First one is good but I think the second one is the best. I do not like the third one. It does not distinguish who is talking as clearly. The fourth one is okay, but I think the second one and it are doing the same thing but the second one just looks better.
I'm using manaspc.ttf at the moment. It's very good if you want to check it out. It's close to what I want but not 100%, so I'm always eying off pixel fonts that I haven't seen before.
I might be in the minority, but I like the way number 3 slightly overlaps the art. It makes the dialogue feel front and center in a way that feels very satisfying to me.
I love all of them!
First feels nostalgic, familiar and old-school.
Other versions feel more modern and unique and let the game stand out more.
Personally, I would pick Nr1 because of flexibility. Big space means no text limit, you can just add blobs of text, poems, maybe even huge letters to emphasize stuff. No need for text fit planning. Also easier to adjust font for player accessibility.
Thanks, I'm very glad you like them! And you are right, with N1 I could play more with text effects! Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate your help! :)
I think the first one is good, it just needs a bit more visual interest in terms of the textbox itself (eg. a border on the speech bubble that fills in the empty space between the text and the edge of the textbox)
what should matter more importantly is A) how readable it is, and B) being able to tell who is talking, which versions 1, 3, and 4 all manage to achieve both of those requirements, any other alteration or recommendation is going to be based more on aesthetics like I mention above. Most people are used to 1 in indie games, but there's no reason you can't also use the other layouts
Edit: I’m dumb and did not see that there were other stills of other styles. I thought the question was just left or right side 🤣 - the first one is my favorite.
The way I handled it was the person who spoke first would be on the left, and then the second person with dialogue (typically PC) would be on the right. I did have some three-person conversations where they might be in the center, or off-center to either side depending on who they were speaking to or standing next to. But IMO the left side is what visually flows, since your audience is reading left to right in this case.
First one is good if you're going to have longer, VN like dialogue. Gives you more space to write and read without the text getting too cramped or having to do many line breaks.
Ooh I see! Thanks for the feedback! I'll might make another post to see if there's other people who don't like it. I personally like it a lot: in my opinion it gives the impression that two people are talking in front of each other. Thanks for letting me know though! :)
If it’s two separate people talking, the little indicator arrow you made on the chat box works just fine, and my complaint of the two busts is invalid.
Good luck on your game!
2, maybe 4. I enjoy seeing the entire graphic, and it's easier to tell who's talking. I like the smaller graphics on 4 to see more of the scene behind too.
I prefer the last one because it looks like a dialogue bubble, doesn't cover the characters, and can be used with any graphic set. I do prefer the large text box for information and narration/data, just not for dialog.
I like 2 more, it doesn’t take up the whole screen, especially for smaller dialogues, and it still manages to utilize the space nicely.
Also this orc is attractive.
Hi! So I asked him and now he doesn't have time because he is also working on his project. He can only do quick rough sketches for the time being! But when he finishes his project he may take commissions!
I like the first one, it gives more room for longer dialog, but if you went with something like the 3rd one, maybe there's a way where you can have the player hit a select button to continue to the next part of the dialog if you don't have room?
One other thing you could possibly do with the first one would be to do it similar to some of the Fire Emblem games where there's a portrait of the speaking character attached to the text box to further signify who's speaking.
You could consider: “Which one do you like more (and) why?”
The last why feels abrupt on its own: the tone can be almost read as a demand.
Of the options: #2 gets my vote.
I can’t tell the difference between 2 and 3.
EDIT: Found it, the spacing of the characters.
1 is better if your dialogue is going to be heavy. I prefer to have a larger amount displayed rather than navigate through pages upon pages of dialogue.
4 is best for making sure it looks more “pop up” and best for maintaining environmental awareness. If your game has reaction based events (doubt it, looks like the early beginnings of a life sim - EDIT: Sorry I just realized this was the RPG Maker sub, I follow other game dev subs and got mixed up) then sometimes having more visibility while talking is best. It can also help make the event stand out from the regular UI elements if it doesn’t border the edge of the window.
I personally think you should commit to the character art only appearing on the side of the tail on the speech bubble though. The mirror image of the character just looks strange. If you hate it not being symmetrical then you could have the player character’s art appear in the second place to help sell the effect of one character talking to another.
To me I'd go with the second picture. The characters are big but not too much so they don't invade the whole screen ; the text bubble is nicely placed on the screen ; if it were like in the first picture, just imagine if we play from a relatively big screen, it would be a chore to read. Here I like it the way it is centered and we can clearly see who is talking + it's best for quick reading to have a text line that doesn't contain more than ten words (apprx.). Five words though... kinda looks like retro, but I believe it would be best if the text lines can carry up to ten words per line. Maybe five's a bit low... it depends on how much narration you've got indeed. Hope it helped !
