Its unique atmosphere and puzzle-like narration made for a great localization challenge. Piecing the story together and then translating faithfully while not being too vague/obvious was quite the balancing act. This time, I also had the chance to translate directly from Japanese, which is immensely helpful when it comes to getting the tone and nuances right. I was also blessed with a fantastic editing/testing team, whose thorough efforts helped polish the French copy.

As a translator, it is so rare to get credited (or even allowed to mention my work) that I didn’t want to miss the chance to share the news. Thanks to all parties involved for making it possible!

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Software, mobile app and game developers often make a serious mistake when they approach localization by assuming it can be handled once the coding is done in native language.

In fact, you need to consider localization from the very moment you start designing your application – that’s internationalization. It’s not a one-man process either. You will need localization experts on board early on.

Here are a few localization good practices & tips I would like to share with you. I hope they will be helpful for your next software, application or game. If you wish to go further and ensure the success of your localization project, feel free to get in touch anytime so that we can get things started. You may also want to check my post with 12 tips to reduce localization costs.

1. First of all, internationalize your software. Your source code should be written in a way that your software can be localized without touching a single portion of code. To achieve this, place all the content (text strings, images, sound files), including those in the application’s original language in separate files and folders, which can then be translated appropriately by linguists in a different software. In your code, pick up the translated depending on the language selected and a string ID (which can be the original string itself). XML works great for this, but there are plenty of options available. Also, try to keep a clear structure for your localizable resources. You can have separate folders for images and sounds that will require localization.

2. Translated strings can occupy a much larger screen space than their original counterparts. A Japanese string translated into German can easily get 2 or 3 times longer than the original. Design your applications with sufficient space to accommodate long strings, especially if you are working on small screens (smartphone, handheld game devices, etc.). Plan your software as if it was going to be localized in every language on Earth, and use the worst case scenario as a reference.

3. Be wary of local standards and cultural differences. Imperial versus metric system is an obvious one if you are manipulating units, but there are local differences you may not even suspect. For example, weeks start on Mondays in some countries, and Sunday in others. This is why you need to have local experts on board as early as possible: only them will be able to let you know about these specifics. If you realize too late that a code portion needs to act differently depending on the location, or that visual elements should be replaced altogether, it can be extremely painful to go back and make the appropriate edits. The sooner you are aware of local norms, the better.

Have your app/game tested by native users from the target markets before going any further. Never assume you know everything about each and every culture. Ask locals to test your product and report anything that could be considered inappropriate.

4. Be careful when you are trying to put localized strings together. Let’s suppose you have an error message in your software that says “The job cannot be added because there is no job with ID x”. If you have many error messages starting with “The job cannot be added because” and many ending with “there is no job with ID x”, it can be tempting to ask the localization team to translate these two strings separately only once and then put them together when needed. It would work in English and (most?) Romanic languages, but not in Japanese for example, no matter how you put the two parts together.

Having the above in mind, you have to make sure translators can put words in any order they want, and, as much as possible restrict substitution to a single word or number. While avoiding redundancies is a good practice, it can be a tricky one when it comes to localization.

5. Provide as much context as possible. To avoid confusion, comment your text strings to ensure the translators will understand where and how they will be used. Make it clear that variables are part of the string and shouldn’t be altered. Also, explain what they will be replaced with, even if it seems obvious to you. If some bits mustn’t be altered, make a note of it, especially if they otherwise look like plain text. When possible, provide your translators with screenshots, videos or, even better, the actual product.

6. Make sure you can easily track source text changes. Nowadays, most software and applications are updated on a regular basis, thus requiring extra translations. Not only will this help you save on costs by not ordering the same strings twice (or more!), but you will also avoid headaches when merging translations. If you are planning to release frequent updates, for example additional content for games, this point can be critical.

7. Pseudo-localization, a little-known step of the localization cycle, will help identify a number of internationalization issues before a single string is translated: hard-coded strings, unsupported characters, potential overflows, and more. You can save yourself a lot of trouble by identifying potential problems early on.

What if you didn’t follow the best practices and your product is already developed?

Internationalizing an existing product can be tricky but not impossible by any means. In some cases automated tools may be of help, in others you’ll have no choice but to rewrite string-related portions of your code. Overall this is more of a per-case approach, and you will probably want to hire a localization consultant to ease the process.

