How to Measure Text: Size

Font Anatomy

To understand text legibility, we first need to break down some key elements of typography that influence readability. Components such as ascenders, descenders, baselines, cap heights, and x-heights are the building blocks of a font, and each of these parts have a function. For example, the baseline is an imaginary line that the letters sit on, providing consistent alignment for text. The x-height refers to the height of most lowercase letters, specifically the letter ‘x,’ and represents the distance between the baseline and the mean line. Cap height is the height of capitalized letters. Ascenders are the parts of lowercase letters that extend the highest, seen in characters such as ‘b,’ ‘d,’ and ‘h.’ Conversely, descenders are portions of letters that extend below the baseline; these are found in letters such as ‘g,’ ‘j,’ and ‘p.’ Together, these elements contribute to the legibility of each typeface.

1. Ascender Line: The top-most height of ascenders, lowercase letters that extend above capital letters.
2. Cap Line: The height of capitalized (uppercase) letters.
3. Mean Line: The height of most lowercase letters, ones without descenders and ascenders.
4. Baseline: The bottom line letters are aligned on.
5. Descender Line: The lowest point of descenders, lowercase letters that extend below the baseline.

Types of Text Heights

When developers discuss font size, there are a few different height measurements to understand:

• Body Height: The most commonly referenced, the height of the tallest ascender to the lowest descender. In other words, the total vertical span of a font. In our diagram, this spans figures 1-5.
• Cap Height: The height measured from the baseline to the top of uppercase letters. Since ascenders commonly extend slightly above capital letters, cap height is usually below the ascender line. Cap Height spans figures 2-4. Cap Height requirements are roughly .75 times the Body Height.
• X-Height: The height measured from the baseline to the top of lowercase letters excluding ascender letters. X-height spans figures 3-4. X-height requirements are .5 times the Body Height.

Understanding these terms is important because not all fonts are presented in the same way. For instance, in many video games, menu headers are represented in uppercase while supporting information is presented in standard sentence format. Both examples call for separate height usage. Cap height and x-height also become relevant when the measured text doesn’t contain descender letters.

Recommended Text Sizes for Console and PC Games

What size should your in-game text be? The answer can vary based on platform and viewing distance, but there are some well-established guidelines to ensure readability:

Display	Body Height	Cap Height	X-Height
PC 1080p	18px	14px	9px
Console 1080p	26px	20px	13px
PC 4K	36px	27px	18px
Console 4K	52px	39px	26px

• Console & TV (10-foot experience): Aim for a large default font size, roughly 26 pixels tall (or more) when viewed on a 1080p screen. This recommendation comes from Accessible Games Initiative’s Developer Facing Requirements on Clear Text. If possible, go bigger. 4K resolution effectively doubles the pixels per inch, so on a 4K TV you’d need 52 pixels for the same text size as 26 pixels at 1080p.
• PC & Monitor (2-foot experience): PC gamers typically sit closer to the screen, so UI text can be slightly smaller than console standards, but it should still be comfortably readable. Xbox Accessibility Guidelines recommends 18 pixels on a 1080p monitor, and 36 pixels on a 4K monitor.

Text Scaling

While every game’s art style and UI layout differ, starting with a larger default text size is generally recommended. If space is tight, consider reworking the layout rather than reducing text size. When the default scale still isn’t sufficient for players with low vision, it’s important to ensure that text can be scaled up even further.

The Accessible Games Initiative’s Developer-Facing Requirements for Large Text specify support for scaling text up to 38 pixels at 1080p. In the spirit of WCAG 2.2, games should also allow text to scale up to 200% of the default size, reaching approximately 52 pixels at 1080p on console, a size that should remain comfortably legible without requiring players to scroll in multiple directions.

Display	Default Scale	150% Scale	200% Scale
PC 1080p	18px	27px	36px
Console 1080p	26px	39px	52px
PC 4K	36px	54px	72px
Console 4K	52px	78px	104px

Typefaces

When discussing typefaces in the context of accessibility, the most important distinction is between serif and sans-serif styles. Serif fonts feature small decorative strokes stemming from the upper and lower ends of the lettering called serifs. While they can lend a classic or formal feel, these flourishes can hinder readability, especially for players with dyslexia or visual processing difficulties.

