Xcode: Add default custom font to SKLabelNode with Swift

Question

I have searched everywhere, but I can only find how to change the UILabel fonts and can't find anywhere that teaches how to change the default SKLabelNode font. How do I do that in Xcode with swift?

I have already added the font to the Info.plist

I have also tried to add an extension that would change the default font, but it also didn't work

Answer 1

Changing the font for one SKLabelNode

As you probably already know, you can change the font of a SKLabelNode using the fontName property.

let label = SKLabelNode(fontNamed:"Chalkduster")

label.fontName = "Arial"

Changing the font for all the SKLabelNode(s)

Now, if I'm not wrong you want to change the fontName for all the labels in your scene.

First of all we need an easy way to visit all the nodes in your scene graph. I mean, not only the direct children of the scene but every child of child of child...

Visiting the scene graph

The best way I can imagine is implementing a visit extension in SKNode

extension SKNode {
    func visit(logic: (node:SKNode) -> ()) {
        logic(node:self)
        children.forEach { $0.visit(logic) }
    }
}

Now SKNode has a visit function that receive a closure. The closure gets applied to the current node and to every children. Then the process is recursively repeated until there are new descendants.

Launching the recursion

Now in you GameScene you can add this code

class GameScene: SKScene {

    func changeFonts() {
        visit { (node) -> () in
            if let label = node as? SKLabelNode {
                label.fontName = "Arial"
            }
        }
    }
}

Finally, when you're ready invoke changeFonts(). It should do the job.

Just remember to use a font available in SpriteKit.