diff --git a/Engine.cc b/Engine.cc
index c45d082..a049ee9 100644
--- a/Engine.cc
+++ b/Engine.cc
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ using namespace std;
 #define WHITESPACE " \t\r\n\f"
 #define HOOK_TIMEOUT    10000u
 #define HOOK_STEPS      250000000
+#define FONT_NAME       "FreeSans.ttf"
 
 #define FP_EQ(a,b) (fabsf(a - b) < 0.0001)
 
@@ -94,6 +95,7 @@ Engine::Engine(const string & path, Video & video)
     m_autoDrawObjects = true;
     m_fileLoader = new EngineFileLoader(this);
     m_event_time = 0;
+    m_font = NULL;
 
     size_t pos = path.find_last_of("\\/");
     m_engine_path = (pos != string::npos) ? string(path, 0, pos) : ".";
@@ -110,6 +112,10 @@ Engine::Engine(const string & path, Video & video)
     m_event_mousebutton_down_present = false;
     m_event_mousebutton_up_present = false;
     m_event_mouse_motion_present = false;
+
+    m_luaState = lua_open();
+
+    registerLibraries();
 }
 
 Engine::~Engine()
@@ -122,6 +128,8 @@ Engine::~Engine()
         delete it->second;
     }
     delete m_fileLoader;
+    if (m_font != NULL)
+        TTF_CloseFont(m_font);
 }
 
 bool Engine::load(const char * program)
@@ -132,9 +140,17 @@ bool Engine::load(const char * program)
                         ? m_program_path.substr(0, pos)
                         : ".";
 
-    m_luaState = lua_open();
-
-    registerLibraries();
+    string path = locateResource(FONT_NAME);
+    if (path == "")
+    {
+        cerr << "Couldn't locate " FONT_NAME << endl;
+    }
+    else
+    {
+        m_font = TTF_OpenFont(path.c_str(), 16);
+        if (m_font == NULL)
+            cerr << "Error loading " FONT_NAME "!" << endl;
+    }
 
     int s = luaL_loadfile(m_luaState, program);
 
@@ -446,6 +462,26 @@ void Engine::debug_hook(lua_Debug * debug)
     }
 }
 
+int Engine::renderText(const char * text, int mode, float r, float g, float b,
+        float br, float bg, float bb)
+{
+    SDL_Surface * surf = NULL;
+    SDL_Color color = {r, g, b};
+    SDL_Color bgcolor = {br, bg, bb};
+    switch (mode)
+    {
+        case 0:
+            surf = TTF_RenderText_Solid(m_font, text, color);
+            break;
+        case 1:
+            surf = TTF_RenderText_Shaded(m_font, text, color, bgcolor);
+            break;
+        case 2:
+            surf = TTF_RenderText_Blended(m_font, text, color);
+            break;
+    }
+}
+
 /* called by SDL when the update timer expires */
 Uint32 Engine::updateCallback(Uint32 interval, void * param)
 {
diff --git a/Engine.h b/Engine.h
index 97b1301..8ee1a5f 100644
--- a/Engine.h
+++ b/Engine.h
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 #include "wfobj/WFObj.h"
 #include "Video.h"
 #include "refptr/refptr.h"
+#include "SDL_ttf.h"
 
 class Engine
 {
@@ -134,6 +135,8 @@ class Engine
         bool import(const char * name);
         GLuint loadTexture(const char * name);
         void debug_hook(lua_Debug * debug);
+        int renderText(const char * text, int mode, float r, float g, float b,
+                float br = 0.0, float bg = 0.0, float bb = 0.0);
 
         /* lua services */
         int setCamera(lua_State * L);
@@ -166,6 +169,7 @@ class Engine
         std::string     m_engine_path;
         OdeWorld        m_world;
         std::map<int, Object *> m_objects;
+        std::map<int, SDL_Surface *> m_texts;
         int             m_next_object_index;
         GLdouble        m_eye[3];
         GLdouble        m_center[3];
@@ -179,6 +183,7 @@ class Engine
         SDL_Event       m_updateEvent;
         SDL_Event       m_exitEvent;
         Uint32          m_event_time;
+        TTF_Font *      m_font;
 
         bool            m_event_update_present;
         bool            m_event_key_down_present;
diff --git a/lib/FreeSans.ttf b/lib/FreeSans.ttf
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9a5c833
Binary files /dev/null and b/lib/FreeSans.ttf differ