As you can see, getting your localization done right is a process that involves efforts from all parties, from developers to translators, which is precisely why you should start consulting the latter as early as possible. Some of the smaller tips and tricks may not be obvious at first. You can contact me anytime for all your French localization needs! I am familiar with the localization process, whether you are working on software, video games or mobile apps (iOS with Xcode, Android with Android Studio, etc.).

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An approach that can lead to cheaper localization QA is to split linguistic and functional testing. In other words, you will want your native-speaking testers to focus solely on parts where their linguistic knowledge is strictly needed.

Before I go further, let me clarify one thing. Ideally, if budget allows, you will want target language experts to check everything. A final eye never hurts even if the text was professionally translated by a professional and proofread by a second person. Even a seasoned proofreader can let the occasional typo slip through.

Why split testing tasks?

To simplify, the main goal of linguistic testing/QA is to make sure your localized software or video game works in context (mostly a linguistic task) and displays as it should (that would rather be functional testing). If you pick up some spelling and grammatical issues along the way, great, but in theory that should have happened during proofreading, and those would be rather minor issues as long as they’re few and far between.

The point here is that not everything absolutely needs to be checked in context. Strings that are self-explanatory or don’t rely on context (more on this later) should already be good to go. They still need to be tested to make sure they do display, and correctly so. But since the text doesn’t rely on context, you shouldn’t find any mistranslations/ambiguous phrasing here. So, in theory (again, that’s assuming your translator/proofreader team did their job!), functional testing is all you need here. This can be done in-house, or by essentially anybody able to follow instructions carefully, regardless of the languages that person can speak – this is where you can do things cheaper without taking major risks.

Parts that rely on context, on the other hand, must absolutely be checked by a professional tester. A mistake many developers make is to hire the cheapest native speaker they find for the task, regardless of their experience in localization testing, or in the language industry for that matter. Remember, testing is your last chance to eliminate critical issues. You do need an experienced tester with an eye for details and a perfect command of the target language. Most people don’t have a good command of their native language – spend 5 minutes on any online forum if you need to be convinced. That’s the one time you can’t allow yourself to be cheap.

So, what does need linguistic testing?

Buttons, labels, menus, essentially anything that can be interpreted differently based on the context. UI and menu items in particular are critical because they directly affect usability. A typo in an error message is embarrassing, but it doesn’t prevent users from using your product as intended. Mistranslated buttons and labels, however, can seriously hurt user experience.

What you need to ask your linguistic tester here is to check the interface, use the different features and make sure button names, labels, etc. are easy to understand and match the actions they’re linked to. Put the focus on usability. If a translated string is not completely wrong, but not clear as it is, change it. That’s the sort of improvements you should aim for.

That’s about it for software. If you are developing a video game, you may want to check other elements besides UI/menus. Dialogs are the most common type of text that is heavily context-dependent. Even if you more or less know who speaks to whom at what point on the game, seeing the scene unfold in-game may help you notice certain details. An example: a dialog occurs between 2 characters, and in the file you’re translating, it seems they’re the only 2 people present. But during testing, you realize a 3rd character is with them. In this context, in French, there may be cases where you would need to switch from singular informal “you” (“tu”) to its plural counterpart (“vous”), which would affect the rest of the sentence.

Again, planning will help you reduce costs here. Once thing I’ve seen developers do is to create scripts that allow testers to see all dialogs of a game in context and in sequence (=without playing at all). This way, you don’t get charged extra for the “idle” time spent playing between two scenes. Focus is the key.

What may only need functional testing (“self-explanatory strings”)

Descriptions, system messages, and in general any unambiguous string that would definitely translate the same wherever you use it. It can be error messages (“File not found.”) in software, or a character biography in a video game (assuming the string leaves no uncertainty about whose biography it is). If a string doesn’t need context or does provide it, and was properly translated/proofread, functional testing is all you should need. You’ll focus on overflows, garbled characters, hard-coded source strings, etc. The usual lot.

It’s also worth noting that pseudo-localization, another overlooked part of the localization process, can help prevent most of implementation issues beforehand.

Cheaper testing & QA without sacrificing quality is possible… with the right team

As you will have noticed, I stressed the importance of having a team of professionals working for you: your translators, proofreaders and linguistic testers all need to be experienced and reliable to ensure the quality of your final product. Hiring a team of experts might sound more expensive at first, but it is a prerequisite if you are to implement the process I described above. See it as a small upfront investment that will allow you to make significant savings down the road.

