Introduction to Game Localization
What you'll learn
- Examine the challenges you’ll face in each stage of the game localization process and choose where you’d like to work
- Compare the pros and cons of working in-house or as a freelancer and select your ideal lifestyle
- Learn how to spend more time translating and less worrying about technical issues
- Improve your creativity and let your words take players on a rollercoaster of emotions
- Learn to write professional bug reports and how to polish a translation until it’s perfect
Requirements
- Some language skills in a language other than English
- Microsoft Excel (any version) or any other spreadsheet software for exercises
Description
If you play localized games, this probably sounds familiar…
You’re playing your favorite game on a rainy winter afternoon. “Cool graphics! Amazing playability! Killer music! Stunning action! Wait a minute… What’s with all the spelling mistakes? That text doesn’t make sense! Who on earth translated this game!? I could’ve done a better job myself!”
Engage players in the game story
Learn the basic concepts behind game localization and specialize as a game translator, linguistic tester or game localization project manager.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
- Stages of the game localization process
Introduction to game internationalization, the game translation process, different review methods, the importance of linguistic testing. Examine the challenges you’ll face in each stage and decide which part of the process you’d like to work on!
- Differences between working in-house and as a freelancer
Learn how to get acquainted with the game you’ll be translating, what reference material looks like, how to report queries, and examine general rates and salaries before you establish your own. Compare pros and cons, and select your ideal lifestyle!
- The technical aspects
Get a handle on translating texts with codes, conquer those dreaded variables and learn how not to exceed character limitations. All with real examples and plenty of practical exercises! Spend more time translating and less worrying about technical issues!
- Translation and transcreation
Translating a game is nothing like translating software, laws or contracts. It’s actually great fun! (That’s the brotherhood’s best kept secret: you’ll get paid for doing something fascinating!). You’ll have a blast learning how to define characters by how they speak, and translating names, character descriptions and even songs and poems! Improve your creativity and let your words take players on a rollercoaster of emotions!
- Game localization testing
You’d be amazed by the amount of errors that appear when the translated text is implemented in the game. This module teaches you to identify the main types of linguistic bugs and to write straightforward, useful and professional reports. Contribute to a successful translation by reporting bugs and improvements to polish the text until it’s perfect!
Are you ready to become a game localization professional? Then insert coin and… Let’s rock!
Who this course is for:
- Translators looking to specialize in game localization
- Project managers looking to expand their game localization knowledge
- Developers looking to improve their internationalization processes and localize games
- People who love games and languages
- Anyone with an interest in the game industry looking to expand their job options
Instructor
- 4.5 Instructor Rating
- 1,173 Reviews
- 3,412 Students
- 1 Course
I’m Pablo Muñoz and I have 10+ years of experience translating video games, software, websites and apps from English into Spanish. When I’m not busy working on translation projects, I write a well-known blog about translation called Algo más que traducir, teach courses and speak at specialized conferences on video game localization. You can find more information about my projects in my professional website.
I’m currently based in Madrid, Spain. Why? An agency hired me to work as an external part-time translator, proofreader and tester for the localization department at one of the leading multinationals in the Internet search engine and technology sector. I’ve been honing my professional localization skills there since 2010, especially in software and app localization and testing (LQA).
The job that genuinely got my career off the ground was my two-year stint at Nintendo of Europe in Frankfurt, Germany. My work there as a game translator and tester on a highly-specialized international team helped me make up my mind to gear my career towards projects with a strong creative and technological profile.
On top of all that, I spent my spare time in Germany studying a European MA in Audiovisual Translation at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain, where I learnt all about dubbing, subtitling and localization, among many other things. So much so that in 2011, my former lecturers asked me to teach some of the units of the software localization module of the MA.
To sum it up, here are my specialties:
- Game Localization (Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch)
- App Localization (iOS -iPhone and iPad-, Android)
- Website Localization (WordPress, Drupal, HTML + CSS, other)
- Software Localization (PC, Help/Documentation)
- QA and Localization Testing
- Programming Languages: Visual Basic, VBA