Gamertell

Well, both are true. I am getting older every millisecond but not so old that I cannot read appropriately sized text on a screen.

If my eyes are getting worse, I might have to blame game developers and publishers. No, I’m not sitting too close to the TV while gaming (10 feet away, thank you). Instead, the in-game text is getting smaller and more difficult to read.

Case in point: I physically measured the word “CAMPAIGN” in Halo, Halo 2 and Halo 3 on the same TV being played through the Xbox 360. Yes, I took a measuring tape and pressed it against a TV screen.

The word “CAMPAIGN” appears in the menu of all three games in the franchise and should be indicative of the menu text used throughout each game. In each case it is white on a dark background and written in all caps.

The TV: I have a Toshiba TV circa 1996 (OK, so I need to upgrade, but not everyone can afford a plasma screen or HD TV). Using a tape measure, the viewable area is 22 in. across, 16 in. high with a physical diagonal of 27.5 in. (aka a 28-inch screen). It is color and I am using S-Video inputs from the Xbox 360.

Halo 1 (November 2001): The word “CAMPAIGN” measures 5 3/8 in. wide and 11/16 in tall. Fairly large and readable with an extra outer glow around the entire word (that was not included in the measurement).

Halo 2 (November 2004): “CAMPAIGN” measures 3 3/4 in. wide and 1/2 in. tall. Definitely smaller that Halo 1, though still readable from a few feet away on my TV. There are a couple more options on the menu, which may have necessitated the shrinkage. The outer glow has been reduced.

Halo 3 (September 2007) : “CAMPAIGN” on this title is 2 in. wide and 7/16 in. tall. The text has been squished into almost half the width than on Halo 2‘s menu - and nearly a third of Halo 1‘s - and is even 1/8 in. shorter. The outer glow is completely gone.

In the case of Halo 3‘s menu, it’s hard to read from my couch so I need to lean in or move just to make sure I select the right menu item. And if I’m playing on a sunny day with even a little amount of glare, forget it.

Not to put the blame squarely on Bungie and Microsoft, I’ve noticed the same trend in almost all Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 games and not so much with Wii releases. Halo was simply an ideal example.

Menu and in-game text is becoming barely readable and straining to read it actually hinders gameplay through lost instructions or simply misread menu items. There’s certainly something to be said about increased resolution making it easier to read smaller text, but this over (or under?) compensation is a bit ridiculous.

Developers are likely sitting inches from a high resolution flat screen, so reading text from 6-10 feet away is not an most of them likely consider. For gamers using regular ol’ TVs, or even something simply smaller than a flat 50 incher, such tiny text is certainly causing a bit of eye strain.

Hey, developers, remember your friggin’ audience. We don’t all own uber pricey displays (especially after handing over paychecks just to buy your game systems and games) and never wear binoculars while gaming.

I’m also guessing you don’t want aching eyes and headaches to influence gamers’ perceptions. (Did someone just type something that rhymes with “classy action pantsuit?”)