Ten things you need to know the game localization editor

Hello!

The main specialization of our company is localization of software and games. But sometimes we have to do not translate, but read and edit the string resources already transferred to us. I want to say that this is not an easy task at all, especially if several translators worked on localization. By the amount of work, such editing can sometimes be compared to a translation from scratch.
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Today we want to share a translation of an article giving useful advice to future and present editors. The article reveals the basics of proofreading and editing texts in games and will be useful not only to “pen workers” (translators, copywriters, editors), but also game developers.



I worked as a localization editor on six projects or so - from Asian MMORPGs to mobile games, the text and code for which was written in Eastern Europe. Here are a few things I learned from these projects as a writer / editor and freelancer.

1. Understand what you undertake

More precisely, how much work you have to do. The client can report the number of lines in the text, however, the number of lines is a very rough estimate of the amount of work required. Not only does it not give any idea about the quality of the source material (and how much editing it will need), it does not give an exact estimate of the number of words in the text. Depending on the platform, one line may consist of 2-3 words or five paragraphs of continuous text.

There is nothing wrong with getting paid per line, as long as you know how many words the middle line contains. If you do not know this, you can sign up for a much larger amount of work than you thought, and get much less for your work than it costs. Always ask the word count if you can - or better yet, sign the non-disclosure agreement and take a look at the work before you agree on the amount of the payment. If you do not report the volume and do not show the text - try to agree on an hourly fee.

2. Love Excel

The localization editor almost always works in Excel, not in Word. Excel is not the most user-friendly text editing environment, however, it allows you to automatically load the text into the game, and therefore the producers prefer this format.

For reasons that may later become clear to the reader, this is not possible to refuse. Excel - learn, love, accept. An alternative - even if it is - may be some kind of text management system, independently written by programmers, which will surely be even less friendly than Excel.

3. Learn restrictions on the length of words and strings.

Before starting work, ask the customer what are the restrictions on the number of words (or, most likely, the number of characters with spaces and punctuation) in all lines of the game, or certain types of lines. In general, the smaller the target platform screen, the higher the likelihood that the number of characters will play an important role.

When you learn the limit on the number of characters per line, use the following tricky trick to force Excel to count the characters for you:

1. In the cell to the right of the text you are editing, enter the maximum number of characters allowed.
2. Insert the formula “= LEN (A1)” into the next column, where A1 is the address of the cell with the text. This column will show how many characters are entered in cell A1.
3. In the next column write “= IF (B1-C1> 0;“ OK ”;“ Too long ”)”, where B1 is the cell that shows the maximum number of characters from step 1, and C1 is the cell that displays how many characters already entered, from step 2. Now this cell will show “OK” or “Too long”, depending on the number of characters in cell A1, so you will immediately see if the limit has been exceeded.
4. You can copy these three cells to the entire column at once, and Excel will automatically update the row numbers.

4. Beware of code and macros.

The source text may include code for paragraph breaks, inserting special characters, changing fonts, and so on. Always get a list of codes from the client, so as not to delete them by mistake and be able to correctly insert the code into editable text or detect an error. The customer may say that it is not necessary to worry about it, but believe me, it is necessary. Also in the source text there may be various macros tied to the cell number in the file - and you will not see them. If you copy text in Word, for example, and then back to Excel, they may disappear.

5. Show your work

Unless the customer insists on the opposite (for example, because of macros), use a new column for the rewritten and edited text so that the reader can see both the original and the corrected text immediately. This will help the customer if the error in the text you edited is the result of misunderstanding and translation of the original. Sometimes the original can be perceived in two ways. If this is not possible, mark the cells in which you corrected the text with a different background or font color.

6. Do not write - edit

The product has already been made and the plot is finished. No matter how much you can improve the plot - do not rewrite or modify its elements, as this may cause undesirable consequences. Just correct the mistakes. However, keep in mind the following item.

7. Pay attention to reality

A foreign game with a high probability will use metaphors using features of its own language or culture, and sometimes they can be translated literally. But almost certainly, untranslatable cultural realities that could have been used intentionally or accidentally will be mentioned. Here are some examples:

Developed in Asia, the game may refer to rice pancakes in the meaning of "ration"; it is easy to fix after approval of such a change with the customer. If you change the reality without discussion with the customer, you can distort the game world.

In the Russian game there may be cool guys who will call each other "expensive" regardless of gender. This in no way reflects their orientation, because the terms associated with tender feelings in colloquial Russian can express anything - for example, an insult. The construction of the phrase will need to be changed for the American consumer so that it sounds less allegorical, and the insult has been expressed more straightforwardly.

If you are lucky (and the text was translated well), then everything that you will not understand in the source will be cultural realities. Specify at the initial stage whether the contacts of those who wrote the text and / or the local native speaker will give you contacts so that you can quickly find out the unclear points and solve all the questions that have arisen.

8. Avoid large numbers of punctuation.

In some countries, primarily in Asia, people like to put a lot of punctuation at the end of a sentence. First of all, we are talking about question and exclamation marks - they do this in order to enhance the emotionality of the construction. The text of a Japanese game may literally scream at the player, and there is a chance that such a tone in the translated game will be undesirable. First clarify this question with the customer, but try to make it a rule to use one punctuation mark at the end of a sentence and convey emotionality by choosing words and constructions.

9. Typos - Universal Language

At the very beginning of the project you will receive from the customer a complete list of characters, locations and creatures. There is no guarantee that they will always be written correctly in the source code. If in doubt, specify. The word "darkon" may contain a typo and denote a dragon, and may be a completely different creature.

10. Agree on the corrections of names and titles in advance.

Sometimes you may need to change the names of objects or the names of characters. For example, because several elements of the game sound similar (like darkon and dragon in the example above). Also, in the language of translation, names and titles may sound funny or acquire another meaning that does not correspond to the spirit of the game (for example, many Asian names sound completely obscene to our ears). Also, keep in mind that the source text may be the fruit of the work of several authors, each of whom uses different methods of transliteration and translation. Dark Forest and the Darkwood may be the same location.

Always approve changes with the customer before you make them in the text, since the original names can be tied to the graphic part of the game or lines of code, and this connection can be broken if no one knows about the changes. Also, you may not be the only editor involved in a project - especially when it comes to an MMORPG with thousands of lines of code. In this case, the customer will need to make changes to the texts of several editors. The sooner you make your proposal, the higher the likelihood that it will be accepted.


About the translator

The article is translated in Alconost.

Alconost is engaged in the localization of applications, games and websites in 60 languages. Language translators, linguistic testing, cloud platform with API, continuous localization, 24/7 project managers, any formats of string resources.

We also make advertising and training videos - for websites selling, image, advertising, training, teasers, expliners, trailers for Google Play and the App Store.

Read more: https://alconost.com