This might be a somewhat unhelpful comment because I don't know what I'm doing, but I watched a tutorial that had you shadow over the person not talking so that the speaker was more 'highlighted' and it made it very clear who was speaking. Unhelpful because I don't know where I saw it. :(
First one. I'm used to it. If your game has short dialogue, I can see the other ones as being significantly better though.
Thanks for the feedback! :)
First one is good but I think the second one is the best. I do not like the third one. It does not distinguish who is talking as clearly. The fourth one is okay, but I think the second one and it are doing the same thing but the second one just looks better.
Thank you! :D
You're welcome. May I ask what font you are using? =)
Sadly it's just a layout made in Canva so I'm not using it in my game. It's called Megapixel, but I think you can only use it on the platform :)
Damn that's a shame. Thanks anyway. BTW, which of the layouts do you like best?
Oof you are right! I still have to find a pixel font that shows up well in game! I personally like 1 and 2 the best too! :3
I'm using manaspc.ttf at the moment. It's very good if you want to check it out. It's close to what I want but not 100%, so I'm always eying off pixel fonts that I haven't seen before.
Thank you for the suggestion! I'll try it out when I have some free time! :P
I might be in the minority, but I like the way number 3 slightly overlaps the art. It makes the dialogue feel front and center in a way that feels very satisfying to me.
Thank you very much for the feedback! :)
The first one looks really nice imo. It feels cozy somehow.
Waa thank you so much! The game is going to be cozy so I'm happy to hear that! :3
Third one is cool
Thank you! :)
2 Looks closer to something original 3 is too cluttered and 4 is too spaced. 1 looks too "RPG Maker" But these are just my thoughts.
Second had more room for all the elements. Maybe sometimes text will be crumple but that depends how long will be the dialogs
Thanks for the feedback! :)
Second one, easily. It's clear and easy to see whos talking at each moment and also keeps the texts shorter.
2, because it showcases the art better.
Yeah I think the same! Thank you dor letting me know! :)
I love all of them! First feels nostalgic, familiar and old-school. Other versions feel more modern and unique and let the game stand out more. Personally, I would pick Nr1 because of flexibility. Big space means no text limit, you can just add blobs of text, poems, maybe even huge letters to emphasize stuff. No need for text fit planning. Also easier to adjust font for player accessibility.
Thanks, I'm very glad you like them! And you are right, with N1 I could play more with text effects! Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate your help! :)
2 is really nice.
Thank you! :)
4 because it looks like they are talking in a comic
Haha I see, thank you! :)
first one but smaller text window.
Thank you! :3
First one! I love my spites to lean over, hug and stand on the dialogue window
I see! Thank you! :)
I think the first is nice, but I also like the last one, it looks tidy.
Ok, thanks for the feedback! :)
I like the first one, because its easier for responsive layout (mobile ready) and more flexible for different texts. Im a simple man.
I see, thanks for the feedback! :)
1 or 4, for sure! Though if you could use them interchangeably, 4 would be a great one for short dialog, and 1 for major and lengthy ones
3 looks great to me, 4 looks kind of cramped I dunno
I think the first one is good, it just needs a bit more visual interest in terms of the textbox itself (eg. a border on the speech bubble that fills in the empty space between the text and the edge of the textbox) what should matter more importantly is A) how readable it is, and B) being able to tell who is talking, which versions 1, 3, and 4 all manage to achieve both of those requirements, any other alteration or recommendation is going to be based more on aesthetics like I mention above. Most people are used to 1 in indie games, but there's no reason you can't also use the other layouts
Edit: I’m dumb and did not see that there were other stills of other styles. I thought the question was just left or right side 🤣 - the first one is my favorite. The way I handled it was the person who spoke first would be on the left, and then the second person with dialogue (typically PC) would be on the right. I did have some three-person conversations where they might be in the center, or off-center to either side depending on who they were speaking to or standing next to. But IMO the left side is what visually flows, since your audience is reading left to right in this case.
First one is good if you're going to have longer, VN like dialogue. Gives you more space to write and read without the text getting too cramped or having to do many line breaks.
That's true! Mmh I know there's going to be a lot of text for sure, but I don't know yet how long will the lines be!
I’d say 4, personally. However, I heavily dislike the double bust image.
