[GAMENEXT] Five mantras for l10 (LatisGlboal)

Five Mantras for

L10N

Gordon Brown

Quality Manager

Latis Global

Gordon Brown

1. Not Everyone Likes the Same Thing

2. Don’t Bake It In

3. Hire a Painter to Paint, Hire a Writer to Write

4. We’re Working With You

5. Enjoy Regional Specialties

Not Everyone Likes

the Same Thing

Tastes vary wildly across the world.

Sometimes in unexpected ways.

Not Everyone Likes the Same Thing

• Seems obvious, but this

can affect popularity in

surprising ways


• Why did Aion not meet expectations in NA/EU?

• Steep leveling curve heavy grind

• Infrequent positive reinforcement/reward

• High death penalties

• Only open PvP servers, unavoidable

• Many bots & gold sellers

• To a North American gamer, Aion looked like 2009, but played like 1999.


• Why did Guild Wars not meet expectations in JP?

• Entered late, US/EU users numbers already falling

• No transfers for existing Japanese players

• PvP not popular in Japan

• New players dumped in with highly experienced ones

• International zones blocked kana

• Japanese gamers did not feel welcomed to the game.


• If monetization determines design, you’re already limiting yourself.

• Monetization: No single solution

• Aggressive

• Play-limiting mechanics (Energy, Hearts, etc.)

• Frequent pay-walls (“nickel & diming me to death”)

• Passive

• Tricking players into paying by obscuring real cost

• Encouraging players to pay

• Make users feel good about spending money, and many will. Make users feel obligated to spend money, and most won’t.


• If you are in early development:

• Think about implementing mechanics that have proven

popular in markets you want to target

• If you are in late development:

• Think about what mechanics already in your game appeal

to your target market and emphasize/build on them

Don’t Bake It In

Be careful of making choices that you cannot change.

Don’t Bake

It In

• Mobile UIs are

small & compact

• Vertical text is

very difficult

• Most issues

caught in LBT,

so don’t skip

Don’t Bake It In

Language Length

• 설정

• Settings

• Parametres

• Einstellungen

• Configuracion

(Korean)

(English)

(French)

(German)

(Spanish)

Don’t Bake It In

• Word wrap

• Required in all Western

languages

• Totally optional in the

big 3 Asian languages

• Often forgotten by

Korean, Japanese, and

Chinese developers

Don’t Bake It In

• Variables outside of text strings

× 초후에시작합니다.

? Starting in X seconds.

× 개판매하시겠습니까?

? Sell X… (what item?)

× 에게

? To: X

Don’t Bake It In

• Variables outside of text strings

[num_sec]초후에시작합니다.

Starting in [num_sec] seconds.

[qty]개판매하시겠습니까?

Do you want to sell [qty]?

[name]에게

To: [name]

Don’t Bake It In

• Identical variables dependent on order in the string

× Deals {x} damage to {x} enemies.

Deals {dmg} damage to {targets} enemies.

• Choose distinct variables/placeholders

× {132b02}

{PC_name}, <fire_damage>, %item_0012%, etc.

Don’t Bake It In

• Text in art is expensive to redo for each language

• Try to minimize

• Consider creating custom fonts instead

• What can be left as is?

• Keep your layered work files!

Hire a Painter to Paint,

Hire a Writer to Write

Trust the resources you’ve hired.



• Localization = transfer of ideas, not words

• Direct, literal translations are the worst

• Uninteresting

• Idioms & humor usually don’t translate well

• Experienced translators can capture nuance and

convey meaning much more effectively



You can be beautiful in the

future…

But you aren’t now!

We’re Working With You

Talk to your localizers. Often!

We’re Working With You

• Treat us like another team in your studio

• Comment as much as possible and share

• Context is crucial

• Regular communication

• Kick-off

• Query board

• Meetings (face-to-face, Skype)

Enjoy Regional Specialties

Tailor your events.


• Social games excel at this!

• Very common in persistent games


• Some cultural content may

require more explanation in

certain regions

Enjoy Regional

Specialties

• Do you have an

established IP?

• Consider customizing a

version for a large market.

• Where’s My Water taken to

China, used popular

character 喜羊羊 with

great results.

1. Not Everyone Likes the Same Thing

2. Don’t Bake It In

3. Hire a Painter to Paint, Hire a Writer to Write

4. We’re Working With You

5. Enjoy Regional Specialties

Thank You

Any questions?

[GAMENEXT] Five mantras for l10 (LatisGlboal)

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