I often wonder what color scheme people use in interpreters (background and text color).
I’m also interested if anyone knows if one of the other is better for the eyes with any scientific basis.
Green on black usually (sounds like chocolate!). Always on black though. I find that often when I’m reading text on a black background, it makes my eyes go funny. But if the foreground colour is chosen well then I find it more relaxing.
A while back, I read a legibility article about how it’s less straining for our eyes to read slightly off-black text on slightly off-while field, so that’s what I use. Gray-brown text on slightly yellowish white is how I configure Gargoyle, for instance. But for coding I generally use even more contrast.
Chris is right. White on black is more stressful. I use dark grey in light gray bg. 22p chaparral pro font (on a 24" display, 1920x1080)
Light text on a dark background is very uncomfortable for me, but I don’t presume that my eyeballs are universal.
I default to black text on a white background, but off-white is fine too. When I set up the iOSGlk interpreters, I offered three color schemes: black on white, off-white on black, and dark brown on beige. (Generally imitating iBooks, since I figure Apple has done its research.)
For science-fiction games I usually go with blues and/or blues-and-grays. For fantasy (and for quick plays of any genre) I go dark amber on black or brighter amber on very dark red. For detective games low-contrast greys. For Wishbringer, specifically, I like grey on purple; not sure why. I go through phases where I like amber on dark brown (which is what I use for my e-reader on my phone, too).
I’ve read many studies which contradict. Near as I can tell the only real consensus is that lower contrast is easier on the eyes for the long haul.
Light blue on dark blue. I have found that the least straining on a light-emitting screen.
But the font must be chosen with some care. Bolder fonts tend to work better.
I play in whatever is the black-on-white is the default in Gargoyle and Parchment, but, I have to say, I played the beginning bit of Endless, Nameless in Parchment and thought what it did with the color scheme and font looked sharp. I know colored text has many critics among hardcore IF folks, but I thought it worked really well for gameplay (not just for atmosphere).
I personally use black on a faint yellowish-white.
I tend to use white on blue but only because I haven’t really put much thought into what colour to use. However, it works well enough for me.