Sans-serif fonts, by contrast, offer cleaner, simpler letterforms with no decorative strokes. Their streamlined appearance makes them easier to read at a glance, especially in digital interfaces or fast-paced gameplay environments.

The Clear Text tag, part of the Accessible Games Initiative, promotes games that either use less stylized fonts by default or offer the option to switch to a more readable sans-serif typeface.

Text Block Anatomy

In the spirit of WCAG 2.2’s Success Criterions Text Spacing and Visual Presentation there are additional measurements and considerations for text formatting when the text is longer than one sentence.

1. Letter spacing: The space between letters is at least 0.12 times larger than the font size.
2. Word spacing: The space between words is at least 0.16 times larger than the font size.
3. Line width: At default size, the line width shouldn’t be more than 80 characters not including spaces (40 for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean characters as they are typically twice as wide as other languages)
4. Line spacing: Line spacing (also known as leading) should be at least space-and-a-half within paragraphs, meaning the space between lines is 1.5 times larger than the font size. Line spacing is measured from the baseline of the first line of text to the baseline of the second line of text.
5. Paragraph spacing: Paragraph spacing should be at least 2 times larger than the line spacing. Paragraph spacing is measured from the baseline of the first paragraph’s last line to the baseline of the second paragraph’s first line.

Measuring Text Size in Practice

​Accurately measuring text size is crucial for ensuring readability and accessibility in game design. One practical approach to determine text dimensions is to import the text into Microsoft Paint to measure its pixel height. Microsoft Paint is a simple graphics editor included with Windows. While various other applications, such as Adobe Photoshop and Procreate, offer advanced tools for measuring text size, this guide focuses on Microsoft Paint due to its widespread availability and user-friendly interface:

1. Confirm Resolution: First, understand the resolution of your monitor. Guidelines are written for the standard sizes 1080p and 4K. If needed, adjust your PC’s display settings to 1920 x 1080 or 3840 x 2160 to correspond with guidelines.
2. Capture the Text: Take a screenshot of your game or application where the text appears while full screen. On Windows, you can select (Windows + Print Screen) or use Snipping Tool to copy the screen to your clipboard.
3. Paste into Paint: Open Paint (or a similar graphics program) and paste the screenshot (Ctrl + V).
4. Select the Text: Use the Rectangle Selection tool to draw a box around the text you want to measure. As you make the selection, consider the type of text height being measured. In the image below we’re measuring cap height since the word is all uppercase.
5. Interpret the measurement: Paint’s Status Bar at the bottom of the window will display the selection’s dimensions in pixels, width × height​. If the selection height reads 15 pixels, that text is roughly 15 pixels tall on your screen. You can repeat this for other UI text elements (titles, menu items, subtitles) to see their sizes.

Selection Tip

When zooming in on an image, the pixels may appear blurred due to anti-aliasing, a graphics technique used to smooth out jagged edges in digital media. When drawing selection boxes around text, it’s best to ignore the softened, anti-aliased edges and instead focus on selecting the most solid, clearly defined pixels that represent the core shape of the text.

This quick method using Paint is handy for developers who want to analyze their game’s text sizes. There are also more advanced tools (graphics software with rulers or programmatic methods to get font metrics), but the screenshot-and-select technique works without any special software. Additionally, it’s always best to validate with real-world viewing scenarios; what’s 28 pixels on a PC monitor during development might not seem as large on a TV across the room.

Conclusion

This article is the first installment of a two-part series focused on enhancing text accessibility in games. In this part, we explored the structure of fonts, text height variations, considerations for typeface and longer passages of text, and how to measure in Microsoft Paint.

In the second part of this series, we explore the critical aspect of text contrast. We discuss how to measure and optimize contrast for enhanced readability, particularly for users with visual impairments.

At Accessibility Labs, we are committed to helping developers create inclusive and engaging games. If you have any questions or need assistance in implementing these practices, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Together, we can make gaming accessible!