Insider: As a way of self-introduction, please tell us briefly about your current work and your background.

I have been in the game industry for over 10 years and have worked in a variety of production roles at Activision, Electronic Arts and Ubisoft. I am currently the producer on Ghost Recon 2: Summit Strike, which is an Xbox title to be released this summer.

In my spare time, I write about game development. I have published several articles and written The Game Localization Handbook. I am now working on another book called The Game Production Handbook, which will be published this winter by Charles River Media. People can always find out what I’m doing by checking out my website as well at http://www.mediasunshine.com/.

Insider: The Game Localization Handbook was the first publication to focus exclusively on the field of video games localization. How did people in the industry react to it?

I have received emails from several people who have read the book, and they have all been very complimentary. There has been a need for a book that tackled this subject, so people are pleased that one is finally available. In addition, people continue to send me further information about topics that are covered in the book, based on their experiences. This is very valuable because it provides a different perspective on how someone else may handle the same localization challenge.

I am always surprised by the people who have read the book. For instance, several people outside of the game industry are fans—they read the book because they are interested in working in the field of games localization.

Insider: What motivated you to write the book? How long was it in the making?

In general, development teams really don’t enjoy doing localization projects. I think it is mainly because people don’t really understand what exactly goes into creating international versions.

Originally, I wrote a short article about games localization that Charles River Media published in their book, Secrets of the Game Business. My publisher, Jenifer Niles, really liked the article and saw a need for an entire book about localization. She asked if I would be interested in using my article as the basis for a book, and I agreed. Since I was working full-time as a producer while writing, it took me about 9 – 10 months to create the final manuscript.

Insider: Video games have been localized for many years now, and yet this domain seems only recently to have appeared on the radar screen of the wider localization industry.(Editor’s Note: Read "The GILT Industry and the Cultural Gap.") What do you think has been the reason for this under-recognition?

I think one reason is because localized games were a low-priority even ten years ago. Developers would polish and release the primary language version of the game and then spend the next three months doing the localized versions. However, as international markets for games have grown larger, it is more important for developers to ship all languages simultaneously in order to realize profits on the localized versions. French and German players do not want to wait an additional three months for a localized version of a game they’ve been waiting to play.

I also think that, as developers get better at the localization process, it is becoming cheaper for them to use external localization service providers. Developers are creating code that is localization-friendly, so they can more easily work with service providers to more quickly localize their games. In the past, the code and development processes were not localization-friendly, so it was much harder and more expensive to involve an external service provider in the process.

Insider: LISA interviewed Katrin Darolle, the Localization Manager at Square Enix, last year. We felt there was a sort of “cultural gap” between “software localization” and “games localization,” akin to “technical manual” versus “creative work.” Any comments on this observation of a cultural gap?

I would agree that this gap exists. First and foremost, games are a medium for entertainment, so care must be taken during the localization process to maintain the entertainment value (Editor’s Note: Read “Bringing Fantasy to Reality”) for all players, regardless of their cultural background. Gamers become very immersed in the games they play. If they are playing a localized version, they can quickly be taken out of the game world by translations that don’t fit the game’s context and/or by poor quality voiceovers. International players are expecting the same quality entertainment experience as their American counterparts.

An Italian gamer once told me that he preferred playing the English versions of games because the Italian versions were usually done so poorly that he felt that he was missing out on part of the game experience. This was four years ago, and I think that developers are working harder now to maintain this experience across all languages.

Insider: Speaking of cultural gaps, there seems to be a significant difference between localization done in-house directly by developers such as Square Enix and Nintendo, on the one hand, and that of the outsourcing model on the other. Do you have any comments on this?

I think that if localizations are done in-house, better quality checks are in place. The company has direct access to the translators and linguistic testers and can work with them to make a high quality game localization. If the translators have questions about the context of a particular word or situation, they can have them answered right away by the people actually working on the game.

When using external service providers, developers need to be really prepared in order to work with them efficiently. The text must be finalized for translation, and the code must be stable enough for linguistic testing. The developer needs to provide estimates of how much text, voiceover and art is to be localized before the original game is even assembled. In addition, the information transfer between the developer and the service provider is often delayed, especially when they are located in different countries. Obviously, this makes it difficult to make small updates or to ask a quick question.

Insider: With the outsourcing model, there seems a further distinction with the simship model. I was talking to a games localization company in Italy, and I was amazed at some of the challenges they face when they do simship, e.g., no game to use as a reference and a complete lack of contextual information for text strings.

This contrasts with the cases where full context is provided by the developer to the localization service provider as illustrated in your book. Have you worked in the sim-ship environment yourself? Can you comment on this, please?

I have simshipped several game titles, but it has taken a few years to put a process in place to make this possible. I think one of the keys to successful simship is for developers to be thinking about localizations before they even begin production on the original game.

There are several things that developers can do to make the code localization-friendly, which decreases the amount of time and money required for localization. For example, if the developer separates all the text that needs to be translated into a set of centrally located text files, it is very easy for them to send these files out for translation. When they receive the translated files, they can drop them into the game without spending a lot of time on asset integrating.

If the process is more localization-friendly, and the developers involve the translators early in the production process, a simship is more doable. This enables the translators to familiarize themselves with the design documents, before there is even a game to play. However, it is a challenge to provide the necessary information to the translators because the developers are often very focused on the primary language version of the game.

Insider: Have you worked with any Asian game developers or publishers? If so, what was your experience, and how does it compare to working with their counterparts in the U.S. and Europe?

My experience has mainly involved European localizations. I did manage the Japanese localization of Shanghai: Second Dynasty for the PC. It was done after the game shipped in America and Europe, so I really only had to provide the assets to the vendor and make testing builds for them. They provided the translations and made the necessary linguistic corrections. It worked well, but there was a 12-hour time difference, which meant that we had to wait a day before questions could be answered.

