Why all caps?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Unwerth, Jul 16, 2014.

  1. Unwerth

    Unwerth Void-Bound Voyager

    Hi

    The game looks fantastic, but that everyone is talking in caps really rubs me the wrong way. Especially when in the trailer the main character shouts: "QUIET! CAN YOU HEAR THAT?" Isn't it common knowledge that all caps is used to display shouting?

    But I guess it's too late to change the fonts.
     
    • Bach

      Bach Halfway Developer Developer

      Hey :D

      Hehe - sorry we certainly didn't mean to yell at you! Lots of classic/retro games use all caps text. We never felt like it was an issue! Thanks for mentioning it though, we'll look into it!
       
      • BlueKutsu

        BlueKutsu Master Chief

        I doubt it would be a huge issue for me, but I had the same thought when I watched the trailer. The caps were a little off-putting. Might be able to get used to it, though (as Bach said, they were used in an older time).
         
        • Unwerth

          Unwerth Void-Bound Voyager

          Fair enough. I'll likely buy the game either way, but it's nice to know that you're looking into it. :)
           
          • DotBeta

            DotBeta Oxygen Tank

            Hahaha I thought the exact same thing, it's become a pretty common thing nowadays that caps = yelling. The part where he says SOMETHING SMELLS AWFUL HERE and then the enemy opens the bathroom door like "sorry bro" only to get shot made be bust out laughing.
             
            • unstoppableCarl

              unstoppableCarl Space Hobo

              It really isn't about yelling. Text in all caps hurts readability (speed and comprehension). Many retro games used all caps because at extremely low resolutions with few pixels per character uppercase characters are easier to identify (not easer to read) and could have more consistent spacing in monospaced terminal fonts. This does not apply to halfway obviously.

              http://uxmovement.com/content/all-caps-hard-for-users-to-read/
              http://practicaltypography.com/all-caps.html

              Any text that is a sentence or is read like a sentence should be sentence cased

              I don't think the caps add to the retro esthetic of halfway and I would very much like to see the text case changed.
               

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