What fonts do you use/like in a visual novel?

[csky]

What sort of fonts do you like to use in a visual novel? The genre of that too?
I've been looking around for a nice font to use but they all feel strange once they are in, maybe I've become too accustomed to the default one as I was working.
Anyway, I would really like suggestions as to what you experienced novel makers feel works well.


(For the record my VN is set in the early 90's and has a creepy feel too it, so suggestions encouraged!)


Things to consider can be readability, aesthetic appeal, serif, sans-serif, ect. Titles Vs Main text? I'm most interested in main text but do you often use different fonts for menus or other titles ect?

[RotGtIE]

my VN is set in the early 90's

Comic sans. On everything. With radical neon backgrounds.

[Hijiri]

A simple, legible font is good enough for every project. Just don't use something that makes even you have to do a double take

[Fungii]

[quote="csky"](For the record my VN is set in the early 90's and has a creepy feel too it, so suggestions encouraged!)

Chiller. Come on, that's 90s Horror in font form.

[Shaples]

Chiller. Come on, that's 90s Horror in font form.

Ahahaha, brilliant XD

[Ghost #9]

I agree that a simple font would be preferable for most visual novels, though stylistic variation would work depending on what the author is going for. For example, a pixely font if the presentation is supposed to be game-like, or a somewhat creepy font for non-serious horror. Nothing too elaborate, because above all it needs to be legible and not overly distracting.

Additionally, in my opinion outlined fonts are more attractive and professional looking than plain text. I suppose this depends on style as well, but generally they are just easier to read because they stand out more.

As for what particular font to use, since I'm no expert I did a quick search on this forum and came across a helpful link (posted by SundownKid): https://www.google.com/fonts
You can try a few of these out and see if they work for you.

[Auro-Cyanide]

I usually use 2 fonts, one for display text and one for body copy. The display font you can have fun with since it will only be a word here or there (as long as it IS still legible) so it can carry the bulk of the theme you are trying to communicate. For body copy (the actual text of your story) I go for something very simple and very easy to read, usually something like Open Sans. San serifs are easier to read on screen, but serifs carry a nice old world feel.

I did this for a horror VN set in the 80's so it might be similar to what you are looking for? http://auro-cyanide.deviantart.com/art/ ... -469167363 I used a combination of a slab serif and a san serif.

The other thing to look out for is licenses. What you want to find is a font with a license that not only allows you to use it, but allows you to redistribute it, because that is functionally what Ren'Py is doing when it packages your game.

Google fonts are good because they tend to be well rounded and open source. You can also check out Font Squirrel http://www.fontsquirrel.com/

[TheChris]

Here's a couple of sites I've used that create a font from my handwriting:

http://www.myscriptfont.com/
http://www.paintfont.com/

A lot of those "free" fonts include a license that states the creator requires payment for the font's use in commercial works. Even if you don't plan on selling your game, wouldn't you say it's a good idea to make your own font just in case you change your mind and decide to sell?

[Auro-Cyanide]

Here's a couple of sites I've used that create a font from my handwriting:

http://www.myscriptfont.com/
http://www.paintfont.com/

A lot of those "free" fonts include a license that states the creator requires payment for the font's use in commercial works. Even if you don't plan on selling your game, wouldn't you say it's a good idea to make your own font just in case you change your mind and decide to sell?

Actually there are plenty of fonts, really good fonts, that are free to use even commercially. Everything on Font Squirrel for instance is 100% free for commercial use. The catch tends to be finding ones that allow for redistribution as I mentioned, but they also exist. Font Squirrel makes it easy to check the licenses, you want something under a license like SIL Open Font License v1.10. This allows you to redistribute, you just can't sell the font standalone, which obviously makes sense.

Making you own font is a great idea, but I would be cautious about using it as a body copy font unless you are going into it to adjust things like kerning and ligatures. But it's something that is fairly easy to test out so it can be worth giving it a go It you have neat writing it could look great!

[TheChris]

Here's a couple of sites I've used that create a font from my handwriting:

http://www.myscriptfont.com/
http://www.paintfont.com/

A lot of those "free" fonts include a license that states the creator requires payment for the font's use in commercial works. Even if you don't plan on selling your game, wouldn't you say it's a good idea to make your own font just in case you change your mind and decide to sell?

Actually there are plenty of fonts, really good fonts, that are free to use even commercially. Everything on Font Squirrel for instance is 100% free for commercial use. The catch tends to be finding ones that allow for redistribution as I mentioned, but they also exist. Font Squirrel makes it easy to check the licenses, you want something under a license like SIL Open Font License v1.10. This allows you to redistribute, you just can't sell the font standalone, which obviously makes sense.

Making you own font is a great idea, but I would be cautious about using it as a body copy font unless you are going into it to adjust things like kerning and ligatures. But it's something that is fairly easy to test out so it can be worth giving it a go It you have neat writing it could look great!

Are you sure? I thought I remembered some of the fonts on Font Squirrel actually not being 100% free once you actually download the font and read the license. I might be mixing up sites, so I could very well be mistaken.

[SundownKid]

Google Fonts has all free to use fonts commercially or otherwise. It's a good place to look for fonts to use.

The default fonts are well, meh at best. I like to go for readability over style when we're talking about regular text fonts, but at the same time it should be stylish enough that it doesn't look like a boring system dialog.

I use Molengo for my games. It has a little more of a bookish style than your typical sans-serif font. I think there are some good ones for VN's if you go to Google Fonts and filter by sans-serif only while keeping the default settings. It's rare that a serif font looks better in a video game unless we're talking about a literal prose passage shown on screen. There are exceptions, like Etrian Odyssey 4, but it's rare.

[Milkymalk]

Google Fonts having free fonts is great and all, but how do I get them on my PC? They seem to be there only for use with a website.

[SundownKid]

Google Fonts having free fonts is great and all, but how do I get them on my PC? They seem to be there only for use with a website.

For the font I posted for example - go to "Open Molengo in Google Fonts" button on the top right. Then press the down pointing arrow also on the top right on the next page and press ".zip file" in the dialog that appears. Voila, you have the font download.

[Ghost #9]

Google Fonts having free fonts is great and all, but how do I get them on my PC? They seem to be there only for use with a website.

If you are attempting to download fonts from the main Google Fonts page, add whichever ones you like to your Collection and then hit the down arrow at the top right of the screen. The option to download as a .zip file will appear as long as there is at least one font in your Collection.

[Milkymalk]

Great, thanks!
The necessary links are a little hidden, lurking unconspiciously in the corners of the page.