If the head of a gaming company came to me and asked how to save money on localization instead of automatically going the “IA”/MT/LLM route, I would recommend to: Doing a bit of this prep work might seem expensive at the start, but it would save so much money in the long run while also making everyone’s life less miserable …
Category: Localization
Posts about translation and localization.
To be a good translator, you need to be a good writer
It’s fundamental to grasp your native language at a deeper level than any other so you can effectively communicate what the original text says Video game localization isn’t an easy job, be it due to the nature of the job itself —translating something without seeing the whole picture, because it doesn’t exist yet — or due to the nature of …
How to criticize a translation
Or: how to critically appraise any kind of creative endeavor without acting like a fool or an asshole This is an old post that’s been sitting for a while in my drafts, and I ruminate about what to write in it for some time after reading the article below. There’s actually nothing I could add that this article already doesn’t …
How long does it take to translate a video game?
Some people think translation can be done fast because “the text is already written”, but we must remember that localization is a creative endeavor, so it takes a lot of time and energy to make something worthwhile Usually, in Brazilian Portuguese, we consider that one translator takes closer to 8 hours to translate 3,000 words. Obviously, this isn’t a set limit, …
What an “edit” job entails in video game localization
One thing to be noted when someone talks about “editing” video game translation is that it could mean: Every project always has all of the above happening at some point, that’s why it’s impossible to claim full authorship about any aspect of the job. I might sound like a broken record but it is, literally, a team effort.
Shin Megami Tensei finally arrives in Brazil
The Shin Megami Tensei series just had a game released with a Brazilian Portuguese translation for the first time And I had the honor of helping lead its localization effort. Seriously, I’ve never thought I would see the day an Atlus game would be translated into Brazilian Portuguese, much less with my involvement. As a long-time fan, I couldn’t even …
On inventing historical accent/slang
When you have to come up with an accent that doesn’t actually exist in your language, things can get hard and a bit weird When I was just a few years in the field, I had the chance to work on a AAA in which the story revolved around piracy, assassination, and the Caribbean. It’s always fun to work with …
Translating a game while keeping the dubbing in mind
Or, to be more specific, “translating a game while keeping the mouth movement of the original voice acting in mind” Unsurprisingly, this is a topic that’s not very well-known. Bear in mind that TV shows and movies also do something similar, but since I’ve never worked in these industries, I’ll keep the focus on video games. So, here’s the thing: …
Gendered languages and translation
One of the things I sometimes see being ignored in video game translation is the existence of gendered languages. This matters a lot because, depending on the language, it can make or break what would’ve been an easy job. These issues are now less common than they were a few years ago, but they still happen from time to time, …
Using “AI”-translated content is a bad idea
In some ways, I could be considered a Luddite, I guess I’m not against it because I fear for my job. I actually would embrace any new technology that made things easier, but that hasn’t been the case here. The issue with “AI” – and I use quotes because it is not a true AI, despite its hype – is …