Straight Answers on Game Type
The questions designers, indie developers and players send us most, answered the way we would on a review call.
What is the smallest safe text size for a game on a TV?
As a desk baseline, keep body and subtitle text at around 28 px at 1080p for TV play, with critical HUD numbers larger. Treat that as a floor, not a target, always offer a text size option, and check current platform requirements. Our full table is on the HUD page.
Can I use any font I own in my game?
Not usually. Desktop licences often exclude embedding in apps or games. You will typically need an app or embedding licence, sometimes per title or platform, or a family released under an open licence such as the SIL Open Font License.
Are pixel fonts a bad idea?
For titles and stylised UI at integer scales, they can be great. For subtitles and long text, offer a clean alternative: pixel fonts blur at non-integer scales and are harder for many players to read.
What is a diegetic HUD?
One that places information inside the game world, such as the health bar on Isaac Clarke's suit in Dead Space, rather than as a flat overlay. Compare styles in our HUD tabs.
Why do some games swap the confirm and cancel buttons?
Regional and platform conventions. PlayStation games in Japan historically used circle to confirm; the PlayStation 5 standardised cross as confirm worldwide. Nintendo consoles confirm with the right face button. Follow the platform and allow remapping.
Should subtitles be on by default?
Many players use them, so either enable them by default or ask on first launch, with options for size, background opacity and speaker names.
What contrast ratio should game text meet?
At least 4.5:1 between text and its immediate backing, measured on the worst frame of gameplay, not a calm screenshot. A backing plate or outline makes that achievable over changing scenes.
How much longer do translated strings get?
German and French commonly run 20 to 35 percent longer than English. Design flexible containers and run pseudo-localisation early. More in the workflow guide.
Which standards should a UI team read first?
Start with the Game Accessibility Guidelines and the Xbox Accessibility Guidelines, then the Unicode Standard and OpenType specification for character coverage and font features.
Still stuck? Open a ticket with the desk.