Adapting text for small mobile game screens

Adapt localised game ad text for a small phone by deciding what must be understood in the smallest intended view. Rewrite and lay it out there. Shrinking type until every translated word fits can leave the offer unreadable. Keep the main claim with any condition needed to make it accurate.

Shorten the copy without changing the promise

List the advertiser, product idea, material condition and available action. Decide which belong in the first view. Cut repetition and decorative words before shortening an eligibility or price condition. If the accurate claim still cannot fit, narrow it or choose a placement with more space.

Check that each line makes sense on its own.

Lay out the final words

Request the usable area and any crop or safe zone for the smallest intended phone view. Inspect the ad beside the game controls, at normal size. A wide artwork proof may hide what a narrow placement cuts off.

Where the format permits, keep important wording as adaptable text. Text baked into an image may need a new asset for another language or size. Web accessibility guidance favours text over images of text when the same presentation can be achieved with text.

Translated text can expand or require a different word order. Android’s localisation guidance identifies text expansion as a layout risk. Use that as a reason to inspect the assembled ad, rather than relying on one character count across languages. Try a shorter accurate phrase, a different line break or a revised layout.

Make the approval check

View the final copy at normal phone size and playback speed. Check the order in which the claim, qualification and action become readable. Where speech carries meaning, check the muted version. Ask someone unfamiliar with the brief to explain the offer, then revise any wording they misunderstand.

Record the approved wording, language, placement, phone view and creative version. Repeat the check when the text or layout changes.

Accessibility and performance considerations