Amateur game localization
Not a few were already articles on the topic of localization of games. But I would like to describe this on the part of a beginner, not a professional translator.
Everyone knows that sometimes official localized versions of computer games come out with a delay of a month, or even more. But literally a week after the release of the original version on the network, you can find a sufficiently high-quality amateur crack. Not long ago, I myself became involved in amateur localization, and based on my experience, I want to tell you about how localization takes place with non-professionals, what major mistakes were made and what they led to. This article is more likely to be interesting to beginners in this business, or to those who want to engage in the localization of games in the future. The narration will be conducted according to the following scheme: I talk about the stages that in my opinion and experience are present in the localization process and at the same time I cite examples from my own, not a lot of experience.
Start
Theory: I will not talk about what to find where the texts of the game are stored, pictures with texts (if any), figure out how to extract them from resources, and how to shove them back, and so on, because in each game this process is individual. Immediately begin with the fact that we already have all the resource files with the text that needs to be translated. At this stage, you need to go over the entire text and make a dictionary, a glossary, call it what you want. The dictionary must contain the names of characters, locations, inventory items and other items that will not be encountered once during the game. This is necessary so that, for example, the same subject is not translated in different ways. And this is often the case, especially when several translators work on the project. For example, one translates as McGrady, and the second McGraydy. But even if you are working on translation alone, such a dictionary will simplify your work and you will not have to keep in your head and remember how you have translated this subject before. And of course when editing text, after translation, it will save you a lot of time. Very often, high-quality translation requires the use of many information resources. For example, if a game is replete with medical terms, or technical names. In this case, the creation of a dictionary is a must. Unless of course you want to save a huge amount of your time.
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From life: My first project in which I participated was the localization of the game Cursed Mountains. When working on the translation, such a dictionary really helped us out, since the game contained a lot of Tibetan mythology, various names of gods and symbols of Tibet. While working on the project, English Wikipedia was also very helpful. In the player's inventory were various ritual objects, and their description at first glance seemed to be nonsense. And in this case, one had to look for information about the culture of monks from Tibet in order to understand the meaning that the developers wanted to convey.
The second project, which is currently under development, is a game from the CSI series. I did not get into this project from the very beginning, and unfortunately the dictionary was not compiled. But we are very lucky that the game is divided into chapters and most of the locations and characters are not repeated. But, as mentioned earlier, we were faced with the fact that our inventory was not transferred in exactly the same way. But this can of course be attributed to the minuses of the game port with the XBOX, since the inventory description, training location and menu are contained in all resource files, and each translator had to translate them. As a result, a little more time was spent on editing.
Theory: During localization, it often happens that the text is not represented by a single file, but by a set. At the same time, you can forget about the literary quality of the translation. For example, in the localization of a CSI game, only strings are available for translation, and the phrases are arranged in a mix and it is not clear what they refer to. Therefore, the translation will be similar to the one that makes promt or another translator, despite the fact that everything was translated by man. Therefore, after the end of the translation, an editor comes in, who should be fluent in Russian and English.
From life: When working on the first project, we were under pressure from the time frame, so editing was quick, and error trapping was left to the next stages. The second project has not reached this stage yet.
Theory: This stage consists in checking the correspondence of the translation with a picture on the screen. For this translation is integrated into the game and its passage begins. It is better to write down all the noticed errors in any document, and take a screenshot. Then it will be possible to see the “jambs” of the translation. Testing can be both closed and open. But both options can be carried out.
From life: In the first project, testing was open, again because of the time frame. As mentioned earlier, the text was edited quickly and the translation was uploaded to the network. On one well-known translation resource, a theme was created, where everyone wrote about the found flaws in the translation, offered their own corrections and provided a screenshot.
The second project is in the process of closed testing. After completing the translation of his part, each translator himself passes the game and looks for mistakes. Naturally, there will then be general testing on the principle of the first project.
Note: The editing and testing steps may be swapped. So we did it with the second project. First we look for errors in the translation, and according to what is happening on the screen, and then there will be literary editing.
The quality of localization, its stages and individual parts, however banal it may sound, depend on whether time limits you, or if you are making a translation for yourself and do not hurry anywhere. In this article, I did not talk about the translation of images with text, textures, etc., because in practice I have not yet come across this, and there’s not much to tell. And I would like to say to all novice localizers, and not only to them: do not be afraid to take on something new and everything will definitely work out for you!
