[Game Localization] Important Tips for Game Localization and Translations
As game localization made a great impact on game’s revenue, localization importance had increased considering before the global release. Localization is different from simple translation because you need to consider all aspects from language features to cultural context.
This time, we’re going to talk about game localization tips for successful global launching.
1. Identify your target user
In order to enter the global market, it is recommended to understand the preferred game genre, gender disposition, age demographic etc. of the target country. When localizing your game, it should go beyond just translating a list of text strings to make sure that the chosen language is correct in context and understandable by local users.
2. Understand contents
A deep understanding of the game leads to higher quality of localization, so it is significantly important to figure out its contents. For example, if you don’t know the speaker’s gender you may have big trouble with some European languages that have grammatical rules regarding gender. You should select right nouns, verbs and adjectives by gender. Poor localization could affect user’s loyalty to your game.
3. Idioms and slangs
Various characters in-game have different tones of speaking and use various idiomatic expressions depending on genre of games. Lack of understanding in their linguistic features could lead to low quality of localization which is a distracting factor for users.
Furthermore, some slang terms and phrases have different meanings in different regions. There are countries where the use of certain profanities are banned, and each country has a term that users react sensitively, so it is important to understand the culture of the target country and apply localization accordingly.
4. The importance of LQA Testing
LQA is the process of examining in-game text. It is the process of checking the context and tone of the text, there are no differences from the original text or other errors, how natural the translation is, whether the context is clear and whether the expression is appropriate for the game.
Through LQA, you can ensure whether there are differences in the meaning from the original, mistranslated texts and untranslated parts. Also, it targets mistakes such as contextual inaccuracy, ensures the natural flow of language, sensitivity towards cultural references and so on.
Game localization is not a simple task. As severe errors and problems from localization could cause a detrimental effect for a successful release, it is important to take sufficient time to thoroughly inspect LQA.
If you are unable to go through all these processes in your company, consulting with a localization expert company could be a great help.
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