I’m a long time fan of the computer trivia game series, You Don’t Know Jack. Recently Jellyvision has decided to end the free online versions of their games after their 100th episode of the online YDKJ game. I’ve always wondered how the games can be so engaging when they use almost no graphics at all, relying heavily on moving text.

In the void of time I used to spend each day enjoying their games I’ve started reading the Jellyvision blog and found this post about why moving text (turns out its called “kinetic typography”), can be so effective.

“We sometimes catch flack for the text-heavy appearance of our conversations. “Why don’t you use video?” we have been asked. And I guess it’s a reasonable question. Video is inherently more active than text. I mean, look at these words here. They’re just sitting on the screen. Oh, sure, you could scroll up and down, but that’s not really the same thing. . .But you can make text dynamic: make it move and fill the space in a way that gives the words themselves personality” (more).

Here’s a good example: check out this audio excerpt from Fight Club. You wouldn’t think just seeing words move could bring the whole scene back in your head, but it does.