Introduction
Everyone knows that sometimes official localized versions of computer games come out with a delay of a month, or even more. But literally a week after the release of the original version on the network, you can find a sufficiently high-quality amateur crack. Not long ago, I myself became involved in amateur localization, and based on my experience, I want to tell you about how localization takes place with non-professionals, what major mistakes were made and what they led to. This article is more likely to be interesting to beginners in this business, or to those who want to engage in the localization of games in the future. The narration will be conducted according to the following scheme: I talk about the stages that in my opinion and experience are present in the localization process and at the same time I cite examples from my own, not a lot of experience.
Start
Theory: I will not talk about what to find where the texts of the game are stored, pictures with texts (if any), figure out how to extract them from resources, and how to shove them back, and so on, because in each game this process is individual. Immediately begin with the fact that we already have all the resource files with the text that needs to be translated. At this stage, you need to go over the entire text and make a dictionary, a glossary, call it what you want. The dictionary must contain the names of characters, locations, inventory items and other items that will not be encountered once during the game. This is necessary so that, for example, the same subject is not translated in different ways. And this is often the case, especially when several translators work on the project. For example, one translates as McGrady, and the second McGraydy. But even if you are working on translation alone, such a dictionary will simplify your work and you will not have to keep in your head and remember how you have translated this subject before. And of course when editing text, after translation, it will save you a lot of time. Very often, high-quality translation requires the use of many information resources. For example, if a game is replete with medical terms, or technical names. In this case, the creation of a dictionary is a must. Unless of course you want to save a huge amount of your time.
')
From life: My first project in which I participated was the localization of the game Cursed Mountains. When working on the translation, such a dictionary really helped us out, since the game contained a lot of Tibetan mythology, various names of gods and symbols of Tibet. While working on the project, English Wikipedia was also very helpful. In the player's inventory were various ritual objects, and their description at first glance seemed to be nonsense. And in this case, one had to look for information about the culture of monks from Tibet in order to understand the meaning that the developers wanted to convey.
The second project, which is currently under development, is a game from the CSI series. I did not get into this project from the very beginning, and unfortunately the dictionary was not compiled. But we are very lucky that the game is divided into chapters and most of the locations and characters are not repeated. But, as mentioned earlier, we were faced with the fact that our inventory was not transferred in exactly the same way. But this can of course be attributed to the minuses of the game port with the XBOX, since the inventory description, training location and menu are contained in all resource files, and each translator had to translate them. As a result, a little more time was spent on editing.
Editing translation
Theory: During localization, it often happens that the text is not represented by a single file, but by a set. At the same time, you can forget about the literary quality of the translation. For example, in the localization of a CSI game, only strings are available for translation, and the phrases are arranged in a mix and it is not clear what they refer to. Therefore, the translation will be similar to the one that makes promt or another translator, despite the fact that everything was translated by man. Therefore, after the end of the translation, an editor comes in, who should be fluent in Russian and English.
From life: When working on the first project, we were under pressure from the time frame, so editing was quick, and error trapping was left to the next stages. The second project has not reached this stage yet.
Testing
Theory: This stage consists in checking the correspondence of the translation with a picture on the screen. For this translation is integrated into the game and its passage begins. It is better to write down all the noticed errors in any document, and take a screenshot. Then it will be possible to see the “jambs” of the translation. Testing can be both closed and open. But both options can be carried out.
From life: In the first project, testing was open, again because of the time frame. As mentioned earlier, the text was edited quickly and the translation was uploaded to the network. On one well-known translation resource, a theme was created, where everyone wrote about the found flaws in the translation, offered their own corrections and provided a screenshot.
The second project is in the process of closed testing. After completing the translation of his part, each translator himself passes the game and looks for mistakes. Naturally, there will then be general testing on the principle of the first project.
Note: The editing and testing steps may be swapped. So we did it with the second project. First we look for errors in the translation, and according to what is happening on the screen, and then there will be literary editing.
Conclusion
The quality of localization, its stages and individual parts, however banal it may sound, depend on whether time limits you, or if you are making a translation for yourself and do not hurry anywhere. In this article, I did not talk about the translation of images with text, textures, etc., because in practice I have not yet come across this, and there’s not much to tell. And I would like to say to all novice localizers, and not only to them: do not be afraid to take on something new and everything will definitely work out for you!
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/98470/
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