Insider: The fact that Japan is one of the main game-producing countries must affect localization. Can you highlight particular localization issues that come up when translating Japanese games, as opposed to their American or European counterparts? Also, do you see using English as a pivot language to be a problem when Japanese games are translated into other languages?

What I find interesting about Japanese games localized for other markets is the quirkiness of the games. For example, Katamari Damacy, was a recent hit in the U.S. In this game, the player is a little prince who has to roll up items with his “Katamari” in order to create stars for the sky. His father, the king, gives him different challenges and then admonishes or praises him, depending on the outcome.

This game is extremely fun to play, and a lot of the objects the player sees are items that are common in Japan, but less common in the U.S. The developers did not feel the need to replace these objects with things that would be familiar to other international players, which definitely contributes to its unique nature.

So, I think the biggest issue that occurs when translating Japanese games for other markets is how to preserve the quirkiness and fun nature of the game, without completely confusing the player with something unfamiliar.

Editor’s Note: Read "From Tokyo to Barcelona: Translating Japanese Anime into Catalan."

Another issue, which you touched on, is what is the best way to handle the translations? If the original translations are in Japanese, it can be difficult for a U.S. or European developer. In these cases, I do believe that English is the natural choice for the first round of translations.

One challenge with this is who will provide the initial English translation. If they are done in Japan, a native English-speaker must review and correct the translations before they are forwarded for translation. Another Shanghai title I worked on was originally developed in Japan, and they were localizing it into English. The core of the game involved a story that unfolded as players successfully cleared boards in the game. The initial English translations were sent to us for review, and did not make much sense—some of the word choices were not correct, and incorrect tenses were used (which is the same thing that would happen if an American translated English into Japanese). My boss at that time rewrote the text, and that became the final text that was used for the English versions.

There are a few companies, such as Mastiff Games, that specialize in taking Japanese games and localizing them for the U.S. and European markets. They have a lot of experience in this area and have offices in Japan and the U.S., so they are properly equipped to deal with this process.

Insider: One thing that strikes me as a big difference between game and business software localization is the lack of translation tools employed in the former. Do you agree with this observation and, if so, why do you think that is? How is terminological consistency normally handled for games localization?

For one thing, each game is unique and uses different terms throughout the game. When doing business software localization, most terminology is fairly standardized these days so that, for example, people always recognize how the File menu is used. With games, text is chosen that fits within the game world. For example, if a translator is working on a military-themed game, the terms will sound more military, as in the phrase, “Neutralize the enemy,” rather than “Kill the bad guys.” In instances like this, it is hard to standardize the translations.

However, if the game is part of a franchise, this standardization is much easier. For example, with the Ghost Recon series, terms like “Defend” are used consistently from game to game. The translators can create a glossary of terms from the previous title and use it for each iteration of the game.

When working with console manufacturers, the latter maintain glossaries of how specific console terms are to be translated. This provides consistency across all titles, so the player will always understand, for example, what the term “Black button” refers to in an Xbox game. Likewise, translations are also provided for the standard error messages players see when playing a console title, which makes it easier for them to diagnose problems.

Insider: What do you think of the prospect of machine translation (MT) making inroads into video games localization? What do you think is the ideal tool to help games localizers?

I do not have a lot of experience with MT, but from what I know about it, it seems like more work could be created when trying to use it for games localization. I believe that for the best quality translations, the translator needs to really understand how the game is played, what the context of the game world is, and what the characters’ personalities are. All of these things contribute to the entire gaming experience, and if the translators have enough information, they can create the same experience for the localized versions.

MT seems well-suited for business software, which enjoys standard terminology across many different products, so it doesn’t matter if the translations are similar. In fact, it is probably more helpful to the end user if the same translations are used in business software.

I think the ideal tool for game localizers is something that allows them to immediately view their translations within the context of the game. Oftentimes, game localizers have to translate text without immediately being able to see it within context. The translations are forwarded to the developer, who then creates a localized build that s/he sends back to the translators. Obviously, a lot of time is lost during this process.

On the other hand, if the game localizers have access to a build and can swap out the appropriate files, they can spend more time polishing the translations and fixing any other errors, such as typos and overlapping text. Functionality like this is possible, but the developer must plan for it during pre-production.

Insider: The domain of games localization has barely been touched in academia so far, while video games as a serious academic study have only just gathered momentum (as pointed out by games researchers like Henry Jenkins of MIT). Do you think the industry is keen to have games localization appearing as part of academic study? Can you think of particular areas where research would be useful to the industry to help localizers at the coalface?

I don’t really have a good answer to this question. As a whole, I think the games industry is focused more on games development, and less on how academics study the games, much the same way as the movie industry. I don’t think it’s because game developers are not interested in what academics think, but rather that their focus is much different.

Insider: Looking to the future of this booming industry, what is your view regarding the training issue for localizers?

I think if a localizer is interested in getting into games localization, they should spend some time playing games. It is important that they understand how games work as a medium and what areas affect the “fun factor” of a game.

Insider: Finally, if you are a game player yourself, please share with us your three favorite localized titles!

I really enjoy playing Katamari Damacy because it is a fun game that is easy to pick up and play. The king is always saying hilarious things or singing funny songs.

I recently got a Nintendo DS and have been spending time playing Super Mario and Zookeeper. I am also looking forward to Nintendogs. I really like games that are simple, but really fun to play.

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Heather Chandler is a multimedia producer with over ten years of game industry experience at Ubisoft, Activision, Electronic Arts and New Line Cinema. She is also the author of The Game Localization Handbook and is currently at work on the Game Production Handbook. Chandler can be reached through her web site at http://www.mediasunshine.com/.