it was done by a famous game designer.
I really invested my time in it and it performs similar to the worst games on the platform.
Poker: Texas Holdem was done and was looking terrible during the release with lots of unresolved bugs and bad UX/UI. And it's one of the best performing games here.
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cigma
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Re: [Request] Make text readable, not only via tooltips

Post by cigma »

Arjuna92 wrote: 13 April 2026, 15:11 It would be nice, if the font size could be reduced as much as necessary depending on the language, in order to fit the available space.
Reducing fond size does not solve all the problems, as you can see here: https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31055 For example, in order to fit "Meeresschildkrötenbecken" on the card, the fond would be too tiny to read. So it's also a question of line brakes, which makes things even more complicated.
Arjuna92 wrote: 13 April 2026, 15:11 Also to avoid confusion, this meaning of "Zeichen" is "character" in English, not "sign". :)
Thanks!
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Language is a source of misunderstanding. (Antoine de Saint-Exupery: The Little Prince) But it is also the source of understanding - it all depends on how you use it. :-)
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Arjuna92
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Re: [Request] Make text readable, not only via tooltips

Post by Arjuna92 »

cigma wrote: 13 April 2026, 17:24
Arjuna92 wrote: 13 April 2026, 15:11 It would be nice, if the font size could be reduced as much as necessary depending on the language, in order to fit the available space.
Reducing fond size does not solve all the problems, as you can see here: https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31055 For example, in order to fit "Meeresschildkrötenbecken" on the card, the fond would be too tiny to read. So it's also a question of line brakes, which makes things even more complicated.
I think Meeresschildkrötenbecken wouldn't have to be too much smaller to fit, though it would probably look better in two lines. I also find that image of a cute turtle with such a long word underneath it rather comical. In any case, while not pretty, that example doesn't hinder usability. I think the action cards in your OP are far more important. And the existence of the table just makes solving them more complex. In how many languages will "OR SNAP" be brief enough to fit into that small space?!

Do you know how the German edition of Ark Nova (the game's original language after all) handles the issues you've pointed to?
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WetDogIsHappy
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Re: [Request] Make text readable, not only via tooltips

Post by WetDogIsHappy »

There is a new class for fitting text to a fixed sized div
https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/BgaAutofit
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