It is a question that constantly weighs on the game translator's shoulders: To localize, to translate, or to leave as is?
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Have You Heard the Good Newẞ?
The German language got a new letter last year, but it didn't make it to the alphabet.
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[VIDEO] Adventures in Game Localization
In April 2016 I was invited to give a talk at the Berlin Game Scene Talk & Play event. Spontaneously titled "Adventures in Game Localization", I talked about a few of the challenges we game translators face when localizing a game for our respective markets.
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Should we localize dialects into Italian? Image courtesy of MaxPixel.
Italian Accents and Dialects in Games
The use of Italian accents and/or dialects in games is quite tricky, if you ask me, as the association with certain stereotypes is almost inevitable. In general, southern Italy is portrayed as a poorer and more ignorant part of the country (not to mention the mafia situation), whereas northern Italy is generally considered richer, and therefore posh and educated.
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Image courtesy of MaxPixel
French Accents and Dialects in Video Games
In video games, we get to meet characters who are larger than life, caricatures of real people. They dress in a very specific way, have their own strong personality and are sometimes further differentiated by having a nationality, an ethnicity, real or not, which can be associated with a corresponding accent.
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Image courtesy of MaxPixel
Accents and Dialects in Games—Yea or Nay?
"Almost died first year I come to school and et them pecans—folks say he pizened ‘em and put ‘em over on the school side of the fence."
What impression does this line give you? Does the speaker sound male or female? Young or old? Asian or American?
This was a line by little Walter of one of my favorite books, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, and the boy was speaking in a Southern American accent.
Just as in books and movies, whenever we meet characters in a video game, we automatically try to make sense of their background based on different cues: hair and skin color (hello, orc!), way they dress (are you a troll or a hobo?), weapons they carry (is this a scimitar you got there, or are you just happy to see me?), and the way they communicate.
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The Berlin Computer Game Museum—Playing with History
One of the many things I will miss about Berlin is the Computerspielemuseum. So I thought I should share my impressions with you. I am not affiliated with the museum in any way. However, I love museums, I love games, and I love supporting the cause of learning about games.
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Confessions of a Game Translator: 12 Actual Reasons Why Some Game Translations Suck
"The translated version of a game is never as good as the original."
"The German version of this game sucks!"
"The text does not fit in the textbox! Why did the translator not write a shorter text?"
"I know for a fact that these kanji mean 'fire' and 'mountain'! Why has it been translated as 'volcano'?!?"