The post How To Reduce QA/Testing Costs For Localized Software/Video Games (Without Affecting Quality) appeared first on Anthony Teixeira - Professional French Translator.

Game lore/Background info/Descriptions

That category would be my personal favourite. I love translating anything that provides extra information about a game’s characters, places, history, etc. I enjoy both the reading and writing part of it. For well-written games, it can almost feel like like literary translation. Learning such background information can help better understand what is going on in the rest of the game, so it can be interesting to translate them before, say, dialogs between characters you’re not yet familiar with. Such parts also rarely suffer from lack of context and tend to have generous character limits, if any. I find them quite relaxing.

Dialogs

Dialogs can be a bit of an emotional roller coaster as a translator. They’re usually the most creative part in game projects, so they are stimulating as they really allow you to express your style, but they also come with many challenges. Character limits and lack of context are the obvious suspects here. Even when developers are kind enough to mention who is speaking at a certain moment, you rarely know to whom, or to how many people for that matter. It’s also where you get the bulk of the slang and jokes – fun parts to work on again, but filling query sheets (even worse: waiting for the answers!) to sort things out can get tiring quickly.

Menus

Ugh. Here comes the productivity sink. Short strings with little context and crazy character limits. Tolerable when devs properly organize the strings so you can easily understand what menu item does what. Still, rarely the funniest part to translate, and huge pressure as mistakes here can make the game extremely frustrating for players.

Tutorials

Tutorials are one of most relaxing parts. You do need to translate them accurately and with enough care to make the game easy to understand for players, but usually you’ve got all the context you need and won’t meet any major linguistic difficulty. You’re in control and can make a positive impact on user experience here, so I rather like tutorials, as tedious as players may sometimes find them.

Achievements

Unleash memes, inner jokes and obscure references! Achievement names can be super hard to translate, although descriptions may help you figure out what the devs tried to convey. That’s one of the bits where you can truly get creative and original, so I rather like them… in moderation. Expect more time filling those query sheets.

System messages

IT-ish stuff with no creativity nor room for imagination most of the time. Any system terminology mistake here and you’re toast. Doesn’t sound too sexy on paper, but they let your brain breath a bit between two more stimulating chunks of text. I don’t mind them as long as they’re not the only thing I get to translate in a given day.

The quality of the source text matters, too…

Bad text is bad no matter where it belongs. Descriptions can be dull and confusing, dialogs overblown or cringe worthy as hell when writers try to stuff memes every two lines, menus impossible to figure out even with the game in hands, tutorials undecipherable or just stating the obvious, etc. I never mind “difficult” projects when the copy is compelling. As for the ones where writing is boring, embarrassing or outright offensive, I’ll check the time more often than I dare to admit, whatever the part I’m translating.

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It’s essentially a day-long workshop kind of event where participants work together to translate a game from/to English/Japanese (source games will be offered for either language). Unlike the LocJAM, it’s not a competition and it is mostly meant to be enjoyed offline, but the audience is pretty much the same: enthusiastic gamers with different degrees of experience with game localization who join in to have some fun, meet colleagues and learn a thing or two along the way.

If you are nostalgic of LocJAM, are new to the game translation industry or just want to have fun with fellow game and language lovers, don’t hesitate and join the show! Although I won’t be able to join myself, this translation jam is organized by well-loved colleagues and you can expect an amazing day with lovely people.

Tokyo event page:

https://www.facebook.com/events/189330645207491/

Kyoto event page:

https://www.facebook.com/events/207542246517228/

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The format

1 hour, 20+ participants, 5 broad subjects (market trends, localization technology, career, etc.) with a few specific topics each, 2 moderators to swiftly move the conversation from a question to another.

We had a fair mix of translators (aspiring, freelance, in-house), project managers/agency representatives and people from the end client side.

I admit I was worried 1 hour wouldn’t be enough to cover all topics, but it turned out to be just perfect. You would usually hear 2 or 3 points of view for each topic (often translator vs. agency), clear and concise. Everything flowed naturally and there was no idle time. More insights in 1 hour than you’d hear in 1 day at many conferences.

Topics

Can non-native speakers be trusted for translation?

Several participants noted they knew or had heard of at least 1 non-native English speaker who could a really good job on Japanese to English translations (I know such a guy myself! He now works for a big Japanese dev, still does great work). Interestingly, Japanese to English was the only language pair for which we could think of such people.

