January was another busy month in the game localization industry, and with the LocJAM and LocWorld coming in the next couple of months, the trend shouldn’t be fading anytime soon.
On a personal level, I had the honor to join the IGDA Localization SIG committee early last month. In this new role, I will do my best to encourage positive and constructive discussion about our profession, while supporting the initiatives of my fellow co-chairs.
Anyway, enough about me for now, here are the links you were all waiting for:
How much people, time and money should QA take? – Very useful tips, especially for inexperienced small/indie developers that need to plan for QA costs
18 precious localization tips for game developers, via Smartling and Loek van Kooten: A solid list from a well-respected member of our industry. If you find it useful, I can only invite you to visit the website of the man behind it.
How to prepare a game for localization? – Or when developers decide to discuss the issue themselves. The suggested posts on the right also contain a number interesting localization-related discussions
GREE on cultural localization – Social game and AAA titles have different needs when it comes to localization, and this talk perfectly illustrates that
People in games: audio lead Steffen stark on the audio aspect of game localization – It’s not all about internationalization and text translation, audio localization is a discipline of its own right, and this fascinating interview allows us to take a peek at what’s happening behind the scenes
Stop Localizing Or We Will Sue – Fan translations have always been in a grey area -illegal strictly speaking, yet tolerated by some-, here is in example of a project that ended before it even had the chance to see the light of the day
How Localization Works in Games: Yo-Kai Watch – Thoughts on what was a great localization challenge, as Yo-Kai Watch is closely tied up to Japanese folklore. People interested in the license itself may want to take a look at the work of the late Shigeru Mizuki.
Localization More Like Culturalization – A rare chance to get a look at culturalization through this illustrated case study
Localization and Ace Attorney – A little old, but a very interesting article on Ace Attorney’s localization, by Capcom’s (awesome) Janet Hsu
Localization Issues: Why Do Game Translators Make Mistakes? – This presentation from a past GDC gave me the inspiration for this article
How to Localize your Software, App or Game : 7 Best Practices – An old article of mine, freshly updated with new tips
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