The Diablo IV beta might be all wrapped up, but next comes the plethora of tester feedback to sort through. A scant few days ago, Blizzard actually shared a pretty radical blog post titled Transforming Feedback Into Change where they listed a ton of awesome player-submitted desires and data-driven changes (even if “The damage dealt by the Corpse Explosion skill has been reduced” sounds like bullshit to me, I’ll accept it).
One neat little detail that I was quite enamoured with was a wholly cosmetic one – something that spoke to my distant past as a Graphic Designer.
It was a font change.
Most people get excited for new features – but this is the thing that cranks my hog
Fonts are fickle. Fonts are finicky. Fonts have a responsibility that many don’t realise when it comes to portraying an identity – or even just a feeling.
In Diablo IV, the majority of the font work was being done by a font that was… basic as shit. It was dollar menu level stuff. If you looked up ‘simple font’ in the dictionary, this son of a gun would be staring at you from the page. It was some HELL-vetica level shit.
This Reddit user is a straight out legend who gets it – making the same observation that I did:
But what about the iconic Diablo font? You know, that epic one that looks exactly as gothic and dark as you might need. The kind of font that if you read it aloud you’d probably be concerned with summoning demons – why not use that bad boy?
Because it isn’t a great font for reading.
That’s my controversial statement for the day – please, don’t sharpen your axes and seek me out. It’s the truth! The font is known as Exocet, and it is a certified hood classic.
It just… isn’t suitable for general text. As an eye-catching heading or label, sure. But trust me, when you imbibe a paragraph of it you’ll realise it isn’t really suited to do the heavy lifting of lore passages or massive dialogue subtitles:
I love seeing this on edgy t-shirt designs from Bali
So, what does it mean when Blizzard states that “The sans serif font used in-game has been replaced with a new serif font”? Well, let’s at least talk about what the heck a “serif” is.
Simply put, they are the ‘dangly, pointy’ bits that make a font like Times New Roman look cool. In fact, the use of “sans serif” as a font descriptor is legit a brutally simple way of saying “the font doesn’t have the dangly, pointy bits”.
The use of serifs actually turn standard lettering into a text that looks like it came straight off a typewriter, like so:
My favourite pointy, dangly parts
Within a title like Diablo, mood is everything. As a series, the games laud a gothic atmosphere that drips with elements of horror.
…So seeing a dorky Arial-like font can absolutely betray this atmosphere. Text within Diablo should feel like it is chipped into a headstone, a stark and brutal script that helps immerse the player in the darkness that inhabits the world of sanctuary. The words you read should come pre-prepared with the expected mood, rather than some Helvetica second-cousin that feels like an error message.
But not Exocet – that’s evoking a mood that’s probably a little too stifling.
Ooh, ahh – so scary! Mr. Standard Font is really doing me a spook!
Sure there are a lot of other changes coming to Diablo IV from post-beta feedback scramble – but this was the one that resonated with me. The one that scratched a very bespoke, somewhat niche itch. Text is a big deal in games, so seeing it get some respect in a transparent way feels cool to me. One of my favourite experiences is seeing a game get UI changes during it’s development period – and seeing smart use of fonts tickles me greatly.
Maybe one day I will write about the ugliest fonts I have encountered in gaming – but be grateful, for today is not that day.
Did you enjoy the Diablo IV beta? Did you enjoy learning what a Serif is? Let us know in the comments or on social media!