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One solution can be to build your own portfolio of sample translations & projects. To help you with this, I have a gathered a list of games you can freely translate right now and add to your samples. I have also put together a number of tips to help you find small translation projects and gain that all-too-important mileage in the localization industry.

I am planning to update this page regularly with new packages ready to be translated as well as links to other useful resources.

Translate Previous LocJAM Packages

LocJAM is (was?) an online contest for game translators. A short open source game in English is published on the official site and everyone has a couple of weeks to submit their translations.

The future of the contest is on standby at the moment, but you can still download and translate the games that were shared during previous editions.

If you translate from English

All translation packages for previous LocJAMs are available on the IGDA LocSIG’s GitHub repository.

LocJAM 1: https://github.com/IGDA-LocSIG/Republia-Times

Read README.md for special instructions. The translatable file is in the bin/locale/ folder

The Republia Times is an indie game created by Lucas Pope, released in April 2012. In the game, the player takes the role of the editor of a newspaper torn between personal opposition to the government and threats to the lives of the editor’s wife and children if the editor doesn’t generate loyalty among the population. Character limits, humor and puns will give translators a good run for their money. An excellent game to show your craft.

LocJAM 2: https://github.com/IGDA-LocSIG/Locjam2/tree/master/LocJAM2

Read instructions in readme.pdf

Grandpa is an interactive story about Emi and her Grandfather trying to find his hat. The game ends on a twist. Translating it while keeping all of its subtleties and hints will allow you to show your attention to details and creative writing skills. Here is my post-mortem about it.

LocJAM 3: https://github.com/IGDA-LocSIG/locjam3

Simply translate the .docx and .xlsx files.

The Hotel of Madness is a board game openly inspired by The Shining. For this edition, we tested translators’ ability to write accurate, consistent and unambiguous rules – essential qualities for this type of game. Not a video game, but a good title to add diversity to your portfolio.

LocJAM 4: https://mega.nz/#F!12hEnJgS!KrCryf7EgZSrbswVnYpP7w

Instructions in the Readme file.

Ikinari Maou is a puzzle game dressed up as an old-school RPG. With several plot twists and tons of hints hidden between the lines, the game is an excellent challenge for translators and a pleasure to play.

If you translate from Japanese

Grandpa: bit.ly/LocJAM2JP

Try you hand at one of the winning Japanese entries of LocJAM 2 and translate it to the language of your choice.

Ikinari Maou: Windows, Mac

The original Japanese game’s package, used for LocJAM Japan.

Other Ways to Gain Experience

• Offer free translation to indie devs: To gain experience, it can be a good idea to offer your help for free. Rather than helping big companies for peanuts, I suggest starting with indie developers who really need help and don’t have the finances to hire a professional translator.
• Browse the Indie Game Localization group on Facebook. Devs regularly post help requests there. Just be careful with whom you offer your help to, as some are taking advantage of the community to get free translation for their many games. Find a game that seems nice, from a dev who genuinely seems to need help. Make sure the word count is reasonable and go ahead.
• Translate mods: Translating mods is a great way to earn a little experience. Most mod devs will be happy to receive a little help, and they’re usually not creating mods for profit. They also typically have a localization budget of 0 (does currency matter here?), so you’re not stealing anyone’s job. CurseForge is an excellent place to start browsing. Help requests for mods/games also occasionally pop up on GitHub.
• Contact indie devs directly: you can use social networks to find interested devs. I particularly recommend Facebook and LinkedIn groups for indie devs (there are too many of them to list!) where people like to share information about their upcoming games. Once again, see what you like (you want good games on your CV, don’t you?) and get in touch.
• Offer to translate articles, fan sites, game guides, reviews, etc.: let your imagination do the work here, there’s so much to explore! Just make sure you have the permission of the original author.
• What about crowdsourced and amateur translations? They surely give you relevant experience, but you may not want to write about them explicitly on your CV. Rightly or not, crowdsourced translations are not associated with quality and professionalism. As for amateur translations, they’re usually on the wrong side of legality.
  My advice: write about your general experience (“I’ve been translated for xx years“, “I have translated a total of xx words of game-related texts“) and only mention titles you are allowed to. Have a small list of projects you’re proud of, with sample files if you are allowed to share them. It’s fine not to have a ton of titles to mention. I have translated well over a hundred games in my career, but I’m credited in a grand total of 4 of them. Give general information, and only informally tell about details if you are asked to.

