There’s no denying that video Tiger111 have become an integral part of the millennial life. This is probably because they allow the gamer to lead an alternate life, full of adventure and challenges. Gaming is a truly global industry today- a $60 billion one.
In 2010, a video game distributor in Brazil revealed that a game localized into Portuguese multiplied its sales 15 times! This underlines the importance of video game localization: it also underlines the need for quality translation and localization.
In spite of the importance of game localization, companies make the mistake of opting for shoddy shortcuts which are costly to repair, bring bad publicity, and hurt sales. What are the localization mistakes that gaming companies make? Many video game companies think that they have saved a buck by going in for machine translations or considering the cheapest translation option rather than the best.
Machines are the world away from producing the accuracy needed. Translation tools can also be a security threat by providing access to video game content to hackers via the Internet.
Also, anything that is typed in for translation is literally handed over to the translation tool provider: it becomes their data; they can do anything they want to with it.
Translation needs not just to be accurate, but retain the flavor and nuances of the original to breathe life into the translated version.
Mistranslation can make the game a frustrating experience for the player or make the game developer a laughing stock of the gaming world; in the worst -case scenario, it can land the developer into a legal soup.
Cutting corners on translation add to the work and the expense. The sensible thing would be to make the use of professional translation services which are not just competent and creative, but discreet as well. Making the translation agency sign a non-disclosure agreement can help the game developer relax while the localization is going on safely in expert hands.
This is something that video game developers with limited vision do. It is a mistake to embed text elements like the menu text, game’s title, and on-screen, printed dialogue into core game files. If the text is stored in a separate resource file, it will be easy to incorporate a translated version by adding a new variable and providing the translation in a separate dedicated file. Much easier than digging through source code while translation?
Some games involve specialized terminology. Take sports games; football terminology is not the same as basketball-tall talk. Translators and localisers for such games need to do some research. The need here is for “research-oriented text.” Games like the popular and addictive Candy Crush come up with new gaming concepts. Such games are slotted as needing “creative-oriented text.”
Game developers should analyze their game content and decide which category of text is suitable. Text should be tailor-made to content, and the portfolio of the translator should match this need. Surely, there is little to be gained by handing over reams of text to translators and localisers who know little about the game or its content. Worse still, is expecting someone who has no idea about gaming to handle the job!
