Walking is reading.

There seems to be a correlation between motion and text. I personally dislike reading text in a game. I’m just too eager for (inter)action to just stand still and read. Even listening to a character speak gets on my nerves if it requires me to stay in one spot.

But if the text coincides with motion, I find it pleasant. The linearity of moving from one point to another meshes with the linearity of a text in a way that is aesthetically pleasing.

I have just implemented “Passing Thoughts” in Bientôt l’été and it feels strangely satisfying to see the text scroll by in overlay as I move the character through space. It even helps me to read the text and to concentrate on its emotional effect, as opposed to my earlier assumption that standing still and doing nothing was the optimal condition for focus.