WARNING: Whatever your translate for free, do ask to be properly credited and keep word counts reasonable – be willing to help, but don’t let people take advantage of you. Anything over 1,000 words is too much for a free translation, unless you are extremely passionate about the game in question AND the dev clearly doesn’t have the funds. When necessary, politely explain than you can only handle a few hundred words for free. An App Store description, menus? Why not. A whole set of dialogs? Probably too much.

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It also means I will be handling the newsletter for a bit longer, so this series of link roundups should stay alive at least for that time! Here is my selection for the months of May and June.

Falcom President Comments on Licensing Ys VIII to NISA and How Localization is Handled

Undertale’s Japanese Localization Is Causing A Fan Frenzy – Another localization controversy, this time around the pronoun used by a character in Undertale’s official Japanese version. A little over the top, dare I say

Text Adventures: The Story of Visual Novels in America – Interesting insights from some of the companies taking the increasingly popular visual novels outside Japan

Persona 5 Gets A Small Change To Avoid Further Controversy In South Korea

Music and Localization: Fine-Tuning the Universal Language

Once Again, Overwatch Isn’t Very Good At Picking Kanji Characters – A little surprising to see another kanji issue with Overwatch, as they got laughed at pretty hard the previous time around

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If you follow the general advice given here, the whole process should go smoothly. To take things further and make the most out of your localization initiatives, you can dig deeper and look for more specific resources. Most development environments offer some sort of internationalization and localization features nowadays – that is the case for for Unity3D (some interesting solutions are available on the Asset Store), XCode and Android Studio, just to name a few. No need to reinvent the wheel when great solutions already exist.

You could also save time and money by following the cost-saving tips that may apply to your project. In the end, being prepared and informed is what will save you from headaches and help you release your games in new markets at a reasonable cost.

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This is the text version of the presentation I showed on Crowdcast with SmartCAT (video available here). It is based on the notes I took to prepare for the webinar, hence the disjointed writing style. Still hope you will find it useful to start your journey toward a career as a professional translator!

Working in the game localization industry is a dream for many gamers, but the path that leads to a career in this young world isn’t necessarily obvious. Here are a few pointers to help you get started and work in the right direction.

What Studies?

An educational background in translation/languages is not a necessity, but always a welcome addition to your CV. Two scenarios here:

Relevant university studies

As far as I know, there are no university studies fully dedicated to game localization yet, but a few specializations will help you in your quest for a job. Here are the three types of studies you should be aiming at:

– Audiovisual translation: More and more universities offer courses in audiovisual translation, which generally include a part about video game localization. You can find a list of such universities here.

– Translation (general): More broadly available, courses in translation will teach you the general theories of translation and help you prepare your career in the industry. Although not as focused as the above, it is still perfectly relevant and appreciated in the industry.

– Languages and culture: Translation will have a smaller, but not insignificant role here. Such studies are also valued highly, especially if you study the language in a country where it is natively spoken. When I was working in-house, several of my Japanese to English translator colleagues had graduated from such schools in Japan and found a position soon after.

You’ve already graduated

A diploma is great, but you may be considering a career switch after working in a different industry. Don’t worry, there are still ways to fill the Education part of your CV.

– Lessons/Courses/Books online and offline: first of all, you will want to learn about translation as a profession. There are plenty of courses and books available online and offline, some as specific as teaching you the basics of game localization, while other covers different aspects of the job, from finding clients to managing your taxes. Perform an online search, compare the options and see what works best for you

– Go to seminars/workshops: look for relevant seminars and workshops in your area. A quick Google search will generally do wonders, but you can also check the websites of translator associations in your country. Most of them have a calendar listing such events

– Consider taking a certification exam: once you’ve learned enough about the job and are confident in your skills as a translator, you may consider taking a certification exam. The most famous one is probably the ATA‘s, but again, feel free to look for options closer to you

Freelancing vs. Working In-House

Game localization projects can be handled in-house by developers, outsourced to localization agencies working with their in-house team and/or freelance translators, or handed directly to translators. Your first decision in your journey will be to decide the way you want to follow: in-house position or freelance work.

Here are the main characteristics of both:

Freelancing…

– More freedom: as a freelance translator, work whenever you want, wherever you want. No commuting, no fixed hours.