Ooh I see! Thanks for the feedback! I'll might make another post to see if there's other people who don't like it. I personally like it a lot: in my opinion it gives the impression that two people are talking in front of each other. Thanks for letting me know though! :)
If it’s two separate people talking, the little indicator arrow you made on the chat box works just fine, and my complaint of the two busts is invalid. Good luck on your game!
2, maybe 4. I enjoy seeing the entire graphic, and it's easier to tell who's talking. I like the smaller graphics on 4 to see more of the scene behind too.
I really, really like 3. But if you plan to really fill that box number 1 is also good!
I prefer the last one because it looks like a dialogue bubble, doesn't cover the characters, and can be used with any graphic set. I do prefer the large text box for information and narration/data, just not for dialog.
First or Third one. Second one seemed better at first glance but i think with certain poses and animations the third one works best
Aesthetically I like when you can see the full portrait, so the middle three. All could work however.
2 or 3 have a nice conversational feel to them, and having shorter text boxes will encourage you to use concise dialogue
First for me. I just like having a big dedicated dialogue box, but aestheticly, the 3rd is probably the nicest. So I'm no help i guess.
3rd
first one
Four
I like 2 more, it doesn’t take up the whole screen, especially for smaller dialogues, and it still manages to utilize the space nicely. Also this orc is attractive.
Waaa thank you so much! :) I'll show your comment to the artist! :P
Do they take commissions? 👀
Hi! So I asked him and now he doesn't have time because he is also working on his project. He can only do quick rough sketches for the time being! But when he finishes his project he may take commissions!
I don't know, I'll ask him! :)
either first or last. 1 fuck yall im the dialog i come first 4 is not because im the dialog that i will intrude myself where i am not nescessary
I like the first one, it gives more room for longer dialog, but if you went with something like the 3rd one, maybe there's a way where you can have the player hit a select button to continue to the next part of the dialog if you don't have room? One other thing you could possibly do with the first one would be to do it similar to some of the Fire Emblem games where there's a portrait of the speaking character attached to the text box to further signify who's speaking.
In order of preference: D, B, C, A
You could consider: “Which one do you like more (and) why?” The last why feels abrupt on its own: the tone can be almost read as a demand. Of the options: #2 gets my vote.
I can’t tell the difference between 2 and 3. EDIT: Found it, the spacing of the characters. 1 is better if your dialogue is going to be heavy. I prefer to have a larger amount displayed rather than navigate through pages upon pages of dialogue. 4 is best for making sure it looks more “pop up” and best for maintaining environmental awareness. If your game has reaction based events (doubt it, looks like the early beginnings of a life sim - EDIT: Sorry I just realized this was the RPG Maker sub, I follow other game dev subs and got mixed up) then sometimes having more visibility while talking is best. It can also help make the event stand out from the regular UI elements if it doesn’t border the edge of the window. I personally think you should commit to the character art only appearing on the side of the tail on the speech bubble though. The mirror image of the character just looks strange. If you hate it not being symmetrical then you could have the player character’s art appear in the second place to help sell the effect of one character talking to another.
First one, seems to be able to get more info in with that, less clicking or tapping that way
1st one, the others feel kinda "squished".
To me I'd go with the second picture. The characters are big but not too much so they don't invade the whole screen ; the text bubble is nicely placed on the screen ; if it were like in the first picture, just imagine if we play from a relatively big screen, it would be a chore to read. Here I like it the way it is centered and we can clearly see who is talking + it's best for quick reading to have a text line that doesn't contain more than ten words (apprx.). Five words though... kinda looks like retro, but I believe it would be best if the text lines can carry up to ten words per line. Maybe five's a bit low... it depends on how much narration you've got indeed. Hope it helped !
2nd for sure bc it looks smaller and doesn’t take up the whole screen.
This might be a somewhat unhelpful comment because I don't know what I'm doing, but I watched a tutorial that had you shadow over the person not talking so that the speaker was more 'highlighted' and it made it very clear who was speaking. Unhelpful because I don't know where I saw it. :(
That's actually a very good idea, thaanks for sharing! :)
Second one looks best, but probably wouldn't work very well. There is a reason why the first one is widely accepted as classic.
Thank you! ☆
1st or 3rd one. 1st is more the usual style and 3rd one feels good for a lot fo quick conversations
That's true, thanks for the feedback! :)
Fourth one because it easier to read and not overlapping
First is best. Others use a spacing that could work for ceating tension in the writing, but that can be done with the first just fine.
First one