Although English is the lingua franca.However, only 20% of the world population speaks the English language. People like to buy products and services in their native language and in the same way, people like to play video games in their native language. Therefore, it is very necessary to localize games into other languages. You cannot start localizing the game into the languages of your choice. For this, you need to check the following things:
- Preference language of the target market and demand of the language in the niche.
- Cost and access to quality translation services.
For game localization, it is recommended to translate games to EFIGS which are English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish, and then go for CJK which are Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. If you localize your games in these languages, then you can easily lead the gaming industry. Many localization companies are using advanced video translation platform to speed up the process and improve the quality.
Let’s have a look at how you can localize your game to other languages.
Merge your Game’s Text Strings
If you want to include your game’s string everywhere with the code then there is a probability that your game engine might not support it. Therefore, you should keep all the strings in one place in the form of a string. There are 300 text entries present in a string array. You can also fetch these strings through the external file and give them variable names. The foremost important thing is to keep the strings in one place. When you give a string to a translator they might find difficulty in editing the codes. Therefore, you should provide the codes in a spreadsheet.
Translation of all the Strings
You can localize your game in many ways. You can hire a professional translation agency for rapid translation results. Moreover, you can also find professional translators or use a combination of both human and machine translation. One option can be that the game is translated by a machine and edited by a human translator. If you get a chance to work with a translator then make sure that you are always available to them to tell information about the text. On the other hand, if the translator is not asking you any questions, then there is a probability that he is not taking the gaming localization project seriously. It is recommended for the translator that they should keep the length of the string according to the English language. This will reduce the repeated work later.
Enter the Translation Content Again in the Game
After receiving the translation of the game, you need to convert it again into the format that is used in the game. In the game localization process, you need to check the language of the device because not every user wants to use it as a default language. Therefore, you need to include an easy-to-change language option so that avid players can easily switch between the languages. You can be lucky if the fonts you have downloaded already support new characters from a new language but this does not happen if you are translating your game into the Chinese Language. Due to the complex alphabet of the Chinese language.
The important thing that you need to take into consideration is whether the translated text fits in the game graphics or not. This is because some languages get extended after translation while some get contracted. In case of longer text, you need to make adjustments to the text boxes and menus of the game.
Proofread with the help of a Native Translator
It is the most important step in the entire process. You should create a duplicate version of your game for trial bases. Sit with the native translator for the entire day and check the errors in the game. The best way of proofreading is to display the game on your laptop and ask the native translator to open the localization spreadsheet with them and check the bugs if present. After the proofreading and testing of the game, you should load the edited version of the game on the web.
Uploading of the Game
After the proofreading of text of the game, you should upload its new version. Don’t forget to mention the translated versions of your game such as the name and description. In addition to it, you can also localize your video preview and screenshots if they contain more text.
Wrapping Up
Localizing the game is not an easy task. To get the best results, you must hire a game localization company. These agencies have a team of native translators who are not only proficient in linguistics but they are also subject-matter experts . Proficient gaming translators will actually make the difference. They know all the technicalities like merging and translation of strings involved in the game localization process and provide you with robust game localization services in the language of your choice. Investing in game localization is worth it. The people who don’t download your games because of the language barrier will start downloading and playing the game. You will make more money than you have invested in the localization process. Are you ready to localize your game in different languages?