– Possible better long-term income and security: once you’re established and projects keep flowing in, you will likely make more money than you would in-house. And you don’t risk losing your job all of a sudden. If one of your clients closes their doors, you still have other customers to keep you busy

– Requires motivation/self-discipline: freedom is great, but you’ll still need to dedicate enough time to your job. You’ll have to keep track of projects, chase clients for payment, keep marketing yourself, etc. That’s also part of “being one’s boss” job description. I know some extremely talented translators who never managed to succeed as freelancers because they didn’t have that self-discipline

– Getting established takes time: building a clientele takes time,  no matter how hard you try. Receiving enough work to live on translation will take you at the very least 6 months, while 2 years or more is not rare at all. Try to put some cash aside before taking the plunge, or keep a part-time job on the side to keep bills paid

Working in-house…

– Stable income, no need to hunt new clients: busy or not, your income is the same and you don’t have the pressure of finding new clients

– More focused work: you will be translating/editing most of the time (hopefully). No accounting, no marketing, no sales, just what you like and what you’re good at

– Comparatively limited financial prospects: the higher the risk the greater the reward. A busy freelancer will typically make more money than an in-house translator. In general game translator salaries are rather in the low end in the gaming industry. There are, of course, fortunate exceptions to this

Preparation

Qualifications alone won’t land you assignments. Before you start your job hunting efforts, you will want to make sure you are prepared for success.

– Learn about the ins and outs of the job (read articles/ebooks, take courses, etc.): this is especially true if you are going to work as a freelancer. Learn about the business aspects of freelance translation (how to define your rates, how to get paid properly, how to communicate with your clients in different situations, etc.). You will find a lot of articles, ebooks and courses online for a large number of topics.

– Build a solid CV/introduction highlighting relevant strengths: make sure you highlight every relevant educational or hands-on experience you’ve got with translation. Be specific: make it clear game localization is your main or one of your main specialization fields. Mentioning your favorite genres can be a plus when project managers will need to select the most suitable translator for their project.

Note about fan translations: in my opinion, that kind of experience is perfectly relevant and show your motivation, but you may not want to get too specific in public to avoid trouble. Mention word counts, game genres, etc. but only give names informally to parties interested in more details (small devs and game localization agencies will generally be curious and really just want to know what you’ve worked)

– Gain experience with a few projects: the best way to be ready for prime time is to actually try your hand at a few projects. Put everything you know in practice and make your beginner’s mistakes. More on how to gain experience in a minute.

About translation tests

Many potential employers and clients will ask you to take a test. All have different criteria for evaluation, but I would classify them in two categories:

– Ability tests: typical with localization agencies, a classical pass/fail test. Your basic translation ability will be checked: are your translations accurate, natural, free of typos/punctuation mistakes, do you follow instructions and terminologies? Most criteria here are objective, and a serious work should be enough, regardless of style considerations.

– Shootouts: typical with end customers. They want to find the one translator whose tone matches theirs. You’ll of course need to meet the basic quality standards expected of a professional translator, but the rest is very subjective in nature. You may deliver a great translation and still see someone else get the job.
As a general advice, check their games, see what inspired them and try to find something similar in your native language to give you ideas about what they may be looking for.

Gaining Experience (Part I)

Offer free translation to indie devs

To gain experience, it can be a good idea to offer your help for free. Rather than helping big companies for peanuts, I suggest starting with indie developers who really need help and don’t have the finances to hire a professional translator.

– Browse the Indie Game Localization group on Facebook. Devs regularly post help requests there.

– Contact indie devs directly: you can use social networks to find interested devs. I particularly recommend Facebook and LinkedIn groups for indie devs (there are too many of them to list!) where people like to share information about their upcoming games

– Offer to translate game mods, articles, fan sites, reviews, etc.: let your imagination do the work here, there’s so much to explore!

– [!] Keep word counts reasonable: be willing to help, but don’t let people take advantage of you. Politely explain than you can only handle a few hundred words for free. An App Store description, menus? Why not. A whole set of dialogs? Probably too much.

Gaining Experience (Part II)

The LocJAM:

– Online game translation contest, a chance to compare your skills to your peers. Winning entries are selected by reputable video game localization agencies, giving you a great chance to get noticed by professionals

– Free and open: no need to join the contest, you can translate and share your work anytime (translation kits available here). That’s concrete work you can show your prospects

– Local study groups: generally before/during LocJAMs. Great opportunity to learn & network with fellow translators

For more information about the LocJAM, you can read this related article.

