The gaming industry has been blooming and shining like never before. It was not long ago when this industry started to shine and is now a business that deals with billions of dollars. As per the statistics gaming market revenue for the year 2022 was around 347 billion USD. This industry is under constant evolution and the emergence of technological advancements is now making it competitive for developers. The players now expect more immersive and engaging content and games that have been developed and designed considering recent technology.
The increasing demand for video games and their localization has also caused a surge in video game translation services too. It was during the outbreak of COVID-19 that the players started to seek comfort in video games to kill time during lockdown. Whenever a game is set to be localized, the translation takes place as a primary step. A game is technically composed of a lot of factors. These may include its name, assets, manuals for players, and cultural and technical differences that require translation and localization. Translation is an integral part of the localization of games. It is important that developers understand it well and have already sorted out the text for which they require translation.
Here are the significant parts of video games that ask for an accurate translation of the content for an effective process of localization.
Instruction manual
This manual with the important instructional text for a video game is fundamental for a game. It is a document that talks about the content that outlines the guidelines and instructions about dealing with the game and acing it well. This translation is somewhat technical. This could be precise but asks for more effort while translating. It often has a brief introduction about the game, the method of playing, and details about the corporate and legal texts.
Marketing materials
Video games often contain a lot of marketing material. These may include websites, screenshots, trailers, and other important stuff. All the content requires translation as a process of localization. Also, it is important to hire a professional translation agency to deal with such tasks as it is vital to translate the content considering the cultural factors and market norms. Going against the culture often ends badly with the targeted audience getting furious and angry. Furthermore, it is also essential to consider that translation is good and clear enough for the potential players and they understand what it is about.
Packaging content
Packaging becomes important when the game is also distributed on a DVD or relevant factor. The developers ask for the packaging slip that is inside the case and needed while selling. Back in the days before they started selling optical disks games were sold in different boxes. The packaging information is crucial to ensure that buyers get their required game instantly. Also making the demand for a clear translation justified. The information usually includes the title of the game, rating, and logos of the partner companies.
Readme file
People often ignore the significance that read-me files hold in game localization services. It is an extremely important file though. This is a text that deals with the brief details of a game project. It talks about the content which has the potential to grasp the attention of the relevant audiences. These files particularly come with the software and game localization. This file has relevant information about the software, project games, and their code. This can further contain facts about the help tab and other important updates. Given the fact that it contains important details and briefs about the game and how it is played, the translators should translate the content accurately.
Subtitles and captions
Video games contain subtitles and captions naturally. There are players in the games who play inside the game. The subtitles are the dialogues that the characters have to speak when needed as the story and game unfold. The captions are also important to make the player aware of how things are working. This is a dialogue that they translate. This could be either in pre-rendered or recorded format. Mostly they hardcode the subtitles to ensure that they have synchronized the subtitles with videos. Captions are also important to integrate well with the relevant scenes. Translation of these features is particularly evident and should be considered significant while dealing with the localization of the games.
User interface
A user interface comprises multiple features. It is a medium with which a player connects and interacts with the game. It can have multi-dimensional text that requires a precise and accurate translation. An important factor while dealing with the user interface text is to take into consideration the size of the text. It should be good enough to fit in a given space.
Art and Graphics
Video games deal with a lot of graphics. It includes images, signs, posters, and graffiti as well. All these images should be made new as per the cultural implications of the new audiences. Also, if there is any text on these images, it should be translated into target languages as per the requirements. Moreover, making visual adjustments is inevitable while localizing a video game. The clothing, symbols, and important references also ask for a lot of changes.
Conclusion
Translating and localizing a game is a complex and draining task. It is important while working on games that developers and owners are well aware of the important factors that require translation. The most significant ones include instruction manuals, marketing material, packaging content, readme files, subtitles, and captions among art and graphic content.