Player's Book: Content Background "texture"

[robject]

Modern RPG books have a tasteful, subtle background image on their pages. It adds to the feel of the game, without distracting the reader.

For example, D&D-like books give their pages a parchment feel to them. That's classy, non-distracting, and helps draw the reader in. More technic-oriented games may have something like circuit-traces along the margins, or corners. I find that slightly distracting, but the idea is there.

So what background texture suitably conveys "Traveller"? In a way that doesn't distract?

UPDATE Reasonable suggestion from Coliver: unobtrusive doodads in the margins; background texture unobtrusive or just a non-white color. And: "layout is very important: keep the things together that need to be together. Nice artwork to enhance and be an example, not just fluff for the sake of a cool picture. And as posited elsewhere: consistent artwork and typography."
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[pshrynk]

In my mind's eye, I see a ghost-like set of "buttons" at the bottom of the page in a pale greenish color to make it look like they're reading in on an advanced tablet from the future.

 

[cym0k]

Honestly? Text on a white background with the amount of columns dictated by the page and text layout size. Over-engineering rpg books/pdfs is a disgusting trend that needs to go the way of THAC0.

Just an opinion, but tasteful and subtle background textures are neither tasteful or subtle. Ever. I have fought commenting, but stuff like that really needs to NOT happen.

And if you're thinking of putting a little page of in-world "fiction" right at the front before everything^*, I'll put you in the airlock and space you! I sound mad and frustrated, but I'm not. Honest!


*Every World of Darkness book ever

 

[robject]

I assume you've handled the new D&D 5E books and the new Star Wars RPG books, before you came to that conclusion?

Because I was more or less of your opinion, until last night, when my daughter and I visited the comic n' games superstore down the road. In a word: subtle and engaging.

 

[aramis]

non-distracting,

No, it's not non-distracting. In fact, I find it VERY VERY annoying. In no small part, because it's got blotches behind the text.

The One Ring's subtle ultra-light-grey on a blotchless parchment color is far less annoying, but still distracting.

 

[robject]

No, it's not non-distracting. In fact, I find it VERY VERY annoying. In no small part, because it's got blotches behind the text.

The One Ring's subtle ultra-light-grey on a blotchless parchment color is far less annoying, but still distracting.

Fascinating. What about SW, which has little doodads mainly in the corner margins?

Or let me ask you directly: do you think a Traveller Player's Guide should just go with white?

 

[whartung]

One of the earlier D&D versions (I don't know which) had brown text on a light brown background, which I found impossible to read when in the book store. The eyestrain was legion right away.

I'm old and farty and like contrast.

 

[aramis]

Fascinating. What about SW, which has little doodads mainly in the corner margins?

Or let me ask you directly: do you think a Traveller Player's Guide should just go with white?

White? no. But whatever pattern, it should NOT be blotchy under the text area.

So, take a look at FFG Star Wars: Long Arm of the Hutt (PDF, on their support site)...

For the most part, the blotchyness is out from under the text. (unfortunately, the faded center isn't quite to the edge of the text area.)

There IS a reason for it under the text - anti-photocopying measures. Not that anybody uses one anymore - the pirates scan, not photocopy. And it doesn't work as well against scanning - but it does work against OCR. I just happen to find it a problem.

A single shade under the text, full bleed with greeblies outside the text? Sure.

 

[coliver988]

I like small and unobtrusive doodads in the margins. Background texture behind print should be unobtrusive if there at all. The only issue for me is that long term, the doodads will probably become dated. For fantasy stuff this is not an issue (it's fantasy, old stuff! Classic!) Science fiction - things can get dated really quickly (that is so last decade! Looks like TOS Star Trek! [well, I like TOS but I digress...])

If you look at the Kickstarter campaign for Planet Mercenary, they have a sample page. While I don't like that style too much, the main text is black on white with fade to side bar type of thing. Sort of like GURPS did - main text black on white, side bar for chrome black on gray. As long as I can read it easily, I'm good (failed that last aging roll for sight - I now have to use reading glasses for far too much. And I love reading!)

And layout is very important: keep the things together that need to be together. Nice artwork to enhance and be an example, not just fluff for the sake of a cool picture. And as posited elsewhere: consistent artwork and typography.

 

[Ackehece]

Background textures are both good and bad, they can obscure as well as illustrate. I am not a huge fan of them but this book is not likely the reason I would play traveller!
I think a very thin background texture would be ok, making sure to strong boarders for the page and sections
a light topomap with 90+% transparency? Some of the rejected ideas that for the cover? all good... just make them super light and in a contrasting colour to the text so the text is easily readable. mega:

 

[David Johansen]

Let's talk about the real advantages. They make scanned files fatter and slower to load. Much like character sheets on yellow paper made them impossible to photocopy in the eighties.

You can't just scan at low resolutions or in fewer colors and still read the book.

 

[aramis]

Let's talk about the real advantages. They make scanned files fatter and slower to load. Much like character sheets on yellow paper made them impossible to photocopy in the eighties.

You can't just scan at low resolutions or in fewer colors and still read the book.

They make OEF files larger, and slower to load, too. But, many enterprising folk will make a copy, unlock it, pull the background, and be able to print it sans background. (At present, that is legal in the US due to LoC regulation.) Some of them then put those up online (which is not legal in the US).

A few designers get really uptight about people "de-graphic-ing" their layouts even for legit personal use format shifting†. (Specifically, I know for a fact both John Wick and Luke Crane don't like people doing so even for personal use.)

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† Rant inside spoiler

Spoiler:

I HAD to do that to make use of Luke's Burning Empires. It's gorgeous in print... I have it dead tree now, but then I didn't... and it was complex enough to have page render times measured in whole number seconds on a 2003 MacBook Pro, and tens of seconds for an illegible read on a Sony PRS-600. It was rendered 2 5x8" pages per logical page, and made extensive use of high-res background images in compressed jpg bind-ins. Once I pulled the Background images, split it into individual pages, and reduced the quality on the frame images by 50% of the DPI, it rendered legibly on the PRS in a fraction of a second, and "almost instantly" on the MBP.

It was 15 hours of work to reduce the quality to useful on my PRS. Which is good. I eventually did buy the hardcover - 600 5x8 pages of gorgeous high gloss. I don't know where it got off to right now... but I still have both the original PDF and my reduced version.

The annoying part is that rerendering would have taken Luke maybe an hour.
It's only recently that he's been endorsing PDF in any real serious manner. Luke's games are quite good - if you like the hybrid space between narrativist and simulationist .