Note: The contest is on a bit of a standby at the moment, the IGDA LocSIG is working hard to come back with a new formula

Gaining Experience (Part III)

– Start in a different position in the game/localization industry: many game translators started in testing, marketing, project management, etc. Once you have a foot in the industry, it’s much easier move toward a translation position, for the same company or somewhere else

– Consider internships: many localization agencies have some sort of internship program. It can be a good chance to gain experience and possibly impress your employer. Again, I know of people who started as interns and became full-time employees after that. I also know several freelance translators who still work with companies where they used to be interns

Finding Work In-House

– Specialized game job sites: browse industry sites such as games-career.com, Gamasutra’s job section and similar portals in your native language

– General job sites: big job sites such as Indeed, Monster or even LinkedIn have a lot of localization job listings. Make a smart use of filters and notifications, and check new postings regularly

– Local job sites: don’t underestimate the smaller job portals. Many of them are free and appreciated by employers for this reason. You may find exclusive offers there, so look at sites specifically covering your area

– Translation portals (Proz, TranslatorsCafé): while most projects posted on those websites are aimed at freelancers, offers for in-house positions, including in the video game industry, are occasionally published there. They’re also a great place to network with and learn from fellow professionals

– Dev websites, social media accounts: regularly check the websites of developers/agencies in your area that have a job page. Follow such companies on social networks and look for job offers in your feed

– Networking, online and offline: more on that a little later

Finding Work as a Freelancer

– Register and check job postings on translation portals (Proz, TranslatorsCafé): register on those websites and build a solid profile to gain visibility and be able to bid on projects posted. A lot of agencies are recruiting new translators and offering projects through such platforms

– Contact specialized agencies directly: there are lots of localization agencies specialized in video games, and many of them are constantly looking for new translators. Check their website, social accounts, etc. and see their preferred method contact.
Be careful to only contact reputable agencies with good payment practices. The Blue Board on Proz is a good way to distinguish good payers from the bad ones. To help you get started, I included a small list in the notes of the slideshow above.

– Freelance offers on job sites: you can occasionally find freelance (sometimes labeled as “part-time”, “remote”, etc.) job offers on all types of sites mentioned in the previous section

– Networking, online and offline

More on Networking…

I am a strong advocate for networking. It has plenty of benefits. You meet great people, build relationships, learn from each other and, yes, get access to jobs otherwise unavailable. Many experienced translators are happy to refer their clients to younger translations when they are busy, or to introduce them to colleagues in different language pairs.

– Prepare business cards and an introduction: always carry business cards with you. Make sure the key information is there: your name, language pair and specialization, contact info, etc. Also prepare a quick introduction you can repeat when you meet new people. Clearly tell who you are and what you do. Then forget a bit about business and try to build a genuine relationship!

– Go to game/translation conferences, seminars: conferences and seminars are great places to meet potential clients and colleagues. Don’t restrict yourself to just translation or game-related events, both are perfectly fine places to network. Don’t underestimate smaller, local gatherings. It’s easier to talk to people and have them remember you when the place is not awfully crowded

– Join associations, attend meetings: here again, target both game and translation associations. They will always have more or less formal networking events, besides conferences mentioned above. For those that have a directory of service providers on their website, it’s also a good way to earn visibility

– Also look for informal meetings around you: once you start networking with people and join their circles, you will realize that a lot also happens besides publicly advertised meetups. I can only speak for Japan here, but we have a lot of fun meetups, with a good mix of freelance translators, in-house project managers, developers, students, etc. Be curious!

– Use translation portals social media to interact with colleagues and game developers: establish yourself as an expert in your field. Share interesting content, interact with developers and colleagues, answer questions people may have about localization. Consistency is key here. If you regularly show up in someone’s feed with strong content about localization, they may remember you the next time they are looking for translation services. Websites like ProZ also allow you to discuss various topics with translator colleagues. It’s a great way to learn about best practices and business principles

Start acting now!

– Define your goals and strategy: decide if you will be a freelance translator or try to work in-house, do your homework and pick up a couple of strategies you feel comfortable with to get started. It always gets easier once you take that first step

– Look for communities around you: look for associations and groups in your area, as well as online. Join a few and start networking

– Join the IGDA LocSIG group on Facebook: because we’re a bunch of nice people who love games and languages. You will find plenty of useful information about translation case studies, interviews, tips for beginners and the latest news about the LocJAM.

And don’t forget to connect on LinkedIn!

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