English texts can be 60% longer than Japanese, and German translations are 10–35% longer than their English counterparts. If you translate into a language like German or French from English, or worse-from a pictographic language like Japanese or Chinese-your creativity and ability to fit the intended meaning into a very limited space will be put to the test. Text limitations: Why are you so damn small? Related post: 12 Actual Reasons Why Some Game Translations Suck Search the files for any references to that textbox (character name, item, etc.). Though, just like a good novel, if the source text is very well written and consistent, you might recognize the different ways characters express themselves and identify them from their style.Ĭheck and try to understand the string/message ID.Ĭheck the original language, if available. And if you are really lucky, you have a build of the game (maybe even with text debug, yay!) to investigate by yourself.Īnother problem, especially with bigger games, is not knowing which character is currently speaking and whether it is male or female. If you are translating files that have already been translated from another language, you might find some guidance there. See what kind of questions are going through my head sometimes. More often than not, you will find seemingly random words without any helpful context that make no sense, especially if you don't know the game. But isn't gambling a bit fun? :-) The challenges of translating a video game and questions you might ask yourself:īeing a game translator involves quite a bit of detective work. In the LocJAM however, you might have to make tough decisions, even if you are not sure about something. If you translate for an agency, you can ask the agency who will then send a collective list of questions to the developer. What else is different compared to a usual project? If you translate for a developer and have any question or uncertainty about a part in the game, you can ask the developer for clarification. Related post: How to Get the Most out of LocJAM And above all, it's big fun to take part in a global event like this. Being responsible for the translation of a whole game and being confronted with the usual-and not so usual-challenges will be great training for your career in video game localization. I recommend any aspiring or junior game translator who has some time on their hand to take part in this event (not that localization veterans should stay away). This means that not only can you see your translation in context, but are also able to adjust your text accordingly and fix text bugs right away. The cool thing is that-unlike in the usual game translator's projects-you have the chance to see your translation in-game immediately. And it's getting bigger and more and more popular, with new languages being added every year. It is a video game translation competition that is now in its third year. If you're an aspiring game translator, you might have heard of LocJAM, the game translation contest. However, these tips can be applied to most video game translation projects. Note: I originally wrote this post for LocJAM.
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